Tangerine Dream takes us to both final frontiers---deep sea and space
Sep 22 '03
Pros: Morphing and ever-changing fluid ambient music that has a unique resonation.
Cons: Droning synths and tape hiss drag the quality down a shade.
The Bottom Line: Tangerine Dream's Rubycon is filled with sound that is never the same, even throughout multiple listens. The ambient feel it produces allows it to always feel fresh and new.
Full Review
My friend Khendra (or as many know here as Shadesofblue) had planned to send some music in my general direction by way of postal mail right before my move. Unfortunately, she was unaware I was moving right up until the day I actually DID move.
So now I had been waiting for nearly a month to receive the tunes that infiltrated her conscience and persona every now and then. Tangerine Dream's Rubycon is just one of the several music discs she sent, and after quite enjoyable listening, I must make my point. I love the soundscapes Tangerine Dream create.
[THE MUSIC = RUBYCON]
Rubycon is simply split up into two tracks, each being notated as Part I and Part II respectively. However, I want to rename these so as to give you a general sense of how mysterious, unique, creative, and otherwise ingenious the producers were in musical mind.
Get ready to be calmed, relaxed, scared, jolted, and otherwise confused as we delve into a synthesizer amalgamation. Please keep your trays in an upright position as we take off.
Part I --Renamed ("Introspective Space and Ocean Exhibit" )
As mentioned before, all of the music contained on Rubycon is made with synthesizers, thus no vocals are added. Overall, the music is ambient in feel and will produce multiple moods, including drastic mood swings. Results may vary.
At the start of this seventeen minute track, I was brushed with a shade of fear as organ-like instruments played in the background, surrounded by droning musical waves. This type of soundscape would be compared to something one would find perhaps in a Transylvania game for a gaming console (way back when). This scary feeling persists up until the 2:00 minute mark when an unusual medley of whistling/whining sounds present themselves (it almost sounds like fireworks being lit, but in slow motion), included by a beelike swarming sound effect. For the next few moments, the tone of the music will become a bit lighter. I was enraptured by the "laser light" sounds that also intertwined between the third and fourth minute mark.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself somewhere while listening to this track; I like to pretend im an astronaut floating aimlessly in outer space, with no destination. Allowing the music to overtake your being will completely block out your external surroundings, and you will become calm. Come on, it's healthy!
At about the six minute mark, you'll wake up because the tone once again changes. Things are eerily quiet for about
thirty seconds until a very deep rumbling noise will snake into the macrocosm. This sound effect reminds me of a jet that is flying overhead, or perhaps an industrial size lawn mower cutting grass.
From the seven to nine minute mark, nothing especially invigorating or interesting pierces my soul. I wouldn't skip it though, since the entire track flows from beginning to end. Doing so would interfere with your train of thought (or lack thereof).
After ten minutes have elapsed, the soundscape shifts yet again with a startling loud quivering type of sound effect, and the entire piece gets louder. If loud droning noises irritate you, turn your speakers down for a while so you won't bash your head into a wall.
Bubbly type noises will flitter and flutter on scene around the thirteen minute frame; but only for a few seconds. Hopefully by now one understands the general flow of the music and compository aspects of the track. There is no organized thought to the music, yet somehow, a progressive fluid flow can be felt throughout.
Near the very end of this track, horror enters the scene again, as a sound effect similar to a bathtub drain emptying is heard. Bubbles and unusual "slashing" type noises also infiltrate my ears, and I'm back in the ocean. The track ends with a menacing growl and drone before fading out.
Part II --Renamed ("Nuclear Holocaust" )
One of the most recognizable sounds that begin this nineteen minute track is the droning and wavering alarm type sound, which will either remind you of a fallout siren, or a severe weather event horn. In any case, there is no sense of peace as the listener gets treated to an ear twisting from hellish tones.
This unsettling buzzing continues for quite some time, and then we hear the moans. It almost reminds me of death, and how the soul fades in and out of consciousness before settling its way into oblivion. Kinda spooky, huh?
Thankfully the moaning and droning stops after about four minutes of hell and back. I hope you made it out alive.
Next, a continual thumping and somewhat annoying sound effect plays until it decides to play with itself and move around a little bit, tickling your ears and playing with your emotions. Now, about space travel.....you will certainly feel a spaced out theme as you continue to listen to the second track, as higher shrill tones get emitted from your speakers.
The general tone will change again, as meandering and warped effects will zoom through you. If you have ever heard the type of music that is played on educational tapes (especially scientific ones dealing with space exploration), you will understand what I refer to.
As the second half of the track introduces itself, the listener is delighted to soothing ocean waves crashing onto shore. For one brief fleeting moment, it seems as though one can cuddle up to a feather down pillow and take an eternal sleep....until mysterious synths whisper their chorus, waking you back up, and perhaps ticking you off at the same time.
The last five minutes are fairly tame in nature, but those minutes never really allowed for precious sleep which I so desire at this late hour.
Finally, Rubycon wraps itself up with quiet tones that eventually fade to black, leaving the listener refreshed and somehow satisfied with their ethereal experience.
[CONCLUSION]
Throughout Rubycon, I felt many different emotions, ranging from pleased to annoyed, calm to tense, relaxed to scared, and happy to angry. Although I'm not sure if this masterpiece was used for psychological study benefits, it would be interesting and insightful to do research on how ambient music like this affects the brain. Perhaps it causes chemical flow changes that we do not know about; then again, perhaps I'm shelled up in a hole that has no outlet.
If you want to listen to something "floaty" or otherwise unique and unlike the mainstream vocal names that emboss themselves upon today's music market, check this old classic out, I think you'll enjoy its various moods and scenes it produces.
http://att.dealtime.com/xMPR-~PD-6 [...] 3516252804
burps
