First electronic punk album in history ?
When Tangerine Dream’s debut Electronic Meditation was recorded, there was virtually no electronic music equipment available, yet the band managed to make unusual sounds by using everyday objects, such as a sieve filled with dried peas, an old office calculator, 2 old iron bars and parchment paper. These were recorded with a microphone and then run through reverbs and delays.
The results were not always very tonal and miles apart from a commercial pop sound. Furthermore, the studio equipment they had at their disposal was at best very sparse and everything was recorded directly onto a Revox 1/4″ tape machine during one of the band’s rehearsals at an old factory in October, 1969 in Berlin. This album was also the only TD record to feature electronic musician Klaus Schulze on drums. 180-gram vinyl pressing with outer PVC audiophile dustsleeves.
Guitarist Edgar Froese founded Tangerine Dream in 1967. Electronic Meditation, the debut album for the group, was produced in 1970 (some peolple say 1969) with some of the earliest electronic rock music to be recorded. Unlike “Rubycon”, the band line-up as well as the sound is different on Electronic Meditation, with more experimentations and basic, sometimes unsettling, tones. This is by far their most rock oriented album, heavy on guitar, organ, and drums. Creator with Hans-Joachim Roedelius about Zodiak Free Arts Lab en 1969, Conrad Schnitzler was a pionneer in the Berlin underground scene. He was in Kluster & Tangerine Dream before starting a solo career in abstract sounds texture.
Musicians :
Edgar Froese – guitar
Conrad Schnitzler & Klaus Schulze – drums
Label : Ohr / Released : 1970
Tracklisting:
Side A
1 Geburt (Genesis)
2 Reise Durch Ein Brennendes Gehirn (Journey Through A Burning Brain)
Side B
1 Kalter Rauch (Cold Smoke)
2 Asche Zu Asche (Ashes To Ashes)
3 Auferstehung (Resurrection)
Zodiak Free Arts Lab, conceived as an happenings place, was located in the undergrounds of Schaubuhne, the Peter Stein theater. The club, with a Dynacord 400 volts sound system, with ampli, echo chambers & delay, became the dreamed place for all possible expérimentations.
It was also the “themas” called “Free Jazz a électronics meeting”, “improvisation music meeting & Théâtre” or “Pop & Jazz meeting”.
