RAUM

It is incredible to experience how moving and introspective electronic music can be - digging through the archival works of the late Edgar Froese, Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane, and Paul Frick, or the trio comprising the currently-active incarnation of Tangerine Dream, had refined various pieces found sufficiently intriguing both for the musicians and for the listeners (as they might have imagined), and had crafted a stunning seven-piece studio work that dazzlingly reminisces the cosmic explorations of some of the German band's finest classic albums. Of course, the compositions ultimately remain original, with the three experienced musicians giving the archival tapes a refreshing contemporary spin, unsurprisingly placing Tangerine Dream among the most innovative and forward-thinking electronic music acts, well into the 21st century.

The sweeping electric violins and the floaty synth loops and soundscapes introduce lush, expansive and often sublime sonic "paintings", with the band daring to experiment within that well-recognizable framework of many of their previous albums. The influence of IDM and downtempo can be appreciated within the shorter pieces on here, while the two longer suites ('In 256 Zeichen' and the title track 'Raum') evoke the brilliant construction of sounds and nuances, as heard on some of Tangerine Dream's most novel 70s releases. The production and the arrangements on here are simply excellent, with the trio provoking their audience with an audacious album that only outwardly resembles some already-familiar works - in reality, this album seems to be the natural step forward from 'Quantum Gate', with its novel soundscapes and contemporary motifs, it is everything that one might desire from a rejuvenated Tangerine Dream. Pieces like 'Continuum', 'You're Always On Time' and 'What You Should Know About Endings', alongside the longer suites, are undoubtedly colossal, and the entire 'Raum' album is a daring addition to the massive Tangerine Dream catalog.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to A Crimson Mellotron
• Report this review (#3194063)
• Buy TANGERINE DREAM music online with PA partners
• Show all TANGERINE DREAM MP3/Stream
• Go to TANGERINE DREAM page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Raum page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for TANGERINE DREAM related discussions