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Founder Edgar Froese has linked with several different musicians throughout the more than quarter-century the band has been recording whose backgrounds vary from jazz to classical, guitarist to flautist. Nevertheless, an aesthetic continuity can be traced to a few key line-ups that have made Tangerine Dream a name worthy of artistic reverence. TD's most memorable configurations have been debated and redebated (which is part of the sometimes benign controversy among critics and fans), yet a few stand tall due to their beautiful works. Regardless, the group's finest achievements brilliantly stand the test of time due to their commitment to great writing, musicianship and pioneering spirit.
The trio of Froese, Christopher Franke, and Johannes
Schmoelling not only produced some of the bands most universally praised
songs, but spread the word regarding synthesizers as a viable, if not momentous,
new musical tool. Their extensive touring, soundtracks, and studio albums
from 1980-85 contain the wonderful Tangram, a whirlwind tour of trademark
TD sequences and 
atmospheres
with some remarkable melodies. Also included is the studio album Exit,
a moving, adventurous gem clearly ahead of its time in the music world.
Another remarkable configuration is the trio of Froese, Franke,
and Paul Haslinger. Haslinger joined TD in 1986 on the studio album
Underwater Sunlight to record potentially one of the great musical compositions
of the late 20th century. The album contains epic song-writing that utilizes
a broad yet refined sound tablet ranging from delicate piano passages to soaring
guitar work with a consistently engaging mix of drums, percussion, and synthesizers
voicing modern, hybridized sounds.
Froese and Haslinger would continue the journey as duo in 1988 with the album Optical Race. Anyone questioning the progress of western music only need listen the opening track "Marakesh" for consolation. The stunning production, instrumentation, and shear energy of this piece extends throughout the album. Currently, TD is Edgar and Jerome Froese, his son. The center duo draws upon studio and live musicians for both fresh instrument voices and live support. Concert and studio recordings such as 220 Volt Live (nominated for a Grammy) concequently feature saxophone, electric guitar in many forms, and ever new evolutions in drumming. The band's most recent visual-music release, their first such project since the landmark Canyon Dreams in 1987, Oasis, has again garnered awards not unlike it's platinum selling predessor. Proof that the dream is alive and well came once again recently in 1999 with the studio album, Mars Polaris, one of the group's most remarkable recordings iin years. Once again Tangerine Dream has proven they are beyond any easy categorization.
Selected Discography