The Electronic Thread

Tangerine Dream - "Ricochet" (1975)

This was my first crack at the Berlin School legends' first live album & it's been a lovely experience too. The record is comprised of two lengthy pieces known as "Ricochet" Parts 1 & 2, neither of which appear on any of Tangerine Dream's studio albums. This is mainly because they were put together in the studio from a variety of recordings of improvised sections from shows that took place in England & France, as well as some additional studio recordings. The result is much less ambient than some of the group's earlier post-krautrock era albums like "Zeit" with piano & electric guitar popping up at times. There's a great energy to this material & you can even find some sections that appear to provide a lot of the blueprint for trance in some of the arpeggiated synthesizers & percussive builds included in part 2. "Ricochet" is well worth seeking out if you have a taste for Berlin School or progressive electronic music in general, even if the themes are a little less obvious due to the experimental nature of the performances.

For fans of Klaus Schulze, Edgar Froese & Redshift.

4/5

I love that album, it is one of the first TD albums I bought, alongside my favourite Rubycon. I was a massive fan of the band back in the 70's and I was lucky enough to catch them live at Manchester Apollo when they were touring their Cyclone album. They had an awesome laser show that really suited their music and made for quite a trippy experience. For all the iterarions of the band since, I think the Froese, Franke, Baumann trio provided the pinnacle of the band's material.

Oh God these guys are wonderful live.  Tangerine Dream is the second key reason I went on prog electronic binges, the first being Vangelis.  Ricochet is a fantastic representation of their atmospheric capabilities.

I love that album, it is one of the first TD albums I bought, alongside my favourite Rubycon.

"Zeit" is my personal favourite with "Rubycon" currently sitting in second place.

Scorn - "Evanescence" (1994)

I bought this classic album on CD back in the day & absolutely adored it. Scorn's third full-length was really the record that properly defined the new "illbient" sound that the duo had pretty much single-handedly created. The three-track run that includes "Dreamscape", "Exodus" & "Night Tide" is absolutely spectacular & would go on to be a career high point. "Evanescence" provides the listener with a tense & largely uncomfortable atmosphere that draws upon some brilliantly put together trip hop beats to numb you into an admittedly pretty twisted yet still fairly cosey 63-minutes of electronic bliss.

For fans of Techno Animal, Godflesh & James Plotkin.

4.5/5

Autechre - "Tri repetae" (1995)

The third full-length from these Manchester IDM legends is probably their most well-known. It's certainly one of their most highly regarded. Autechre sit amongst my very favourite electronic artists & I absolutely adore earlier releases like "Incunabula", "Amber" & "Garbage". While "Tri repetae" is still a very solid record in its own right, it hasn't had quite the same life-changing impact on me to be honest. I think the reason for that is that it champions a glitchier sound with less of an ambient techno component. There are still some outstanding tracks included of course with the incredible ten-minute closer "Rsdio" featuring a sound that reminds me heavily of one of my all-time favourite techno artists in Plastikman. "Leterel" draws to mind past glories too as it gradually builds & draws the listener in before allowing its transcendent main melodic theme to unfurl over the back end of the track. There are a few numbers that are more acceptable than they are enthralling included though too (see "Stud", "Eutow" & "Gnit") & those tend to offset the more classic Autechre tracks to pull "Tri repetae" down below the wonderful records they'd produced over the previous couple of years. I'd still suggest that all IDM afficionados should be across it though as these guys generally sit at the pinnacle of their craft.

For fans of Plaid, Richard Devine & Phoenecia.

4/5

This was my first Autechre release and I shot it into my top 100 IMMEDIATELY.  The balance between catchiness and outright experimentation makes for a surprisingly chill rollercoaster of intrigue and surprises.