Phaedra

I am loving the mysterious spacey ambience in this one. There are sounds of dread and uneasy hope, as well as mysterious space birds and intergalactic galloping horses. The title song could have fit well as a secret track to the PS2 Red Screen of Death. That screen was terrifying enough. I reason my criteria for a 5 is if the album made me want to listen to the rest of an artist's discography. I spent the last evening listening to their other works.

With Harness in this. Even the instrumental track wasn't enough to drag it down. Couple of songs I wasn't massively keen on, but too many hits to not be a 5.

For anyone who likes progressive or experimental music, this is a must-listen album. I highly recommend the deluxe version, which includes many additional tracks and remixes, including a couple by Steven Wilson. This album was a huge step forward for electronic music. A good portion of it was created through improvisation, giving it an organic, fluid nature. They used gear like the Moog synthesizer, Mellotron, and sequencers, pushing this equipment to its fullest capacity, considering the limitations of the time. The use of tape manipulation, layering, and other studio techniques added a lot of texture and depth. Overall, the music is trance-like and euphoric, with an experimental edge and a lot of color and texture that adds to its atmospheric, ambient tone.

This felt like a spiritual awakening

5 5 5 Listened whilst reading Electronic Sound magazine ironically. synth heaven, the tue meaning behind a concept album - truly takes you on a journey from start to finish. One of my all time favourite ambient albums. An album for reading to on a Sunday afternoon

got the legend soundtrack when i was 13. i love them.

On Spotify, the "deluxe" version has the original songs as tracks 1-4 on Disc 1. So, that is what I will listen to. I associate sequencers with the 80's, not 70's. So this is pretty out there for 1974. This is the same year as Bennie & The Jets and Hooked On a Feeling. The title track sounds very space-like and like the soundtrack to Alien or 2001: A Space Odyssey or something. It really is quite expansive and it is amazing to think this was done so early in the technology. Oddly enough the record deal for this album was given by none other than Richard Branson. What a character! The windy sounds being created by the synths as well are so cool. I also really love how much stereo was a novelty back then - as layers of the music come in and out they may appear on the left or right and move around in space as well. Definitely an album to listen to with headphones in a quiet place where you can focus on the experience. I really enjoyed this album. It is ambient, avant-garde and put together like a classical piece. It is amazing that the background for the album was improvising with the Moog and seeing what came out. The organ parts in "Movements of A Visionary" are amazing. Easy 5 stars!

What was it like being the first person to try a mushroom? What was it like being the first person to figure out how to make wine? Dunno. But I do know what it's like being the (probable) first person to listen to this album while being totally sober. It's a trip. A sonic mindjourney.

Honestly mindblowing. Really enjoyed this one

Back in 1973 modular synthesisers and sequencers were expensive, complicated and temperamental things. For this album, the band spent their advance on buying the latest technology available from Moog and then had to spend hours each day tinkering with it before they could start recording. Even when you finally got the sounds you were trying for, the analogue capacitors in the machines would start overheating and affecting the output in unpredictable ways. This can be heard on the title piece, a seventeen minute improvisation in the studio, where the sound starts to go a little wonky towards the end. The end result is still something magical though - it has a warmth and random charm that is missing from modern digital synths and production technology, and the music points the way towards things like ambient and even acid house and dub sounds from decades in the future from when this was made. Genuine, pioneering musical genius. Synth-tastic!

It's funny to have a Tangerine Dream album after Nightmares on Wax... Because it is somehow in the same very broad category (chill electronic music) but Phaedra is much more exciting to listen to compared to Smokers Delight. Even more so when checking when it was recorded. This is the kind of genre-defining records I came to discover when starting this project.

This ROCKS!!! WOW

A lot of the truly influential records on this list sound familiar because other bands approached the sound or concepts. This still stands out. More of a mood than actual music.

So this is where all the massage music emanated from.

Woah

Massive breakthrough album for Tangerine Dream on Virgin Records at around the same time as Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. This is the first of theirs to not feel entirely harsh and spacey and have a little semblance of softness and melody. Side-long opener title track is a mini-masterpiece, very ambient, wonderful, proggy, psycheldic and serene before it glides into a siren-blaring space station meltdown situation. Second side is sketchier and not quite as magisterial but overall still a class work.

This is a without X, you wouldn't have A, B, C album, where A, B and C are equally fantastic.

A whole world of sound.

Hey this was great! Even though I had to search it out on YouTube I really enjoyed it. Great moody synth stuff

Bweep, fwip, wooooo, waaaa, weeeee, ah ah ah ah, szzzzz, zeep! Really phenomenal stuff I want to listen to this in the cube at Virginia tech I need full immersion this is so good. Definitely a correct vibe album or it’s a complete miss but playing Superliminal and listening to this was the correct one.

Super synthy. Loved it.

I always thought this was some kind of second-tier 60s jam band. I must have been mixing them up with a similarly fruit-titled band. Moby Grape? Anyway. This is great. In fact this kind of music is literally the soundtrack of 1980s B-movies which is my shit. Their wikipedia page is way more complex than I ever would have imagined. 127 albums and several dozen members. May 18, 2025 is the day I finally understood Tangerine Dream.

Really incredible synth soundscapes on this record

very strange listen but enjoyable listening on drugs would be wacky crazy time this came out in the 70s holy moly , devil work

Pioneering synth work results in cosmic music. Grossartig, visionary, scary and beautiful.

Not mad about this one. Would listen to this one again for sure. Just non stop instrumental gold

Beautiful, interesting, emotional, stressfull, intense, ahead of its time.

Plays like a sci-fi horror film soundtrack both disarming and engaging.

An equation: Throbbing Gristle + Actual Talent - Throbbing Headache - Butane Huffing = Tangerine Dream (at least this record). Plus brownie points for working on GTA V. Never heard of these guys before outside of their work on GTA V (which was great). The more I got through this record the more I enjoyed it. Fuck me, what an album. I was engaged the whole way through. I kind of got sad as I got towards the end of this, I didn't want it to stop. Something about this record just itches a part of my brain I didn't know I needed scratched. Crazy to think this came out in 1974, sounds like something you'd hear in a horror video game from 2010. Definitely not something that meshes with today's ADHD riddled society. Munch on a few dexies before jumping into this one and you'll have a good time.

Automatic 5, it's just blissfully delicious for my ears.

This stuff is catnip to me - there are whole genres of weirdness spawned from here, and I love almost all of them. A resounding YES to scifi background music! 🚀👽🛸 Fave track - "Phaedra" let's say, but you may as well listen to the whole thing!

Love it! I’ve never heard it before, but I really liked it. Would recommend if you like ambient music.

Incredibly calming. I can listen to this all day.

It was a bit difficult to find the album on Spotify. The link on the website led to a shortened version. In my search for alternative versions on other albums, I luckily came across the deluxe version. After reading the first comments, I was a little skeptical. I love Krautrock. Back then, groundbreaking things were created in Germany. But even for me, some of the genre's aberrations are too weird and I can hardly follow them. It wasn't like that with this album. Even though Klaus Schulze hasn't been a member of Tangerine Dream for 5 years, the music still sounds very much like him. Or is it the other way around? In any case, I'm glad to have come across the album as part of this project. 5/5

Das Album oszilliert zwischen verschiedenen Rhythmen, Taktarten, Tonarten: Beinahe arhythmische abgespacete flächige Synthesizer-Klangteppiche wandeln sich zu schnellen elektronischen Rhythmen. Von einer Tonart glissandieren sie in eine andere und plötzlich wandelt sich die Musik zu tonlosen Geräuschen, von denen man nicht weiss, ob sie verzogene menschliche Stimmen, Atemgeräusche oder Naturklänge wie Vogelzwitschern oder das Rauschen eines Flusses sind. Die neuen Motive, Rhythmen und Klänge schleichen sich immer unbemerkt in die Musik und steigern sich so lange, bis sie selbst der Klangteppich sind, in den sich neue Motive schleichen. Sehr spannend zum Zuhören.

kinda cool

I love this style of music. I could listen to this forever.

It kinda bums me a bit that electronica has ended up being such a low rated genre for me. I mean, before yesterday, before I gave PSYCHOCANDY a 1, it was number three in my bottom three genres. Only post-punk and (surprisingly) world music beat it out. And it just gets me because that's not even remotely close to how I feel about electronic music. I love it a lot, actually! Like, yeah, of course there's Daft Punk, but I also have a good love for Moog music and a lot of synthesizer work and electronic ambient soundscapes... I'm all for all of that kinda stuff. I suppose I've just been getting too many bad draws: those drum n' bass albums, MAXINQUAYE, FEVER RAY, KALA... All boring albums (or annoying, in KALA's case) that I couldn't help but give a 2 or lower, really bringing the average down against the fewer 5's I've given to Fatboy Slim and AUTOBAHN... I just don't find it entirely fair to 'em, y'know? So, y'know, I thank the powers above that this album isn't another bad draw. This album consists of long, ambient, space-y excursions, and oh, I mess with it so hard. Just lying back on this soft bed of stars and letting these beautiful sounds carry me across the cosmos to wherever they may. Believe me, it's absolutely not for people who want things to... Y'know, happen. To my ears, it's an album for relaxing. Letting these sounds fill up your mind, pushing out all the bad stuff in the process. Close your eyes and don't even think. Just let the sound envelope you; wrap you up tight. And more new age meditation jumbo like that. But you get what I'm talking about — that's just what this album means to and does for me. It's music I'd put on to calm down or focus. And in that lane, jeez, not since I heard the music Brian Eno did for airports. So, hooray, another 5 for an electronica album. The average goes back up and the genre gets further away from where it doesn't belong. Not that placement or averages really matter, anyway. Like I said, they don't reflect how I truly feel about electronica. And certainly, the 3.47 it currently has doesn't reflect how I feel about this album at all. All I need to do is turn off my mind, relax, and float down stream. 'Coz these numbers — they're all in the mind, y'know. They're nothing to get hung about, and nothing's gonna change my views about electronic music. (Lotta random Beatles quotes at the end there, goodness. Point is: this is a 5. Big recommendation if you're like me and love ambient music. I'd've maybe hoped for a spookier album to end October with, but, hey, I can't complain about what my group was given.)

I’m at a 5. I mean, listen; if we’re weighing 5’s next to each other, this is at the low end of the 5’s I’ve given. It’s not doing anything so deeply impressive to actually put it up next to, say, Nevermind by Nirvana or Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. It’s a 5 on its own merits, for its genre, and for my experience with it. I just really fucking enjoyed this. Yes, one may disparage this as “beep boop music”, but I think it’s more than that – maybe it’s just because I’m a big sci-fi head, but I haven’t really heard an electronica soundscape so deeply capture the feeling of adventure, mystery, and ambience in this specific style so efficiently and effectively. I’m not saying this is easy to make, but it does a lot without really using up too much; a lot of what’s here is based in simple windy synths, panning tricks, volume tricks to add the illusion of depth, and the occasional Moog melody distorted to hell and back. It’s a really fast 37 minutes, despite how slow it felt in the moment. I walked around while listening to this album, and even my walking just felt more deliberate, more focused; it could’ve been because of how attentive I was to the soundscape, but I’d like to imagine it’s because it just felt more like space to me, with that sense of adventure really getting into my brain and actively working. It’s an album that’s deeply, deeply enhanced with headphones in, and it’s enhanced even further if you close your eyes – it’s an audio journey, and for me, about as effective as an ASMR video might be in terms of eliciting a specific feeling. Hell, ASMR just barely works for me, but this really fucking worked for me, so it might be even better for someone else. I thought it was a beautifully crafted set of compositions, and I can feel this album’s general influence on so much of modern ambient music. Not quite to the degree of, say, an Eno album, but something relatively close. It’s an enjoyable 5 if you let yourself melt into the soundscape – it’s certainly no less than a 3, at the very worst.

🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊🍊

I simultaneously love and hate the term 'Krautrock' Mostly because it has very little meaning and it's a fun word to say. This is an album you'd listen to while standing in line for a vintage space-themed rollercoaster that runs in the dark. Or, also the soundtrack you'd hear while lying face-up in a salt-bath surrounded by expansive darkness.

An ambient electronic album, with a fair amount of structure. A very pleasant listen.

exceptional

I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this. I love it! Spacey, surreal, alien, and experimental instrumentals. Sci-fi/Horror movie soundtrack kinda vibe. Spent most of my life passing on this thinking it was adult contemporary yoga-mom stuff.

Incredible. Exciting, important, cosmic, futuristic… Highly recommended.

To really understand the impact of this album and this group is a mix of you-had-to-be-there and you-have-to-listen-to-a-ton-of-electronica (and a few other things). It helps a lot that the album is akin to a cloud gently letting sunbeams through.

5/5

Nice ambient

Really nice album. Nice atmospheric sound.

Durante minha escuta ao álbum entrei num profundo estado de concentração e de meditação, tive vontade de não fazer mais nada a não ser olhar para nada enquanto espero os 17 minutos e 39 segundos da primeira música passar. Também senti calma e ansiedade em diferentes momentos do álbum, mas nunca fiquei entediado ou irritado. É uma experiência sonora. Talvez não seja o artista que mais vou ouvir, mas definitivamente toda vez que ouvir será uma experiência marcante no dia.

This was an AMAZING experience. At first I was having trouble with it, and then it just clicked. Absolutely fantastic. 5 stars.

Ambient mellotron music? I’m a fan!

Truly an innovative band. Love that old-school synth sound, they create some gorgeous landscapes on here, just takes you away and before you know it the whole thing is already over. Ambient stuff like this isn't everyone's thing for sure, but when you can start to enjoy music like this, it hits a spot nothing else does.

Great meditating music

Exploring the sonic boundaries of electronica while always staying listenable. Essential. Yes, I said "sonic boundaries."

Nuts, incredible work

Clean W for team continental. Twenty years later a bunch of brits who grew up with this kind of music would start making a lot of drum & bass techno albums, then 30 years after that, I would get very bored by most of those while listening for this project. For some reason, the French and the Germans are just extremely good at making this kind of thing.

Electronica's baby steps, so to speak. Froese, Franke, and Baumann created a unique experience for this time, the early '70s. No wonder this was their commercial breakthrough.

April 18th, 2024 HL: “Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares”, title track, “Sequent C” A challenging listen does not mean bad. In this case, ‘challenging’ means ‘too repetitive for a close listen, too spooky to be in the background’. Yet I’ve now listened to Phaedra twice, and I have their followup Rubycon queued up, so I think I love this. If you wish the “weird part” in a Pink Floyd album (Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, DSOTM) was its own fully-realized album, then you might too Upon finishing Rubycon, there are very similar vibes but I actually preferred Phaedra’s more sinister overtones. Rubycon was a chiller experience though (or am I just getting more used to Tangerine Dream?)

just enjoying beep-boop music with passion This album and an MRI scan on the same day … what?

wow

I know Tangerine Dream thanks to the movie Legend. Their score is beautifully woven into the film, and it's the only version of the movie I'll watch (there's another version that has a generic orchestra & it's just no good). I loved listening to Phaedra. It's eerie and lovely at the same time. Along with Kraftwerk, Sparks, Eno, and Giorgio Moroder, TD were fundamental in influencing all electronic & synth music that followed. This reminded me a bit of Eno's Music for Airports with its soundscapes. I'll admit that it wasn't an easy listen, but music shouldn't always be an easy experience. Beautifully done & I'll definitely revisit. 4.5 stars.

On Phaedra Tangerine Dream call on all the wonders of the cosmos and the myths of old to create a truly breathtaking piece of electronic music history.

It suprises me how many people dislike this or find it boring. Horses for courses I guess. I like this genre and find it very relaxing and meditative but then I'm not a young gad fly flitting about on shiny new things.

Perfect soundscape album. It took me ages to discover it but when I did was the perfect time. It is really hard to describe the effect this album had on me. After it was suggest led by a friend, I found myself playing it on repeat, lost in a world of sound. Best of all it shut out all the noise from the world and I was able to win back some focus I had lost.

Soooooo fuckin good, good to study or vibe to

Although there are other TD albums I prefer to this one, Phaedra is still awesome. I’ll happily have this on in the background while at work or chilling at home.

This is a proper bit of me me this

One of my favorite albums to chill to.

When I first started listening to this album, I didn’t notice that it came out in 1974. I was blown away when I saw that this album wasn’t from the 90s and later. My god is this album ahead of its time. The sequencer driven spacey progressive ambient music has been incredibly influential. Elements of this music can be heard in just about every genre now, from rock to hip hop. The music is just so expansive, yet it is all encompassing and fills the space well.

The link in Apple Music took me to Phaedra Revisited which was re-recorded by Tangerine Dream in 2005. Be sure to seek out the original 1974 release - it's much better!

meh

Layers and layers of mesmerizing sounds from legendary pioneers. Very much of its time, when everything about electronic music still needed to be discovered. And yet also nothing like what came after in that overall genre or umbrella style. Plus, one can still potentially trip or chill out to this today, just as hippies did in 1974. Tangerine Dream's early output is a little like good wine. It ages well. In a way, the retro-sci-fi mood *Phaedra* can trigger in you is even more impactful today, because it is now infused with the sort of "future nostalgia" very rare acts have been able to reach since (I'm talking about Boards Of Canada here, *not* about Dua Lipa, obviously 😉). The two other gems Tangerine Dream released after this one (*Rubycon* and *Stratosfear*) were admittedly lmore melodic and less "abstract", comparatively speaking. But none had *Phaedra*'s sheer conceptual power and unique atmosphere. Hence its direct inclusion in my own list. Number of albums left to review: 689 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 152 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 71 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 87

This is pretty wonderful. I searched for a copy on vinyl when I got this, but couldn't find one. The hunt will continue.

Hypnotisant au possible, j’adore et je vais m’enfiler leur discographie.

Proto electronica! Whew the men in the comments on YouTube def paint a picture of the impact of this album. 4.5 stars for innovation/creativity/protean influence, rounding up because it’s not 60-70s rock!!

Truly marvellous groundbreaking electronic music

This. All day.

Still a fantastic album, I do not care too much about the albums before Phaedra (probably a mistake) but everything they made between 74-83 is great (just like the Edgar Froese solo albums from that period). Needs to be played loud and on a good hi-fi system.

Cosmic Rock. Pretty trippy electronic music. I could listen to this on repeat forever.

I really like this music. I‘d love listening to it while on a trip 😉.

Aika jumittavaa ja ambienttia, toimii taustalla varmasti kovin hyvin. Tarvii ottaa tarkempaan ihmettelyyn sopivassa välissä

Impeccable ambient, spaced out

Very enjoyable. Surprisingly modern sounding. You could here this music in 90’s ambient music.

how has this existed for 50 years, this sounds like it was made this year. wow!! not my fav genre but im in awe of how timeless this is

there's something profound about this spooky spooky sound...

Such a future forward record. Released 2 decades before it was made. Incredible to hear it made so far back.

Note, just the first 4 tracks on Tidal! The whole thing is really unique, its wanky but I loved it. I enjoy the bird noises

I hadn't heard of these guys - but really enjoyed this album and will come back for more dreaming and tangerine-ing!

Was thinking this can't be 1974?

Class! Like something of blade runner. (What do you mean you've never seen blade runner) Love atmospheric ambient weird space music. It is limited to a time and place tho. Best in a dark room with a cosmic light projector on. A joint always helps to.

Some of the best background music you'll hear.

I would listen to it again, it was some nice chill music to listen to.

Impressed at when this was made, very dreamy/nightmarey. Not my kind of music but still appreciated it.

Fun, but huh? I mean it’s cool lol but the album cover is insane

If you close your eyes you can almost see the blinking lights of the analog sequencers. Never has electronic music felt both more tangible and cosmic.

somehow cold and cozy at the same time

I guess once upon a time the sounds that Tangerine Dream made were other worldly. These albums still have a reputation as most enjoyed by drug users but over the years, these sounds have more and more become associated with sci-fi soundtracks and the like. Still an enjoyable ride.

Freaky man.

This is may be how David Lynch inner voice sound like

As someone who listened to a ton of 90s/00s porcupine tree in high school, the influence was palpable. I thought the textures were quite impressive, and I needed to go back a few times and heard something different each time. 4/5

I feel like some of my ratings have become slightly unfair... If I decided to rate every album based on my opinion of the album/genre alone, very few would be above 3 stars. I think I need to start rating these for what they are and what they intend to be. For example, this album doesn't intend to pull me in with repetitive hooks or a chorus or a driving bass line, and it isn't going to lose any marks for that. It is meant to be an electronic instrumental album full of new sounds, and that is how I am going to rate it. Would I listen to it again? Probably not... but did it achieve what it set out to achieve? Of course! This was quite a relaxing feel, and some of it was genuinely really lovely to listen to. I haven't really delved into this style before, but I've got to say, it isn't awful by any means. Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares and Sequent 'C' were actually genuinely beautiful pieces that I was surprised I enjoyed, especially with the style of this work. I usually find it really hard to connect in any way to music that either isn't in your native language or instrumental music that doesn't seem to have much going on, but this, however, was actually quite lovely. Favourites: Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares Sequent 'C'

Some pretty far out stuff for the mid 70’s. Masterful use of relatively unexplored synthesizers at the time make this all sound so cutting edge for it’s year of release. I can listen to something like a Rival Consoles album from our current decade and point to some similarities to Phaedra. The opening title track kinda has it all; suspense, melody, meditative progression, great foundational atmosphere. It’s not just that it sounds like a sci-fi thriller score, it’s that it is composed in such a fashion that you feel like you’re the subject in that sci-fi thriller. Prolonged and calculated composition choices, like the change in sounds just after 10 minutes into the song. Man, this could induce a bad trip if you were on the wrong substances. White noise swells were an endearing, more classical touch to open up “Mysterious Semblance”. A song which, with the fidelity of its recording technology, gives a very cool sonic texture to those string sounds that take over the song in the early going. Funny to think how this track has tropes that would carry over into the dance music of the 2000’s and beyond. Those white noise swells are so Avicii, the modulation of the phaser/flanger effect about 3 minutes in is so Daft Punk. By these definitions, Tangerine Dream were way ahead of their time. “Movements Of A Visionary” didn’t grab me until its second half, but the dueling synths made it worth the wait. They landed the song with a care and attentiveness I wasn’t expecting during the last minute. “Sequent C” though. That’s where the money is made. WOW. A song that reminds me a bit of Aphex Twin’s “#3” in that it’s echoey and evocative pallet makes you forget you’re listening to programmed electronic sounds. It’s more like you’re placed in some sort of deserted cave where ancient creatures gathered for alien religion worship. A beautiful, solemn, surprisingly purposeful song. Even though it’s the shortest, it’s easily my favorite. I love that this album is way the hell out in the deep, experimental corner left field, but is also made tactfully enough to still have some conventional touchstones in its sounds (whirly moog synths here, swampy creature sound effects there) to reel the audience in on an active listen - which I recommend you do if you get the chance. I can’t blame people for losing patience with Phaedra, but if you give it your full attention it pays off in spades. VERY cool record, 4/5

First electronic album on this list the first song is a 17 minute instrumental Instrumental electronic pretty good Probably not going to add to my playlist pretty good

Ni en la nota más mala me pondría este. Un buen álbum corte ambiente igual, no se como definirlo pero me gusta

The first track was both relaxing—since there were no words or lyrics—and unsettling because of its atmosphere of loneliness and alienation. The rest of the album felt very calming yet exciting, like stepping into a new, strange world

I may return to this in the future. It's one of the smaller 4's I've given, but there's some interesting stuff going on here even if it isn't the most refined ambiant yet Standouts Sequent 'C' 4/5

🎧Groundbreaking and awesome. 4 stars.

This was one of those pretty cool discoveries from this epic list. Something I wouldn't have ordinarily listened to and not my usual go-to music. But something about it was hypnotic and haunting and it's been played a few times. 4 stars 🌟

I thought I don't like ambient music, but I like ambient music like THIS.

alluring!

yeahhh

To think that this comes out the same year as Kraftwerk's Autobahn. Two sides of the electronic music coin. I think the album is astounding, if not hard to listen to at points.

listened to again genuinely don't know how i rated this a 3 before it's beautiful

Reminds me of Ummagumma

Pretty interesting early Synthetic soundscape

8/10

This made really great background music while I worked. It is ambient, but also creepy. I love creepy music. High 4.

Clearly very influential and groundbreaking, it's pretty amazing to think this came out over 50 years ago. The first track is a bit of a slog and gives the impression that the whole album will be inaccessibly cerebral, but the middle two tracks offer some more softer edged ambient sounds to get immersed in. Just don't go in expecting anything resembling traditional song structure.

Reminded me of some good games, generally it’s rather chill, maybe something you listen to to relax or sleep.

Heard of the band through the song in risky business and that song is awesome. This predates that. It's not a easy listen, well it is If it's background it is, but it really deserves more than that. Find a quiet place, relax and listen in headphones. It awesome! Not as robotic and cold as kraftwork. Not so sure I'll listen to this again, but glad I did.

This sounds to me like a more substantive version of the ambient albums Brian Eno did—there's more to this than some of those. I think this predates Eno's stuff anyway. I like this fine, but suspect it needs multiple listens. "Movements of a Visionary" stood out for me. 3.5, rounding up.

8/10… ambient / cosmos trance / *1974

83/100. Quite a lovely ambient record. It pulses and slowly oozes with dreamy, atmospheric sounds that feel both distant and immersive at the same time. The sequencing and repetition create a hypnotic effect that really pulls you in.

This was lovely. Some of it was a little jarring, a lot of it was relaxing and densely layered with lovely texture and atmosphere. If Jean Michelle Jarre hadn't released his first album a year before I might have thought he was influenced by them. Probably both ways. Like a cross between JMJ and Kraftwerk.

Interesting, and I can definitely see the influences this album had!

I respect Steve Wilson more than most musicians. If he says this is so important that I need to remaster it, then god damn it I gotta give it a fair shake. Despite it not being 100% in my wheelhouse of electronic music. It satiates a love of ambient, analog sound. Wayyyyyy ahead of its time. Cohesive sci-fi futuristic themes lend beautifully to the imagination. I invision myself meandering the halls of a space station on a foreign planet late at night, after stumbling on a huge secret thats gonna upset central control. Taking into consideration my bias towards other electronic subgenres I will put this at 3. Worth a listen. Respect Steve Wilson, he's a professional tastemaker and rarely wrong.

Starwars ass dune ass halo ass type beat

i actually really liked this

Very creepy and cinematic. I like it!!

I actually really like that this album is only 2 songs long and the first one is really cool. Another album I would love to see in a physical setting like an art exhibit or aquarium or something.

Nije ništa spec, bukv muzika iz light art muzeja, ima nekoliko kompozicija koje su bile kul, prijale su mi dok sam pešačio po snegu 3,5/4

I was surprised with how much i liked Phaedra. This was a pretty early player in the electronic music so i thought it was just gonna be your typical bleepy-bloopy electronic album that was so prevalent around this time. But what i ended up getting was something that was hauntingly beautiful. Each of the four songs on offer had an absolutely beautiful sound to them which made them nearly dream-like if they weren't so haunting. This is some absolutely perfect music to put in the background especially while you are reading because music like this really can add to whatever story is being read. This may just be simple background music but it is really good background music. Best Song: Phaedra Worst Song: Sequent "C"

I love ambient music, so it wasn't surprising for me that I liked this so much. What surprised me was the fact that the album is from 1974. I've been attributing the creation of this style to Brian Eno with 'Ambient 1', but this came 5 years earlier, so that was cool to learn that I was wrong. Anyway, this album is fantastic. It starts with the behemoth that is the song "Phaedra'", a 17:39 super immersive epic that feels like exploring some massive scenes inside a spaceship full of little and noisy machines. The synths in the background create these absolutely huge and sinister atmospheres. They also play little noises and some melodies that helps the track not feel too monotonous and even give a sense of intensity and urgency from time to time. Once reached the second half, it gets way more pacific, but without giving up the atmosphere or all of the tension. The following track, "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" is a very beautiful piece that made me feel like dancing in space, thanks to how atmospheric and wonderful the synths sounded. Next is "Movement of a Visionary", a song that feels like a way less immersive version of the first track. It has a similar tense feeling, but that doesn't hit as hard as the other one. Finally, the album ends with "Sequent C'", a very brief, minimalist and pretty piece with a touch of melancholia that ends the album in a very nice note. Overall, I think this album was impressive, specially for its time, and it is something that I will be coming back to get inspiration.

It reminds me of Pink Floyd without David Gilmour’s guitar. I usually need that. But it’s actually pretty great anyway

this is what ambient should be. while i dont particularly enjoy this type of music, this album at least manages to stay interesting. it almost sounds like a video game soundtrack

Suggested scenarios/environments to listen to this album in: - being abducted by aliens - traveling through space on a spaceship - in a submarine - solving a mystery - in a planetarium - staring at a lava lamp while really high - staring at the stars while really high - being really high - deep in the jungle - doing work on a moody day - Searching for ghosts I was a bit annoyed at first with the song lengths and repetitiveness, but this grew on me by the end. Sometimes its nice for the song to be long and a bit repetitive. Ahead of its time, and the history behind the making of this adds to it for me. 7.5/10 but hitting it with a 4

Wasn't sure what to expect but really enjoyed this album. It's very relaxing with a bit of sci-fi thrown in.

from what i could listen to, this was weird n cool

Creepy, weird, retro futuristic electronic ambient. Sounds organic despite being electronic, which I love.

I must be weird but I like it.

Pretty trippy

This sounds like electro music from the 90's. I am absolutely baffled this came out in the 70's. It was a vibe. More like background music when you're playing a TTRPG than anything, but still something I could definitely see myself enjoying again.

YES! I've been meaning to listen to this one for a while! Yes, I know, it's one of their most acclaimed effort, but somehow I haven't gotten to it. I grew up with Stratosfear and Force Majeure and heard some of their other stuff, so I'm looking foward to this. This was great! It's his own little world really this record, weny by super quick! Most people on here are not gonna vibe with this I would think haha Best: Phaedra Mysterious Semblance At the Strand of Nightmares (haha quite a title this is)

Really enjoyed the music here. Very pretty and easy listening.

The beginning of electronica. Ahead of its time yet still has a retro feel. Worthy addition to the list.

C'est bon, on pourrait presque croire que ça veut dire quelque chose. 3.75 étoiles

Trippy, spacey, atmospheric soundscape that I wasn't expecting. I dug this but don't think I'd listen to it again.

Very spacious

4 out of 5. Cliché but this album took me on a journey through space and time.

Fairly good one

Very atmospheric. A bit spooky. I liked it. I would put it on in the background again.

tyskerne kan virkelig finde ud af deres synths

One of the albums that got me into electronic music! I remember listening to it a few years back and being entranced by the mind-bending textures and heavy atmosphere. It's been a while since I listened to it, so I was curious to see how it stands over time, and it is still very good. The vibes, the textures, the progressions all come together into this lengthy, impressive monster of an album

Beautiful, ethereal, foundational stuff, and I'm happy to give Phaedra its flowers. But also, Tangerine Dream apparently created over 40 albums (it's unclear if that includes their many scores), and I struggle to tell them apart.

Dig it. I'll listen to some other stuff of theirs. It's like a 40 min opening to a Pink Floyd song.

With the right mood and the right moment, this album is a gem. Compared to other TD releases, though, I find it works better as background. those others pull me in to sit, concentrate, and really listen.

I imagined myself as the Snowman in The Snowman throughout listening. Transcendental

I really liked it.

Accomplishes what it sets out to do. Not really daily listening material though.

really good and transfixing I think I might listen to it at work today

I lowkey loved this. It feels very stranger things which I love.

Fuck dit vind ik dus geweldig. Na eerdere krautrock echt top te hebben gevonden ben ik er wel achter gekomen dat lange, uitgerekte experimentele elektronische muziek ontzettend mijn ding is. Tangerine Dream klinkt voor mij nu al dus als een match made in heaven. Phaedra begint dromerig, maar word steeds een stukje duisterder en vooral ene heel stuk spacier. En dan richting het einde, ben je op een andere planeet. Hoor je dierengeluiden en een soort engelen zingen. Is dit een review van het hele album? Nope, dit was slechts het eerste nummer! Wel meteen het langste nummer ook van het album, maar het zet in elk geval de toon. Niet elk nummer of elke phrase is even sterk. Moet ik er eerlijk bij zeggen. Op zn best is Phaedra(het album) prachtig en innemend, maar er zijn ook stukken bij die een beetje zwakjes voorbij gaan. Alles bij elkaar heb ik me absoluut vermaakt bij dit album en sluit ik niet uit het vaker aan te zetten. FAVO: Phaedra, Movements of a visionary

This was really good, I had listened to some Tangerine Dream a few times before and this really complimented my focus for this afternoon. I ended up listening to the 2.5 hours 2018 Steve Wilson remastered version of this album and enjoyed it. 4 stars for me.

that was some pretty cool spacey shit. I enjoyed.

Works for me.

I love a good bit of ambient and electronic music, like Oval, Boards of Canada, and OPN, so I absolutely see how this was important as an influence to these genres. I definitely feel like it has to have influenced game soundtracks like in The Talos Principle or Myst as well. Super bizarre and anemoic, and I love it for that.

This was a very neat listening experience and something I would not have normally ever heard of. I found it to be quite a relaxing experience. My favorite track was Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares. It was a very beautiful track.

my introduction into more cosmic rock. it brings you into a musical atmosphere that leaves you room to imagine the space you’re soaring through or random shapes and abstract ideas. I throughly enjoyed this one.

This is like if “On The Run” was a full album instead of a song. Got this on wax, always gets lots of play around spooky season.

Oooo yes this good stuff right up my alley these days. Feels like I’m sailing through space

Surprised how much I liked it! Several years ahead of its time. Definitely an influence on electronic music and soundtracks.

Beautiful! Creepy!

Lovely atmospheric tunes to drift away

Wow that was great. ethereal, spacey and just kind of mesmerising to be honest and that’s without any crazy headphones which I’m sure would have made it even better. The sequencer and synthesisers create such a trance like sound which is further encapsulated by the random sound effects from what I believe is a mellotron and a keyboard for some parts. It feels alien-like as well for mostly side B with the wispy voices which almost sound like wind, sometimes it sounds like being lost in a blizzard which kind of fits what I interpret the album cover (like an imprint in the snow). I’m not used to ambient albums too much but this was excellent. Favourites: all. Overall, 8/10.

Frickelicious

I got into this after it was featured on Black Mirror: Jabberwocky. It looks like Meddle. It sounds a bit like Meddle. But it’s not as good as Meddle. Good background music for writing along to, though!

Wow! Om vi var besvikna på Fausts nonsenskraut tidigare får vi här andra änden av krautspektrat. Västtysk experimentalistisk ambient. Lager som sakta och mjukt vecklar ut sig och tvinnas i varannn, musik som tar tid på sig. Texturer som brottas med varann i en kosmisk dans, det är oerhört vackert. Lyssna på inledningen av spår två t.ex. det är nästan nåt andligt. Åsså det varma analoga soundet som smeker en, bäddar in en. Aldrig sövande eller stillastående, bara musik som långsamt förflyttar sig och försynt kräver uppmärksamhet. Jag har förståelse för att alla inte gillar det här eller möjligen inte förstår det. Det är kanske inte för alla (?). Men rent genremässigt är det närpå ett mästerverk. Fantastiskt! En fyra som snuddar vid femman

Overall really interesting and worth a revisit (no pun intended on the note below). It's a bit airy, so its easy to zone out and miss some details, but it really fits in the cosmic vein of Pink Floyd and other spacey music from the early 70s. BEWARE: The "Phaedra Revisited" album that is linked to on Apple Music is NOT THE ORIGINAL ALBUM. I found the original recordings under "In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979", the first 4 tracks.

Not sure what it has to do with getting hitched to Theseus but it was quite nice.

Excellent

It helped me achieve complete focus. I was listening at work and managed to get through a lot of routine tasks without getting distracted by my phone. Highly recommended!

Very good, oddly fitting for a commute. I don't know if I would listen to it again but I enjoyed my time for sure.

Super moody / ambient tracks - very groovy

Trippy

If I'm going to pull out something ambient, this will be high on my list of options. But there are other ambient albums I prefer. 4 stars.

This my shit my guy

Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra is tough to rate because it’s more of an ambient journey than a traditional album. It doesn’t work blasting in a truck at the beach—I tried—but in the right setting, like lying in the grass with a bowl watching a laser show, it could feel like the greatest music ever made. What’s impressive is how difficult this was to create in 1974, long before computers made electronic music accessible. Every sound was carefully shaped from analog gear - making this album was arguable much harder than the classic rock albums at this time. It deserves a 5, but for me, in the wrong environment, it’s a solid 3. Will settle at a 4 and possibly revisit later.

A good album, I liked Movements Of A Visionary the most.

Nice

I have seen Thief so I know their stuff works great as a soundtrack. But I really enjoyed the atmosphere even without a film to accompany it.

Nog meer achtergrondmuziek voor Bassie en Adriaan, zo te horen. Ik kan het op zich goed hebben, maar het waait verder nogal onopgemerkt voorbij. Prima om een paar keer te draaien, maar uit jezelf zet je toch iets op wat iets meer opvalt. Kraftwerk of Jean-Michel Jarre of zo.

Duitsers en digitale muziek...altijd bijzonder... In dit geval levert het dromerige onderwatermuziek. Ik kan de jaren '90 varianten hiervan, zoals van bijvoorbeeld Moby, vaak moeilijk verteren. Dit komt echter al uit het begin van de jaren '70 en lijkt mij een voorloper van velen. Dat is altijd eng. Want vaak moet muziek eerst wat evolueren, voordat het acceptabel wordt. Maar in dit geval gaat dat niet op. Ik vind dit veel prettiger luisteren dan latere artiesten die dit ook doen. De muzikale lijn is nog vrij makkelijk te volgen, waardoor het net iets minder vaag is dan bijvoorbeeld de aangehaalde Moby.

Better than Coldplay

I love some retro-futuristic synth noodling space music

Dreamy, hypnotic.

Loved this, held my attention from the first minute

#DÍA 20: 1001 Discos Que Hay Que Escuchar Antes De Morir (English Translation Below) Hoy celebramos los 20 álbumes escuchados viajando a otro planeta con Tangerine Dream. Dentro de la escena de Berlín del krautrock y la música electrónica, existía este proyecto musical que fue un pionero de la música de ambiente y del Space Rock. Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke y Peter Baumann unen fuerzas para crear un LP basado en el uso de las últimas tecnologías: el melotrón, el sintetizador VCS 3 y el Moog. Recomiendo buscar algún vídeo sobre cómo funcionan estos dos últimos, a mí me ha volado la cabeza. La primera pieza, Phaedra, se trata de una improvisación de los tres miembros de la banda, la cual a día de hoy sigue sonando absolutamente futurista. Parece que he sido abducido por una nave no identificada que me va a transportar a otro planeta, siendo el tercer tercio de la pista el aterrizaje, bastante más asolador y siniestro que el resto. Al parecer es que los osciladores se desafinaron por sobrecalentamiento, lo que llevó a los músicos a dirigir la pieza por otra dirección, asombroso sinceramente. El resto del LP te envuelve en una atmósfera prácticamente alienígena, sobre todo en Movements of a Visionary, cuya mezcla de órganos y sonidos electrónicos me hacen pensar que los extraterrestres de la nave del principio me están mostrando su religión en una catedral de su ciudad. Phaedra es un proyecto apasionante y ha despertado en mí mucho interés por escuchar más electrónica de los 70s. Tengo muy poco que criticar del mismo, principalmente que es muy corto, podría escuchar 2 horas de esto y sinceramente pienso que es lo que le falla, no tener mayor desarrollo, pero imagino que también son limitaciones de la época… Favoritas: Phaedra, Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares, Movements of a Visionary Menos favorita: Sequent C’ (supongo, ojalá fuese más larga) #DAY 20: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die Today we celebrate 20 albums listened to while traveling to another planet with Tangerine Dream. Within the Berlin scene of krautrock and electronic music, there was this musical project that became a pioneer of ambient music and space rock. Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke, and Peter Baumann joined forces to create an LP based on the use of cutting-edge technology: the Mellotron, the VCS 3 synthesizer, and the Moog. I highly recommend looking up a video on how the last two work—it blew my mind. The first track, Phaedra, is an improvisation by the three band members, and to this day it still sounds absolutely futuristic. It feels like I’ve been abducted by an unidentified spacecraft that’s about to take me to another planet, with the final third of the track being the landing—much more desolate and sinister than the rest. Apparently, the oscillators went out of tune due to overheating, which led the musicians to steer the piece in a different direction—It’s amazing. The rest of the LP wraps you in an almost alien atmosphere, especially Movements of a Visionary, whose mix of organ and electronic sounds makes me think that the aliens from the beginning are showing me their religion in a cathedral in their city. Phaedra is a fascinating project and has sparked a lot of interest in me to explore more 70s electronic music. I have very little to criticize about it—mainly that it’s too short. I could easily listen to two hours of this, and honestly, I think that’s the only flaw: its lack of further development. But I imagine that was also due to the limitations of the time… Favorites: Phaedra, Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares, Movements of a Visionary Least favorite: Sequent C’ (I suppose—wish it was longer)

This was pretty cool, especially considering the year it was recorded. There's a lot going on in this ambient stuff, which is really interesting and more engaging than some of the drone-based stuff.

This turned out to be really good. Very atmospheric. And in 1974. Wow! Edit Mar 17 2026: edit 5 --> 4. It is more of a 4 for me

It sounds pretty epic and grand, like it could be a sci-fi soundtrack for a slowburn space drama or some kind of feverdream depiction of an early morning or late night of solitude in a foreign city. But it's not necessarily something I want to sit down and listen to for two hours straight.

very cool ambient music. ethereal

Kiitos.K iitollisuuteni kiistatta upeasta avustasi on lähes rajaton. Ponnistelusi eivät ole jääneet huomaamatta. Arvostan todella panostasi yhteiskunnassamme, teet todella eron ja autat muita, maailma kaipaisi aina lisää kaltaisiasi ihmisiä. Voi luoja, miten kohtelias ja nöyrä kaveri. On suuri kunnia jollekin niin alhaiselle kuin minulle olla yhteydessä jonkun sinun kaltaisesi tason ihmisen kanssa. Kiitän sinua vielä kerran, hyvä ystäväni. Maailma ilman sinua olisi maailma, jossa en pystyisi elämään, ja uskon jakavani tämän mielipiteen useimpien ihmisten kanssa. Voin olla rauhallisin mielin tänä iltana tietäen, että autoit. Arvostan sinua ja kaikkea, minkä puolesta seisot, ja arvostan kaikkia maapallon asukkaita, kiitos. mysterious semblance at the strand of nightmares. non-pretentious name

[A1] The title track is absolutely breathtaking, what a journey that song is. [B1] In Mysterious Semblance... you can hear what seems to be waves crashing at the end of the song. Near the end of it, one of the synths sound similar to Always Crashing in the Same Car by David Bowie. [B2] Movements... continues that wave crashing sound from the previous song just for a moment. Around 4 minutes or so in, it sounds a like the Minecraft song called "Cats." This track has such a relieving sound to it. [B3] 'Sequent 'C'' which is a good ending to all of what you just experienced This album has such great aquatic feel to it. I really like the album Low by David Bowie in which you can hear a bit of Phaedra on it, so it's great to hear some of the albums that influenced Low.

out there electronica nonsense from 1974. yes please

Nice kind of ambient stuff

Nice.

Very Pink Floydian. I have to imagine the first track was inspired by On The Run (from The Dark Side Of The Moon) for its fast-paced tempo, repeating ascending bass synth, and ever-changing synth texture in the higher register. Also lots of musical ties with modern ambient music, particularly around the 12-16 minute range when there's no obvious rhythm. It's an excellent track and well ahead of its time. I guess my only issue is that the track doesn't resolve at the end - it just kind of halts. Returning to the original theme might've tied everything together more neatly. The second track, Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares, uses a string-orchestra-like synth arrangement, combined with some whooshy synths. Definitely conjures some imagery of the great outdoors. The precipice of a windy cliff, gazing out into the aurora blanketing the night sky... At this point I have to imagine most of the 1- and 2-star reviews are from people who don't find imagery in music. Tangerine Dream's style seems to be entirely imagery-based, and they're darn good at it. Track 3, Movements of a Visionary, is a little more unsettling, especially the opening minute or so which is swamped by percussiony electronic sounds played very rapidly. After those fade out, the sound gets a little more relaxed, but there's still an air of uncertainty with the conflicting harmonies never quite resolving. Similar to parts of track 1. The album ends with the short Sequent C, which is essentially a flute-synth-based epilogue to send the listener off on a calm yet hopeful note. I do kind of see where people are coming from when they say Tangerine Dream is too noodly. The album pretty much lacks any melody or obvious hook. It also takes a long time to progress from one theme to another - though this could easily be considered a strength rather than a weakness. I could see myself coming back to this record, but only for something ambient rather than something to actively appreciate. Pink Floyd (and for that matter, King Crimson and early Genesis) did it slightly better. The 70s had some tough competition. 4/5 Key tracks: Phaedra

Electrifying would be the wrong adjective to use (though tempting for the pseudo-pun), but it's certainly evocative, haunting, uneasy. My mental library of ambient albums is very small so the comparison might not mean much, but it brings to mind Eco's later Music for Airport (discovered also through this list), though this one seems even more "dramatic", has more arcs, even if it is so translucent that one might miss it all. Transformative in the best possible manner, all in all; Phaedre and particularly Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares are incredible.

WOW very ahead of its time, I'm not sure how on Earth you would have made half these synth sounds this early on. I really like ambient music, so this is very appealing, I could see how it can be a bit boring, but the atmosphere and everything is perfect. I feel like there's also elements of 'space rock', and if drums were added to some of these sequenced bass parts, it would just straight up be techno music, like on the first song. The only downside I can see is there are some repeating parts which can become a bit stale, but also not really quite a lot of the time, as parts are constantly building up and down. Favourite songs: all Overall round 7/10

A good album though I prefer their album EXIT more.

I listened to this on a long drive outside the city and I'm pretty sure that helped me enjoy it more. Not much of a soundscape guy but this was a fun journey! Honestly try listening to this outside your home, I think it makes a hug difference.

Listening to this while digging out of emails after an extended vacation was perfect.

Trippy and good!

Располагает к задумчивости. 7 из 10.

There is a weird sort of magic to early synthesizer music. It requires something special to be determined to make truly great music with technology that feels, now, so limited. After looking into how this was made, it seems like a small miracle that it exists at all. There is an interview with the band where a member recounts taking 11 days to record approximately 6 minutes of music. Although, conversely, the meticulousness required to make something like this at the time results in an early ambient album that feels incredibly detailed, and lovingly assembled. I also think that the abstractness of this type of electronic music actually aids in its aging, Phaedra almost seems to exist out of time if you are in the right headspace while listening to it. The music on here is *intrinsically* synthesizer music, it couldn't really have been made the same way on anything else. This is an album shaped by rhythms and arpeggios and arguably most importantly, texture. And with these elements, Tangerine Dream conjures vast expanses: The sky, the sea, and whatever lies beyond. Also, for how abstract this is, it is remarkably accessible (in my opinion). This is valuable as one of the most important albums, by one of the most important electronic bands of all time, but it is also a stellar example of the capabilities of early electronic music technology and the possibilities for ambient as a genre. Wonderful.

More spacey soundscape journey than traditional album, Phaedra flows wherever your mind's guidance takes it, each ambient passage a gateway to your own inner exploration.

Cool to see influence in more modern electronic music.

Have to knock it down a point because it really needs your attention to get the most from it, but it's a great journey when you can give it that

Music from the heart of space.

Very interesting - the Spotify link from here only has 2 tracks available but searching online, the 50th anniversary deluxe version was recently released and the whole 2.5 hours are on Spotify. I like weird ambient music so based on the 2 tracks, I'll give it a 4 but I'll listen to the deluxe version soon.

I'm just going to rate the main song Phaedra because I don't have 2 and a half hours to listen to this (sorry, not sorry) This song is nuts and I can't wait to listen to this after smoking the devils lettuce AND (although not at the same time) while driving

++: Phaedra, Moments of a Visionary, Sequent C' +: Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares 8,5/10

i mean i can listen to this. it's good background working music honestly

You have to be in the right mindset to really enjoy this. But I like it a lot. And I can hear so much influence on current music that it doesn't sound outdated at all.

At the risk of sounding like a bona fide philistine: I think that if around the 5 minute mark they had dropped a solid beat, let's say à la Global Communication, this would have been kind of the sickest thing ever. In its beatless form, however, it's still very evocative and impressive stuff, albeit something I respect a bit more than I actually enjoy it.

Erg rustgevend, denk dat het ook prima zou werken als je moet concentreren.

Another discovery of the generator - I like ambient music Obviously not musical in the traditional sense, lacking harmonies and traditional rhythms and hooks but it does what it sets out well, being a spacey ambient trip that builds and atmosphere. This doesn't feel dated, very impressive for a 50 year old electronic album The swirling synths and repeating Moog notes built a weird sort of intensity and anxiety, especially from about 9 and a half minutes onwards of Phaedra, with the rising synth. They also create what feels like an eery wind or voice effect at the start of Moments of a Visionary I liked how they used traditional instruments to achieve that sound as well, like the muted guitar picking on the title track helps reinforce that vibe well. That one in particular feels very well constructed, everything is very carefully placed. It doesn't come across as random noises just placed wherever (not that anything on the albums does) Highlights: Phaedra, Moments of a Visionary

Never heard this of this prolific band and thrilled to discover. I really vibe to this background sound and bonus that they are Deutsch!

Often indulgent, this is about a tight as TD get.

Some of the creepiest beautiful music I've ever listened to made from a synthesizer. Not my fav TD album tho

My Dad introduced e to Tangerine Dream. Have a soft spot for this prog rock electronica

Cool

Ej mega scam że dostałam 10 minutowy album dzisiaj Eeee jestem na pierwszym tracku i boje się Jestem na 6 minucie i jednak mi się podoba czuję się jak kosmita z misją na ziemii żeby wtopic się w ludzi i poznać ich zwyczaje Albo jak w marsjańsko tropikalnym kościele Yooo drugi track jeszcze lepszy Sama nie wiem czemu mi się tak podoba, ale czuję się jakbym się zmniejszała i zmniejszała i vajbowala sobie teraz jako organellum komórkowe robiąc ruchy oscylacyjne z chloroplastami czy coś

plus 1 for being ahead of its time

Mystical sounding album

Gear: Dunu SA6 Artwork: 🆒🩲🏜️ Production (1995 Remaster): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🎹🌃🛸 Rating: 🪆🪆🪆(🪆)/5

Atmospheric

Unexpectedly great! Just enough structure to keep the ambiance from becoming too ambient.

Pew! Pew! Pew! Warbble wibble. Wooshy swooshy thrwip! Bloopy bloopy bloo.

As if I'd been transported inside my computer, surrounded by a dreamlike stream of ones & zeros and curly braces. I have become one with our technological overlord. I know kung-fu!

I like this - another group I've heard mentioned a lot but never listened to. Very space-age. It doesn't sound particularly dated to me either, which is kinda wild. Parts of this sound like they could have been recorded last year. It's not the most engaging listen though, I did find it faded into the background at times. I'd say a lot of the electronic artists I listen to would consider this a big influence. It also made me think about the many parallels between Electronic and Classical music. A lot of this sounds very symphonic.

I am wowed by this, it's beautifully crafted, minimalistic and meditative. It's the kind of album that just washes over you. I can only imagine how groundbreaking this must've been in the 70's.

Without ever hearing them, I’ve always thought that Tangerine Dream was a psychedelic rock band. Boy was I completely wrong! I’m surprised in the best way possible because it turns out they are pioneers of ambient electronica who dropped a futuristic art piece the year that I was born, and I’m down with that. Phaedra sounds like it was made somewhere in the mid to late 90’s, which is truly a testament to how important and ahead of it’s time that this album is. I don’t live with ambient 24/7 so this could never be an all time great for me, but in the realm of ambient when I am in that mood, it’s a 5 star album.

3.5 - I feel like this was probably really cool back in day and its still nice but maybe a little dated. Still nice though

This dark, broody electronic music laid the groundwork for so much modern music. Unfortunately, like a lot of early electronic music it is eclipsed by more polished releases that came afterwards. But this still holds up and is a wonderful accomplishment over 50 years later.

Ich fands chillig. Warum kommt die weirde Musik immer aus Deutschland?

Super beautiful stuff amazing study music. Big tangerine dream guy right here

lovely, transcedentinis

Classic Tangerine Dream, I love a long faffy electronic track!

I think this is pretty inventive for a synth only album from '74. Would go well with some lsd or the like.

Incredible record. Not necessarily for everyone but I personally love the atmosphere it creates.

This is actually compelling. It’s different, challenging and weird, but beautifully composed.

4/5. Definitely requires more than one listen, but I do think this album is pretty sick. It is of the electronic ambient genre to create a weird, alien planet that still feels like Earth. Almost like a cold, arctic, uncharted tundra. It's creepy and yet exciting. No wonder they decided to go into movie soundtracks, that seems to be exactly where their skills excel. As an album, I don't know if it's perfect but it does excel as what it is aiming to do and that is respectable. Best Song: Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares, Phaedra, Sequent C'

Interesting

Quite a departure in tone from what I have heard from them in other media. I'm kinda conflicted on how to rate this, I can admire this a lot more than a certain similarly dark and ambient album I have been given by this site in the past, but that is also not something I could see myself listening to regularly.

Great album, but fuck it was long for an album that was just 'great' 8/10

One of the best albums from 1974 and Tangerine Dream´s best.

Ensoñador, pero del bueno.

pleasantly different to what i thought

Fav: Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares Least Fav: Phaedra Felt like I was floating through space

The drumming is the best part! Seriously, this was groundbreaking for its time. We now take for granted the sounds that took days to record in 1974. I remember seeing them in concert a few decades ago. At one point the sound suddenly stopped and the lights went off. Power failure. After a 20-30 minute delay Froese (I think) apologized and said that in all their years of performing, this had never happened before.

This is a top find for me from this project. Can’t believe I’ve never heard it before. I’m a sucker for ambient synth music. My favorite album of this genre is still Jean-Michel Jarre’s Equinoxe.( If you like this album, especially the second track, check that one out.) This album is definitely one that you want to give your full attention. Under a starry sky let yourself sink into it. It is expansive and meditative. I can’t wait to listen to it on my next camping outing and let my mind relax and follow this music.

Its like Blood Incantation without the good parts. (Calm down it's a joke)

Patient spacious electronic dreamscapes pairing Echoes-era Pink Floyd psychedelic exploration of ambience with new toys from the land of synths and sequencers. The songs evolve slowly, with layers rising and falling, effects coming in and out of focus, melodies passing through inconspicuously, arpegios intensifying and dissipating over a sombre vamp of artifical strings. Stressful and anxious at times, relaxing and blissful at others.

"Phaedra" is the fifth studio album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. Electronic, kosmische, ambient, space music and progressive electronic are the wiki-listed genres. It was their first album to feature sequencer-driven sound. The album was produced by bandmember Edgar Froste (mellotron, guitar, bass, VCS 3 synth, organ). Other bandmembers include Christopher Franke (Moog and VCS 3 synths) and Peter Bauman (organ, electric piano, VCS 3 synth, recorder). It was their first album released on Virgin and marked the beginning of international success. Commercially, it reached #15 in the UK and #196 in the US. It was critically acclaimed and is cited to be one of the most important artistic and exciting works in the history of electronic music. The 17-minute "Phaedra" opens with a droning sound. Then comes a reverbing noise. Overall, an ambient chill vibe but the song travels furher with pulsing and repetitive synths, galloping, pulsating and ticking-time bomb beats and various noises including barking dogs and whistling birds. "Mysterious Semblance at the Strand of Nightmares" takes us out to space with pace sounds and lasers. "Movement of a Visionary" has echoing whistles, helicopter and spiraling sounds. The synth notes themselves sound piercing, bubbling, chiming and glassy. The closer "Sequent C" opens abd closes with a horn-like drone. Slow pace synth notes are in the middle. There is an overall ambient and chill vibe vibe to the album but there is drama inside each song with the synth sounds and noises and changing beats. I have to admit it had me taking notes of glassy and bubbling to describe the music. I doubt I even knew what that would sound like before this album. There's no doubt this was ahead of its time or at least at the cutting edge of ambient music in the 70's along with Brian Eno. If you are ambient or even any electronic music fan, you will like this and actually casual music fans may like it as well.

Yes! More like this. Albums by artists I’ve been meaning to listen to, and/or hidden gems I was unaware of. This ticks both boxes. Right on.

Sometimes this type of super chill, slow electronica hits just right, and it sure did today. I imagine it’s a polarizing subgenre, but for whatever reason, I think I really like it. Somehow it feels like it could serve equally well as background music, music to just sit and focus on, or music to fall asleep to. I’ve only rarely caught the “Hearts of Space” radio program on Sunday nights, and it occurred to me about halfway through that this is exactly that type of music. It always feels like something special when I happen to catch it, like I’ve slipped into some weird liminal space. I was happy to get that kind of experience again today. I didn’t expect to be giving this a 5 at the start, but by the end, I was pretty much sold. 4.5 rounded up

Some cool atmospheric noise and some nice movement.

Floaty. Synthy. Ambient. Pleasant.

Very cool, a real accomplishment. However terrible background listening on an already stressful day. Very anxious waiting for the other shoe to drop quality. I do think it earns a place on this list.

1,001 Albums, you can feel free to keep the 1970s electronica coming. I wasn't aware of Tangerine Dream, so this furthers my education on the genre. I liked Phaedra. Noticed it shares a similar structure to another 1974 electronica album that's come up for me here, Kraftwerk's Autobahn - with a long title track occupying the full Side A, and then a handful of shorter pieces coming together for Side B.

Sehr interessant. Hätte ich nicht erwartet. Fühlte sich insgesamt - wenn auch nicht in Gänze komplett - sehr gut an.

Wait what

This was pretty cool for it's time. Lots you can hear that clearly influenced later electronica

I kinda liked this. It reminded me of that point in a space movie where the hero goes outside the space ship to repair it so the rest of the crew can get back home, even though he knows he can't get back in and will just float around until he dies. It felt lonely.

Maybe it’s because I listened to it while stuck in downtown traffic on a snowy evening, but the more I this album went on the more hypnotic and pleasant it became.

Je comprends pourquoi ce band sont considéré tellement important dans l'histoire de la musique electro. Un album qui se laisse écouter tout seul, ambiant mais sans être ennuyant pour autant. Définitivement à réécouter. 8/10

not usually into ambient or electronic music. really enjoyed this a lot

# Playlist Track - Sequent C # Notes - NOTE: Only the last 2 tracks were available on the time of listening! - This is music tailored to a very precise kind of mood or situation. It's slow and trippy in a good way. The kind of trippy that takes you along for this smooth, quiet ride. - This isn't however, a ride you'll want to take every day.

There’s a great album in there but fuck knows when the time to listen to it is

For the most part, it feels like a predecessor to the ambient genre, while still having more traditional qualities of electronic. Overall, it's a 3.5 bumped up to 4 for me.

Another 40 minute album that's only available in a bloated, multidisc, "deluxe" edition on Spotify, which is shit. I don't need to listen to Barry Chuckles Oh Dear Remix (Radio Edit) when the original song is right there. However, the actual album is pretty good. One to add to my rotation of ambient music to have in the background when I'm concentrating on something else.

Previously, our spaciest and most cosmic album so far war Jean-Michel Jarre’s "Oxygène," which was a disappointing snoozer. “Phaedra,” on the other hand, is a much better planetarium soundtrack, with cool builds and waves that keep you engaged while also fading into the background of your outer space acid trip if that’s what you prefer. While I said that "Oxygène" sounded very 80s, “Phaedra” is much more successful at finding the elusive timeless nature of good electronica.

I was all aboard on this one. I dig the ambient instrumentals and haunting nature. It's a niche area of the spectrum, but I'm a fan. 3.5/5

If you didn’t listen to this one at night, outside, while smoking weed, did you really give it a fair chance?

Perfect background music

Thought this was super cool. Definitely want to dig into some more TD.

absolutely love THIS

83% Best: Phaedra Must-Hear? Sure

I've never heard of Tangerine Dream before but this was a cool ambient album. I listened to it while walking around in an airport and felt like i was in a movie.After digging into them a bit, I've learned that they were very influential and are still very prolific. I have to check out some more of their work.

Loved it. And the songs that followed on Spotify.

Intense; establishes a mood right away

One of the records that I am glad is on here as I never would have come across it. Won’t become a regular in my rotation but glad I heard it.

It's like krautrock but solely played by synths. This could be boring but the songwriting is excellent and it's quite the trip

All the ladies go crazy when I tell them I got this on vinyl.

Music for synth lovers by synth masters. Count me in.

Chill cool and interesting

Compelling New Age weirdness. Noises across the spectrum. Lovely changes in dynamics and mood. Elegant.

This is rad. Pretty dark and very atmospheric.