Revision as of 08:39, 17 December 2005 editEndomion (talk | contribs)5,600 editsmNo edit summary← Previous edit |
Latest revision as of 13:30, 30 April 2024 edit undoPrimeBOT (talk | contribs)Bots2,065,232 editsm →top: Task 24: replace template being deleted following a discussionTag: AWB |
(249 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) |
Line 1: |
Line 1: |
|
|
#REDIRECT ] |
|
The '''Berlin School of electronic music''', or just '''Berlin School''', was a development of ] in the ] characterized by soaring electric guitar or synthesizer melodies in high-register accompanied by complex, shifting sequencer bass ]. The lead soloist's warm, human improvisations were counterpoint to the cold, robotic precision of the bassline. Sound effects such as wind, and washes of ] choir, flute, or strings were often added for color. Most works were instrumental, vocals were used sparingly. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
{{Redirect category shell|1= |
|
Vintage Berlin School tracks typically ran about twenty or thirty minutes, filling one side of a vinyl LP. The genre was so thoroughly identified with the long form that a general shift to shorter pieces in the 1980's seemed to herald the death of the movement. After the coming of the ] "retro" artists were no longer limited by the need to flip over a vinyl record. Some newer works run continuously as a single track for almost 80 minutes. |
|
|
|
{{R with history}} |
|
|
|
|
|
{{R with possibilities}} |
|
An outgrowth of ], Berlin School was so named because most of its early practitioners were based out of ]. The genre's identification with "space music" made it distinct from the more industrial or dance-oriented ] which included ], ], ], and ]. Berlin School was a relatively self-contained style that has not had nearly the impact on music in general that ] has had on ], but ], ], and the ] variety of ] have their roots in Berlin School. |
|
|
|
{{R from related word}} |
|
|
|
|
|
}} |
|
== Proto-Berlin School == |
|
|
|
|
|
Berlin School sounds very much like the theme to the UK television show ], which was constructed from tape recordings of oscillators in ] years before the invention of the ]. In ] ] recorded an instrumental titled ''One Of These Days'' for the LP '']'' that sounded very similar to the Dr. Who theme (but used two bass guitars interacting with a tape delay system). Its use of wind and other incidental sound effects foreshadowed (or possibly inspired) the Berlin sound. |
|
|
|
|
|
Former ] drummer ] recorded the track ''Totem'' in 1973 but did not release it until ] in ''Picture Music'' (after Tangerine Dream's seminal '']'' charted well in the ]). ''Totem'' featured resonant synthesizer patches (combined with tape echo) that resembled the sounds produced by his later sequencer work. In ] Tangerine Dream released ''Green Desert'' which they had recorded in ] and left on the shelf like Schulze did. It contained the track "Astral Voyager" which was tentative Berlin School in the vein of "Convention of the 24" from TD's ] LP from ]. ''Green Desert'' therefore (despite some glossy 80's post-production work on the original material) was the first Berlin School recording. |
|
|
|
|
|
== Classic Period == |
|
|
|
|
|
Analog sequencers were used by ] on ]'s ''Baba O'Reilly'' in ] and by ] on ]'s '']'', but the classic era of Berlin School commenced with the release of '']'' by ] in ], their first on ], and closed with '']'' by the same group in ]. Bandmember ] is credited with turning the Modular Moog's control-voltage analog sequencer with its matrix of shorting pins into a live performance instrument and launching the Berlin sound. In ] Tangerine Dream more or less reigned alone with a studio album, '']'', and the live album '']''. |
|
|
|
|
|
''Moondawn'' by ] in ] was his first entry in this genre, joined by ] with '']'' in the same year. Tangerine Dream delivered a studio work, ''Stratosfear'', and the soundtrack to the film ]. |
|
|
|
|
|
In ] ] (Manuel Göttsching) released ''New Age of Earth'', along with ]'s ''Departure from the Northern Wasteland'', and ]' ]. Tangerine Dream toured the United States and released a double album, ''Encore'', with three sides of Berlin School and a side of proto-Ambient. |
|
|
|
|
|
Tangerine Dream drew some fire from fans for resorting to vocals on ]'s ''Cyclone'', but "Madrigal Meridian" (which occupies the entire second half of that disk) is a slab of pure Berlin School similar to the shorter "Frank Herbert" track from ]' classic double LP '']''. ]'s ] relies on the sequencer for more than half of the album. |
|
|
|
|
|
Each artist had a unique signature. Tangerine Dream's extremely complex sequences used a variety of tone colors. Jarre's galloping sequences were heavy on the bass. Michael Hoenig's sequences constantly and steadily changed, resembling some of ]'s minimalist work. Klaus Schulze preferred his sequences to be an octave or two higher than Hoenig's, shorter and more hypnotic. |
|
|
|
|
|
== Latter-Day Berlin School == |
|
|
|
|
|
Between ] and ] Tangerine Dream exhausted most of the possibilites of this genre and began to record more accessible, short-form "new age" tracks for albums such as ''Exit'', ''Le Parc'' and ''Underwater Sunlight''. Jean-Michel Jarre delivered his ultimate sequencer statement with ''Magnetic Fields'' in ] and then began to record rock-oriented tracks that would please more fans in a concert setting. As the technology improved and ] came into the picture, musicians began to see synthesizers as a means to have the sounds of traditional instruments available at the touch of a button. It became apparent that the Berlin sound had arisen from work-arounds to technological limitations that were rapidly disappearing. |
|
|
|
|
|
But some newer artists began to deliberately record in the mode of Berlin School from a genuine affection and budding nostalgia for the genre. In ], five years after Tangerine Dream left the Virgin label, ] released their acclaimed CD ''Moonwind'', perhaps the apex of the genre. The clean picked-bass and synthesizer trills of "Chase the Evening" distilled the Berlin sound to its essence. Even Tangerine Dream continues to send an occasional nod in that direction, such as the outstanding track "Culpa Levis" from ''Dream Mixes 2: TimeSquare'' in ]. Modern interpretations of the 1970's Berlin School sound are created by "retro" artists such as AirSculpture, Dweller at the Threshold, Ken Martin, Radio Massacre International, and Under The Dome. |
|
|
|
|
|
== References == |
|
|
|
|
|
Various contributors, ''All Music Guide to Electronica'', Backbeat Books, San Francisco, 2001. |
|
|
|
|
|
{{electronic-music-stub}} |
|