Tangerine Dream – 50 Years of Phaedra: At the Barbican (3xLP)

A commemorative concert at London's Barbican in honor of the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking album.

In 1974, "Phaedra" redefined the landscape of electronic music. What began as an experimental session at Richard Branson's Manor Studios in Oxfordshire became a seismic event in modern sound. Tangerine Dream - then consisting of Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Peter Baumann - used the Moog sequencer for the first time and created an album bursting with innovation, mystery and a spirit of discovery with "Phaedra".

Half a century later, Tangerine Dream return to London's Barbican to pay tribute to this groundbreaking work and reinterpret it for a new era. "50 Years Of Phaedra: At The Barbican" captures this transcendent live performance, with the current line-up - Thorsten Quaeschning, Hoshiko Yamane & Paul Frick - reviving the spirit of "Phaedra" with the very instruments that Froese and his cohorts helped develop.

Part of the magic of "Phaedra" lay in its imperfection: the original sequences were never truly quantized, their timing drifting unpredictably through the Moog's analogue circuitry. This subtle instability was part of the charm - a human pulse within the machine - and left current bandleader Thorsten Quaeschning long curious as to what a fully realized version might reveal. Now, fifty years later, Tangerine Dream have revisited the work with the precision that technology once denied them. "50 Years of Phaedra: At The Barbican" is the first time "Phaedra" has been performed fully quantized, with each motif aligned with a crystalline precision previously unheard.

For over five decades, Tangerine Dream have been considered pioneers of electronic sound and have shaped the development of ambient, film and synthesizer music. Founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese in Berlin, the group became synonymous with the "Berlin School" of electronic composition and influenced generations of artists from Jean-Michel Jarre and Depeche Mode to Radiohead and M83. Their extensive catalog includes more than a hundred albums, including acclaimed film scores for "Sorcerer", "Risky Business" and "Firestarter", as well as countless live performances that redefined the meaning of electronic music on stage. Renowned worldwide for their visionary approach to texture, atmosphere and technology, Tangerine Dream remain one of the most innovative and iconic forces in modern music.

This 3LP edition of "50 Years of Phaedra: At The Barbican" is presented on black triple vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and includes an 8-page booklet.