Tangerine Dream are considered a pioneering act in electronica. Their work with the electronic music Ohr label produced albums that had a pivotal role in the development of the German musical scene known as kosmische ("cosmic"). Their "Virgin Years", so called because of their association with Virgin Records, produced albums that further explored synthesizers and sequencers, including the UK top 20 albums Phaedra (1974) and Rubycon (1975). The group also had a successful career composing film soundtracks, creating over 60 scores, which include those for the films Sorcerer, Thief, The Soldier, Risky Business, Flashpoint, The Keep, Firestarter, Legend, Three O'Clock High, Near Dark, Shy People, and Miracle Mile.
From the late 1990s into the 2000s, Tangerine Dream continued to explore other styles of instrumental music as well as electronica. Their recorded output has been prolific, including over one hundred albums. Among other scoring projects, they helped create the soundtrack for the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Their mid-1970s work has been profoundly influential in the development of electronic music styles such as new age (although the band themselves disliked the term) and electronic dance music.
Their most recent album of all-new music, Quantum Gate, was released on 29 September 2017. In December 2019, the band released Recurring Dreams, a compilation of new recordings of some of the band's classic compositions.
The group is currently working on a new album as a four-piece to be released in 2021 via Kscope.
Tangerine Dream began as a surreal rock band, with each of the members contributing different musical influences and styles. Edgar Froese's guitar style was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, while Christopher Franke contributed the more avant garde elements of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Terry Riley. Yes-like progressive rock influence was brought in by Steve Jolliffe on Cyclone. The sample-based sound collages of Johannes Schmoelling drew their inspiration from a number of sources; one instance is Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians on parts of Logos Live, and the track "Love on a Real Train" from the Risky Business soundtrack.
Classical music has had an influence on the sound of Tangerine Dream over the years. György Ligeti, Johann Sebastian Bach, Pierre Boulez, Iannis Xenakis, Maurice Ravel, and Arcangelo Corelli are clearly visible as dominant influences in the early albums. A Baroque sensibility sometimes informs the more coordinated sequencer patterns, which has its most direct expression in the La Folia section that comes at the very end of the title track of Force Majeure. In live performances, the piano solos often directly quoted from Romantic classical works for piano, such as the Beethoven and Mozart snippets in much of the late 1970s – early 1980s stage shows. In the bootleg recording of the Mannheim Mozartsaal concert of 1976 (Tangerine Tree volume 13), the first part of the first piece also clearly quotes from Franz Liszt's Totentanz. The first phrase is played on a harpsichord synthesizer patch and is answered by the second half of the phrase in a flute voicing on a Mellotron. During the 1990s, many releases included recordings of classical compositions: Pictures at an Exhibition (on Turn of the Tides), Largo (from Xerxes) (on Tyranny of Beauty), Symphony in A Minor (by J. S. Bach), and Concerto in A Major / Adagio (by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (both on Ambient Monkeys).
Since the 1990s, Tangerine Dream have also recorded cover versions of Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze" (first on 220 Volt Live) and The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", "Back in the U.S.S.R.", "Tomorrow Never Knows", and "Norwegian Wood".
An infrequently recurring non-musical influence on Tangerine Dream, and Edgar Froese in particular, have been 12th–19th-century poets. This was first evident on the 1981 album Exit, the track title "Pilots of the Purple Twilight" being a quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Locksley Hall. Six years later, the album Tyger featured poems from William Blake set to music; and around the turn of the millennium, Edgar Froese started working on a musical trilogy based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, completed in 2006. Most recently, the 2007 album Madcap's Flaming Duty features more poems set to music, some again from Blake but also e.g. Walt Whitman.
Pink Floyd were also an influence on Edgar Froese and Tangerine Dream, the band in its very early psychedelic rock band phase playing improvisations based on Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive". Madcap's Flaming Duty is dedicated to the memory of the late Syd Barrett. The title refers to Barrett's solo release "The Madcap Laughs".
The band's influence can be felt in ambient artists such as Deepspace, The Future Sound of London, David Kristian, and Global Communication, as well as rock, pop, and dance artists such as Porcupine Tree, M83, DJ Shadow, Ulrich Schnauss, Cut Copy, and Kasabian. The band also clearly influenced 1990s and 2000s trance music, where lush soundscapes and synth pads are used along with repetitive synth sequences, much like in their 1975 releases Rubycon and Ricochet, as well as some of their music from the early 1980s. The group have also been sampled countless times, more recently by Recoil on the album SubHuman, by Sasha on Involver, and on several Houzan Suzuki albums. Michael Jackson also cited Tangerine Dream as one of his favourite bands, especially their 1977 soundtrack for Sorcerer.
Smile
Tangerine Dream Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And there is a smile of deceit;
And there is a smile of smiles
In which these two smiles meet.
And there is a frown of hate,
And there is a frown of disdain;
And there is a frown of frowns
Which you strive to forget in vain,
And it sticks in the deep backbone;
And no smile that ever was smiled,
But only one smiles alone
That betwixt the cradle and grave
It only once smiled can be;
But when it once is smiled
There's no end to misery.
The lyrics of Tangerine Dream's song "Smile" delve into the complexities of human emotions and the different kinds of smiles and frowns that we encounter throughout our lives. The first stanza talks about the duality of smiles, how there can be a smile of love or one of deceit, but also how there is a smile that encompasses both. The second stanza delves into the idea of frowns, and how some are imbued with hate or disdain, but none compare to the most extreme frown of all, the one that sticks "in the heart's deep core" and the "deep backbone," the one that we cannot forget.
The final stanza explains that this extreme frown can only be overcome by the one smile that exists "betwixt the cradle and grave," the smile that is so rare and precious that once it is smiled, all others pale in comparison. However, this smile also brings with it endless misery, as the loss of it can be devastating. The lyrics are a powerful reminder of the complexities of human emotion and the importance of the people and moments that bring us true joy.
Line by Line Meaning
There is a smile of love,
There exists a smile that embodies genuine affection and fondness.
And there is a smile of deceit;
There is also a smile that conceals false intentions and intentions to mislead.
And there is a smile of smiles
Furthermore, there is a smile that contains both the expressions of love and deceit.
In which these two smiles meet.
This hybrid smile is a result of both the truthful and untruthful grins combining.
And there is a frown of hate,
In contrast to the previous four lines, there is a facial expression that radiates loathing and hostility.
And there is a frown of disdain;
There is another frown that communicates a sense of disapproval and disgust.
And there is a frown of frowns
However, there exists a frown that transcends the others in terms of intensity and heartache.
Which you strive to forget in vain,
This particular expression is one that is impossible to erase from your memories and emotions.
For it sticks in the heart's deep core,
The frown drills deep into the core of one's heart to the point where it becomes a part of one's identity.
And it sticks in the deep backbone;
It also has a physical manifestation that permeates through the many fibers of the backbone.
And no smile that ever was smiled,
Even with countless smiles that one has expressed, there is no true erasure of that frown's impact.
But only one smiles alone
The only smile that can eclipse the frown is a solitary one.
That betwixt the cradle and grave
This smile only graces an individual once in a lifetime between their birth and death.
It only once smiled can be;
There can only be a singular moment where this smile surfaces.
But when it once is smiled
However, when this smile appears, it creates an everlasting effect.
There's no end to misery.
The misery caused by the frown is eradicated by this unique smile and grants a sort of perpetual happiness.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: DONNA LORRAINE MATTHEWS, JUSTINE ELINOR FRISCHMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marc Moingeon
Beautiful song. Some unusual piece for TD, because it's got vocals.. and the singer Jocelyn B. Smith who came from blues and jazz did a great job. I've always enjoyed the album "Tyger", right from the day of release... When I think this was 30 years ago, when I'm writing this comment in November 2017.... Can't believe it's been so long.
TheGeepomuxx
Me too
Dirk Lyssens
Unbelievable that this album is already 33 years old. Still love it. Huuuuuuuge EM lover. Almost 40 years. Saw TD live in the NL Zoetermeer on the 24 10 2019. It was amazing.
Jorge Carbonell
Timeless deep poetic music about eternity thoughts of human being with its reality of pain and beauty.
Dirk Lyssens
Still love it after all these years. Huge EM lover.
Dirk Lyssens
Woke up this morning with a big, big smile. 😊😊😀😀😁😁🤗🤗
Eric Melanson
Vraiment très beau. Thank you Izolika68 for your Posting.
Endzeitstille
I just hate TD with vocals it just destroys the ambient magic feel of their music
Natheria
human touch is not perfect which makes it irreplaceable.