“Fun fact: all three of us are only-children,” says composer and keyboardist Paul Frick. “But that’s probably not the reason we gel. I think it’s because we’re all capable of introspection. We’re capable of making music together for long periods without getting bored.”
Frick is the newest addition to Tangerine Dream, a synth-crazed Berlin trio with an astounding capacity for regeneration. Three years ago he was christened into the fold, joining Thorsten Quaeschning (the most senior of the bunch) and Hoshiko Yamane (an Osaka-born violinist). None of them were present for Tangerine’s founding, but by all appearances, they would just as soon die than betray the band’s ethos. “Raum” is their first album together including Frick. It came out in February 2022, but “Raum” is vintage Tangerine Dream in the sense that it’s an experience, an out-of-gravity adventure with all the cosmic monosynth you could want. But the music is also airy and supple and detoxified like never before. When it comes to this iteration of Tangerine Dream, only the coolest of color palettes will do.
“The idea was always to achieve futurism, to sound contemporary,” Quaeschning says. “The idea’s never been to be a museum, or to only look in the direction of the past. We always strive to hopefully find something new.”
The band’s history is not without its blemishes, as Quaeschning, 46, can attest. (He joined in the prehistoric days of 2005.) For a time they experimented with the schlocky, “jazzy” accouterments of middle-of-the-road rock, a decision that rather displeased Quaeschning: “I’m not a fan of the saxophone. There’s actually a weird story about this. As a teenager, I very much related to progressive rock, classical music, krautrock. I associated the saxophone with Tina Turner (laughs). It was the antithesis of everything I was interested in.”
There have been other changes, including a significant overhaul of the band’s live show. If you’ve ever seen Tangerine Dream in concert, you partly know what to expect: an orgy of color bordering on the psychedelic. This still holds true, but gone for now are the bulky, imposing modular setups with which Tangerine Dream was once synonymous. It’s not “practical,” Quaeschning says, to haul so much cargo around North America.
In fact, very little remains of the band as it was constituted in the Froese era. Tangerine Dream’s founder and linchpin — and the only member exempt from constant churn — was Edgar Froese, a heavy-jowled blond famous for his sweeping ambition and chaste lifestyle. What started as a krautrock band in pre-reunification, late ‘60s Berlin soon became a much more prodigious undertaking. Tangerine Dream was perhaps the story of 1970s electronic music, not to mention a highly liquid, highly sought-after commodity in the world of movie soundtracks. To date, Tangerine Dream has scored or had their music used in dozens of movies and TV shows, from “Risky Business” and Michael Mann’s “Thief” to “Stranger Things.” They scored hours of music for the video game “Grand Theft Auto V.”
“Being an instrumental band is helpful,” Quaeschning says of the band’s film work. “We’re used to triggering emotions without words. We’re used to being servants of the music. It’s easier to meet the moment when you’re accustomed to playing these 20-minute pieces.” One can only hope the band will someday secure an Oscar; they’d be the most deserving recipients since Three 6 Mafia.
What do Tangerine Dream and the American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia have in common? Both groups were pioneers in their respective fields (electronica, hip hop). Both have undergone countless lineup changes. Both have deep contacts in the film world.
How appropriate that Tangerine Dream figures prominently in Three 6 Mafia’s “Rainbow Colors,” which borrows promiscuously from “Search,” one of a dozen songs Tangerine made for William Friedkin’s geopolitical drama “Sorcerer.” That soundtrack, much like everything else Tangerine Dream, is bewitching, immersive and ineffably cool. Take it from us — you won’t get bored.
Tangerine Dream, with Forest Management, at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St.; tickets $43-$50 (ages 18+) at metrochicago.com
M.T. Richards is a freelance writer.