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Germany Calling - Teutonic Electronica From Tangerine Dream To To Rococo Rot

“Tangerine Dream,” Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hutter said to Lester Bangs in a 1975 interview, “although they are German they have an English name, so they create onstage an Anglo-American identity, which we completely deny. We cannot deny we are from Germany, because the German mentality, which is more advanced, will always be part of our behaviour.”

Kraftwerk’s man-machine aesthetic was still very much in evidence when they played Glasgow in 2004. But what of their contemporaries Tangerine Dream, who appear for one of only two UK dates for ‘The Edinburgh Eye Concert’ at The Picture House next week? While never as cool as Kraftwerk, throughout the 1970s Tangerine Dream were the populist prog fan’s favourites, with a still hippified John Peel even naming their 1973 album, ‘Atem,’ his favourite that year.

Led by Edgar Froese, who has remained the band’s one constant, Tangerine Dream’s mix of portentously opaque album titles, marathon track lengths, state-of-art instrumentation and sci-fi graphics ensured them a place in the hearts of serious young men on a higher plane. Where the reputations of other German artists such as Can, Neu! and the recently reactivated Harmonia acquired underground cult status, however, Tangerine Dream became more immediately associated with Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre. Thirty-odd years on, and with more than a hundred albums in the can, Tangerine Dream are still focussing on the epic, which, stripped of its electronic apparel, may sound rather ordinary.

Tangerine Dream’s appearance heralds in a welter of more contemporary German electonicists over the next few weeks who plough a far more low-key furrow to Froese and co. Take Pole, aka Stefan Betke, who plays a rare Edinburgh date the day after Tangerine Dream. Having defined his sound accidentally via a Waldorf-4-Pole filter, he used static to create a discreet late night electronic dub, which he’s recently expanded to feature vocals and other musicians.

The trio of To Rococo Rot’s recorded output of analogue-derived melodic pop instrumentals are equally thoughtful, to the extent of releasing a mini album, ‘ABC123,’ in praise of the Helvetica type-face. Live, while such sensibilities are retained, the tunes on their three dates should be given more computerised bite.

Barbara Morgenstern’s return to Stirling, meanwhile, should offer even poppier fare. Her one-gal band approach to songwriting pairs her impassive voice with a kit so portable as to make Edgar Froese wonder. There are connections between all younger artists mentioned. Betke has produced records by Morgenstern, who in turn has worked with members of To Rococo Rot. Both acts joined The Pastels onstage at the Stirling-base Le weekend festival a few years back.

As for Tangerine Dream, they look set to be around a long while yet. One should perhaps refer back to Lester Bangs, however, whose 1977 live review should possibly used as a guide as to what to expect at the Edinburgh Eye Concert. Prior to watching what he described as ‘technological monoliths’ accompanied by a large-scale laser show, Bangs suggested to a Tangerine Dream-head the band were little more than ‘a poor man’s Fripp and Eno.’ ‘”Well,’” came the reply, “you gotta have imagination…”'

Tangerine Dream, The Picture House, Edinburgh, Sun 2 November
Pole, Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Mon 3 November
To Rococo Rot, The Tunnels, Aberdeen, Wed 5 November; Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Thu 6 November; Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline (with Emma Pollock and Adem), Fri 7 November
Barbara Morgenstern, Tolbooth, Stirling, 20 November

The List, October 2008

ends

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