Space Music Validation: Simon Reynolds on Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and all things Electronic

A great overview article of space music appeared in the London Observer/Guardian Sunday paper. It’s written by Simon Reynolds, a very good critic and author of several books including Generation Ecstasy : Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture.  His article, Kings of the Cosmos, takes the stance that 70s space music is still informing contemporary music and perhaps hasn’t gotten the credit it deserves. He has some nice quotes by Vangelis, Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze and others. Just don’t trust his “Five Synth Classics.” Three of them are classics: the sadly out of print Zero Time by Tonto’s Expanding Headband, Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra and Wendy Carlos’ Sonic Seasonings.

Two of them are not. And a couple of minor discrepancies. Kraftwerk didn’t come after Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. They had three albums out prior to Autobahn and that was released the same year as Phaedra.

Additionally, Manuel Gottsching’s E2-E4 was embraced by the 1980s disco scene before the ambient chillout artists found it. Nevertheless, this is a very cogent and informative piece. Thanks to Glenn Folkvord who runs the Space Music list on Yahoo for posting it: ElectronicMusic@yahoogroups.com

Comment posted by
at 4/25/2007 3:13:13 PM

Yes, but they didn’t record until 1969. Kraftwerk’s first album came out barely 2 years later in 1971 and both of their early defining works came out in 1974, Phaedra & Autobahn. So it’s not like Kraftwerk were Germans come lately.

Comment posted by
at 4/25/2007 3:52:57 AM

Tangerine Dream started in 1967 – with Klaus Schulze. This precedes Kraftwerk by three years.