What began as an experimental session back in 1974, at Richard Branson’s Virgin Manor Studios, became a seismic event in modern sound. Using a Moog sequencer for the first time, Tangerine Dream – featuring the classic trio of Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann – crafted Phaedra, an album described as shimmering “with innovation, mystery and a palpable sense of discovery”. Half a century later, the current incarnation of Tangerine Dream returned to London’s Barbican to honour that landmark work – reimagining it for a new era.
50 Years Of Phaedra: At The Barbican, to be released on 30th January via Kscope, captures that evening across three vinyl LPs and a two CD digipack, as Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane, and Paul Frick revisited the spirit of Phaedra using the very tools that Froese and his collaborators helped pioneer, redefining the landscape of electronic music at that time.
The vinyl editions will be available in a Coke bottle green and classic book, with an eight page booklet. The digipack features a12 page booklet, alongside liner notes by Quaeschning.
DISC 1 features:‘Phaedra Suite Initial Applause’, ‘Sequent C, 2024’,‘Movements Of A Visionary, 2024’, ‘Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares, 2024’, ‘Hippolytos Session Pt. 01’, Hippolytos Session Pt. 02’, Hippolytos Session Pt. 03’, Hippolytos Session Pt. 04’, and ‘Hippolytos Session Pt. 05’.
DISC 2 features: ‘Hippolytos Session Pt. 06’, Hippolytos Session Pt. 07’, ‘Phaedra 2024’, ‘Hippolytos Session Pt. 08’, ‘Happy Ending’, ‘Sorcerer Theme’, ‘You Are Always On Time’ and ‘Dolphin Dance’.
DISC 3 features: ‘Rare Bird’, ‘Continuum’, ‘Los Santos City Map’, ‘Logos (Velvet)’, ‘Portico’, ‘White Eagle’, ‘Raum’ and ‘Phaedra 2022’.
Part of Phaedra’s magic lay in its imperfections: the original sequences were never truly quantised, their timing drifting unpredictably through the Moog’s analogue circuitry. That subtle instability became part of its charm – a human pulse within the machine – yet it long left current bandleader Thorsten Quaeschning intrigued by what a fully realised version might reveal. Now, fifty years later, Phaedrahas been performed fully quantised, each motif beautifully aligned with a crystalline precision previously unheard.
For over five decades, Tangerine Dream has stood as pioneers of electronic sound, shaping the evolution of ambient, film, and synthesiser music. Founded in Berlin in 1967 by Edgar Froese, the group became synonymous with the Berlin School of electronic composition, influencing generations of artists from Jean-Michel Jarre and Depeche Mode to Radiohead and M83. Their vast catalogue spans over a hundred albums, including acclaimed film scores for Sorcerer, Risky Business, and Firestarter, and countless live performances that redefined what electronic music could be on stage. Tangerine Dream remain recognised for their visionary approach to texture, atmosphere and technology.
50 Years Of Phaedra: At The Barbican can be ordered here and you can check out a video trailer for recording here at RAMzine.
