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Tangerine Dream

Electronic Meditation

- Studio, released June 1970 -

Covers


CD release Europe 1996
Photo: Reinhard Hippen

CD release UK 1987

CD release Europe 2002
Photo: Reinhard Hippen

CD release Japan 2004
Photo: Reinhard Hippen

LP release Europe 2012
Photo: Reinhard Hippen

SHM-CD release Japan 2012 with obi
Photo: Reinhard Hippen


Tracks

[a]
1.Genesis 5:57
2.Journey Through A Burning Brain 12:32
3.Cold Smoke 10:48
4.Ashes To Ashes 3:58
5.Resurrection 3:21
Total running time36:36


Details

Recording dateOctober 1969
Recording site(s)Mixed Media (Berlin)
Recording engineer(s)Klaus Freudigmann
Composer(s)Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze, Conrad Schnitzler
Musician(s)Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze, Conrad Schnitzler, Jimmy Jackson, Thomas Keyserling
Producer(s)Edgar Froese


Notes

In autumn/winter of 1969 Edgar Froese, founder of Tangerine Dream, met Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler. This trio formed the line-up of Tangerine Dream to record the debut album Electronic Meditation. The band was supported by two other musicians: Jimmy Jackson (organ) and Thomas Keyserling (flute), but both were mysteriously left out of the credits of the original album.

 


Edgar Froese: "In 1969, I met Klaus in Berlin. He was a very bad drummer, but he had some sort of craziness about him that I was looking for. That is what has happened with Tangerine Dream over the past 10 years. All the people who went through the band came into the band because they had some sort of craziness about them. That's what I think. It's the sort of music you can't create if you're absolutely normal. [...] Electronic Meditation was done by absolute amateurs. We couldn't handle our equipment, and during that period of recording we couldn't get any record company interested in it. Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser was interested, and he gave us some money." (Interview with Neumusik, January 1980)

 


From 30 Years Of Dreaming

In November 1969, Edgar Froese teamed up with Conrad Schnitzler (cello, violin and flute) and Klaus Schulze (drums), who had been studying and playing classic guitar at a younger age, but then turned to the drums in the band called Psy Free. This collaboration lead to a lot of experimentation with sound effects and tape recorders apart from the use of more conventional and normal instruments. They used whatever would generate any kind of sound!

The group rented an old factory building and started recording on an old 2-track Revox tape recorder. A demo tape came out of this, and it was handed over to Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser, who had just founded his record company -- Ohr Records. Kaiser was extremely enthusiastic about their music and offered to make an album with Tangerine Dream on the condition that they accepted his suggestion for a title and what the cover should look like. Of course, Tangerine Dream went along with this offer even though the title, Electronic Meditation, is rather misleading; not a single real electronic instrument is used on this album!

Klaus Schulze: "We recorded and toured Electronic Meditation. That for me is the primary electronic album. Edgar played guitar, Schnitzler organ and me drums through loads of effects. We were experimenting with a lot of random stuff and were making up our own sounds. I remember Conrad had this metal cup full of these bits of glass in which he stuck a microphone attached to each machine. I played a lot of different percussive sounds that were then altered by machines. It was just great to be in a band who were open to so much experimentation." (Interview with Mark Pendergast, December 1994, Tangents)

Tangerine Dream's first album, Electronic Meditation, then came out in 1970. In music (?) and sound it describes (maybe?) the journey of a brain through different states of mind from birth to death! It was not a big commercial success, but with one album out, it meant that Tangerine Dream got more jobs as a live act.

© 1999 by Kent Eskildsen

 


Re-Releases

 


In 1987 the album was released on CD for the first time. While the USA release featured the reworked original cover artwork, the UK release had a total different cover design, originating from the boxed set In The Beginning.

 


Nine years later, in 1996, the CD was re-released again. For this release the music was digitally remastered from the original tapes, and the cover artwork was very similar to the original LP cover. The CD booklet features sleeve notes taken from the book "Krautrocksampler" by Julian Cope.

 


In 2004 the album was re-released in Japan with a cardboard sleeve featuring the exact replica of the original LP sleeves, including the balloon insert.

 


In early April 2012 the British Esoteric Records re-released Electronic Meditation as part of a re-issue of the TD back catalogue of the Pink and Blue Years. Like all other re-releases of the Esoteric series, the disc comes nicely packaged with a 16-page booklet, featuring the original artwork, credits, numerous photos and a very well-written essay by Andy King. Unlike some other re-releases of this series it comes without any bonus track.

 


Exclusively for the Record Store Day (on April 21st, 2012) Esoteric released two limited edition vinyl items -- available from local independent record shops in the UK on that day only. Besides a 7" re-release of Ultima Thule an LP of Electronic Meditation was issued, which comes with an exclusive full colour inner sleeve. It features the same essay as on the CD release, but with a different design and some extra photos. The album is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and dedicated to Conrad Schnitzler who had passed away in 2011.

 


In late April 2012 the Japanese company Belle Antique re-released the remastered Esoteric version of Electronic Meditation as SHM-CD (Super High Material CD); this version once more comes with a balloon insert.


Releases

Europe
1996: Essential/Castle
CD: ESMCD345
1999: Essential/Castle
LP: ESMLP345; picture label/white label
2002: Sanctuary/Castle
CD: CMRCD565; standard jewel case with additional cardboard wrapper
2012: Reactive/Esoteric
CD: EREACD 1025; multicoloured disc
LP: EREALP 1025; gc; full colour insert; limited edition of 1,000 copies
2018: Tiger Bay
LP: TB6201C; 180g orange vinyl; 45rpm; limited edition of 500 copies
France
1976: Virgin
LP: 940 530; multicoloured labels, foc
1976: Virgin/Polydor
LP: 2401 722; multicoloured labels, foc
LP: 2401 722; red/silver labels, foc
1981: Virgin
LP: 202 724; red/green labels
1983: Virgin
LP: 70 051; red/green labels
Germany
1970: Ohr
LP: OMM 56004; ear labels, foc; some of the first releases come together with a rubber balloon attached to a cut out on the front cover
1971: Ohr
LP: OMM 556004; ear labels, foc
Italy
1976: PDU/EMI Italia
LP: Pld. A 6072; black/silver labels
2003: Earmark
LP: 42020; 180g vinyl
Japan
1971: EMI Odeon/Toshiba
LP: EOP 80618; black/silver labels, foc
LP: EOP 80618; red vinyl, black/silver labels, foc
Promo-LP: EOP 80618; white labels, foc
1976: Virgin/Nippon Columbia
LP: YX-7124-AX; white/gray labels, foc
1978: Virgin/Nippon Columbia
LP: YZ-95-AX; white/gray labels, foc
2004: Arcàngelo
CD: ARC-7045; cardboard sleeve, obi, fold-out poster, rubber balloon insert
2008: Arcàngelo
SHM-CD: ARC-8005; cardboard sleeve, obi
2012: Belle Antique
SHM-CD: BELLE 121941; cardboard sleeve, obi
Promo-SHM-CD: BELLE 121941; cardboard sleeve, obi; sticker "SAMPLE" on rear, print "LOANED SAMPLE" on inner CD ring
New Zealand
1972: Interfusion/Festival
LP: L-35450; brown labels
UK
1987: Jive
CD: C TANG 4
USA
1987: Relativity
LP: 88561-8068-1; black labels
CD: 88561-8068-2
1996: Sequel/Castle
CD: 1032-2
1999: Castle
CD: CMACD554
2002: Sanctuary
CD: 06076-81240-2
Electronic Meditation was also released as part of the sets In The Beginning, Three Classic Albums, Nebulous Dawn, The Pink Years Albums and Alpha Centauri + Electronic Meditation.

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