Probe 6-8

Tangerine Dream have been a fundamental influence on electronic music since Edgar Froese founded the band in West Berlin in 1967, providing the groundwork for multiple electronic music genres (including ambient & electronica), inspiring musicians & other art forms, with seven Grammy nominations to their credit.

In recent years, their music has featured in popular TV shows such as ‘Stranger Things’ & video games including ‘Grand Theft Auto’. After Froese passed away in 2015, the remaining band members - Thorsten Quaeschning, Ulrich Schnauss & Hoshiko Yamane - carried on helping realise Edgar’s vision for a conceptual album that attempts to translate quantum physics and philosophy into music, thus ‘Quantum Gate’ was released to critical acclaim in 2017.

With a new line-up, Thorsten & Hoshiko have been joined by Berlin-based keyboard virtuoso Paul Frick. The trio have spent 2021 in their Berlin studio working on ‘Probe 6-8’, a first glimpse into the forthcoming full Tangerine Dream studio album. ‘Probe 6-8’ sees the group’s classic studio productions & late night, real-time compositions form a blueprint for slowly evolving ambient structures, with the band’s sequencer-driven sound reminiscent of TD’s early 1970s work, combining with a lush 1980s crystalline bliss. The trio have composed & produced ‘Probe 6-8’ with full access to Edgar Froese’s Cubase arrangements & Otari Tape Archive with recordings from 1977-2013.

The first track, ‘Raum’, is a nod to the band’s early live studio performances, such as ‘Zeit’ & ‘Phaedra’, and features a distinctive, heavy Moog bass marking the beginning & the end of a 15-minute introductory piece. This new set of recordings also feature two remixes - Berlin-based composer & producer Grand River (Aimée Portioli) has given ‘Raum’ her signature sound & ‘Continuum’ was remixed by Berghain resident & Leisure System co-founder Sam Barker.

Tracklist

Raum (14:55) / Para Guy (05:48) / Continuum (07:10) / Raum (Grand River Remix) (06:17) / Continuum (Barker Remix) (05:49)