Tangerine Dream
Pioneers of Electronic Music
A German electronic music collective founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member until his death in January 2015. Noted electronic music artist, drummer, and composer Klaus Schulze was briefly a member in an early lineup. The best known and most constant line-up of the group, which worked during their most influential mid-1970s period, was a trio with Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann. In the late 1970s, Johannes Schmoelling replaced Baumann, and this lineup was stable and extremely productive as well.
Tangerine Dream’s recorded output has been prolific, having released over one hundred albums. Their work with the Ohr electronic music label, a period called the “Pink Years” because of a pink ear included in Ohr’s logo, produced albums that had a pivotal role in the development of the musical genre known as krautrock. Their “Virgin Years,” so-called because of their association with Virgin Records, produced albums that helped define what became known as the Berlin School of electronic music. These and later albums were influential in both the development of electronic dance music and also new-age music, although the band themselves disliked that term. From the late 1990s into the 2000s, Tangerine Dream continued to explore other styles of electronica.
Even with their many studio and live recordings, many fans were introduced to Tangerine Dream by their film soundtracks. The group created over sixty soundtracks which include those for the films Sorcerer, Thief, Risky Business, The Keep, Firestarter, Legend, Near Dark, Shy People, and Miracle Mile. They also composed the score for the video game Grand Theft Auto V.