When Edgar Froese died on 20 January 2015, the end of the electronics pioneers Tangerine Dream, who were celebrated worldwide in the seventies, seemed to have come. But the father of the Berlin school had taken precautions. It was his express wish that Tangerine Dream should complete the "Quantum Years" with the current cast Thorsten Quaeschning/Ulrich Schnauss/Hoshiko Yamane. After two live recordings there is now also a new studio album. Quaeschning, Schnauss (with them since 2005 and 2014 respectively) and Froese's widow Bianca Froese-Acquaye provide information on "Quantum Gate" and the future of the electronics institution.
eclipsed: The decisive question right at the beginning: Will you only fulfill Froese's last wish or will Tangerine Dream continue to exist?
"I've wasted a lot of time being completely drugged. I stopped writing, I was in prison, I was a wreck. But since I know I don't have much time left, I'm trying to do the best job I can." David Crosby is not only advertising his sixth solo album, he also thinks he is on a real mission: as one of the last political singer-songwriters of the USA and bulwark against the "toupee-carrying disaster on two legs", as he calls Trump.
On "Sky Trails" he contrasts this with hippie ideals such as love and harmony, but also finds clear words against racism, the influence of multinationals and corrupt representatives of the people. "We have only four politicians with consciences. The rest is trash that sells itself to the economy. This started a long time ago, with the railroad and oil barons. Today they own everything and everyone. They just call and say, "We need a war. So go ahead. That's what happens. These guys rule the country."
Tom Petty's career, like that of many musicians of his generation, was largely fired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. In 1961 he followed the shooting of the King for the movie "Follow That Dream" near his hometown Gainesville/Florida at the invitation of his uncle who worked on the set and became his fervent admirer. Three years later the television appearance of the Beatles in the "Ed Sullivan Show" awakened in him the desire to form a band as well: "Yes, I was a big Elvis fan. But I saw something in the Beatles that I could do myself." Another three years later Petty dropped out of high school, Don Felder, who later became an Eagles member, was one of his guitar teachers.
As a hard rock fan you can't get past Europe since their eighth studio album "Last Look At Eden" (2009) at the latest. That sounds strange at first, because the band led the charts worldwide in their first life in the eighties with "The Final Countdown" and filled the concert halls. But it was only after the reunion in 2003 that Europe became what singer Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum had hoped for when founding Force, as they were called until 1982: to be called in the same breath as the hard rock greats of the seventies.
After a stuttering comeback start with too modernistic hard rock, they tore themselves off "Last Look At Eden". And they increased: With "Bag Of Bones" (2012) and "War Of Kings" (2015) the form curve went steeply upwards. The hymns of praise on Tempest, Norum and Co. were polyphonic, and a less self-confident band would certainly be tense in view of the expectations after such great deeds during the recordings of "Walk The Earth".
Annie Clark alias St. Vincent is everybody's darling: The 35-year-old US singer/guitarist inspires critics and colleagues alike, celebrates remarkable commercial successes and was even a regular guest in the tabloid press due to her liaison with an English star model. All this she deals with on her album "Masseduction", with which she holds court over her environment and herself. At the same time, a heavy legacy is being inherited: The self-titled predecessor of 2014 was awarded a Grammy. How Annie Clark deals with expectations eclipsed experienced in London.
Holger Czukay has left behind an incomparable oeuvre. Not only with his band CAN, with which he wrote rock history since 1968, but also with large parts of his solo work, with which he paved the way for styles like HipHop or Techno. But as soon as Czukay has left us, one must seriously ask oneself whether he actually existed, or whether he was only the projection of the idealized artist. With all his technical finesse, he seemed to belong to the dying species of the art inventor, who, shielded from the rest of the world, creates gigantic things under the roof. With his velvet cap and sickle beard he could have sprung from a painting by Carl Spitzweg. When you met him, you never knew exactly whether he was in his imagination or in reality. The gates of his perception were always wider open than those of the rest of his surroundings.
From Caterina Valente to Dieter Bohlen
Primrose Hill between Camden and Regent's Park is a preferred London residential area, especially among actors and musicians. Robert Plant, as he reveals in his favourite pub Princess Of Wales, has had a "nice little house" here for years, but he only uses it occasionally when he visits the capital. Otherwise, he lives in the country, near the Welsh border. And until recently, in Austin, Texas. But since the separation from US singer-songwriter Patty Griffin at the end of last year, he has turned his back on the states once and for all. Which is one of the main themes on Carry Fire. Just like his personal view of the USA under Trump and the world in 2017, he has little sympathy and even less understanding. Although he expresses this clearly in his texts, Plant does not want to discuss his views further. Which makes him an exhausting, sometimes stubborn conversational partner. Someone who in principle does not want to talk about the past, but also not about the present.
Just one year has passed since their last record, Motorpsycho are already ready with a new (double) album: Inspired by the Tower of Babel, "The Tower" is a fascinating total work of art from cover to lyrics to music. eclipsed spoke with a good-humoured Bent Sæther about the new creative phase of a band that has just repositioned itself in terms of personnel and style.
When Bent Sæther calls punctually from his mobile phone, eclipsed sends a message that due to a cold the voice is not so firm, which makes the motor psycho head laugh: "That's bad. We're rehearsing, and I'm deaf as hell. You must speak loudly now!" However, as Sæther is in the best of remood, this does not pose a major problem in the further course of the game.
