The Castle

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Einstein's Barber (ADMIN)
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Re: The Castle

Post by Einstein's Barber (ADMIN) »

T4N63R1N3 DR34M wrote:
TDludo wrote:
T4N63R1N3 DR34M wrote:I don't really think the book (or the others in the series) has any bearing on the music - it's just a title for the CD.

It may alternatively have been called "Tangerine Dream - The Stephen King Series", and all the CDs being names after SK novels ;)
I really don't think so... Each album of the Sonic Poem Series has a "specific mood" which is (in my opinion) absolutely linked to the book "pictured in music". Each track is about a specific part of the book and is TD's way of picturing the text.
Everybody knows there could be thousands of musical results with the same books. So what ? Here we have TD's interpretations of THESE books, and not Stephen King's books or other books. Otherwise I think it would be an empty (and not interesting) project.
Yes, but IF the music HAD been titled after Stephen King novels, you would therefore be checking out those novels also ?

Dear T4N63R1N3 DR34M,

Sorry, but I have to ask you the following: Edgar, for example, devotes himself since 30 years to the works of Kafka:
Do you think he could have created albums like The Castle from Kafka, The Dante Series, The Five Atomic Seasons, Poe, Joyce, Meyrink etc. if he wouldn't read and focus on this stuff before? The opposite is the case: Literature, fine arts and philosophy are part of his life and he definitely has an inner urge to compose music on these works. The musical result is a very personal and individual interpretation of those works, but the musical content is definitely connected to them.
Of course Edgar or TD would never force somebody to read or think about this stuff and the music functions without reading a story anyhow (with your very own cinema in your head!), but if you like to go deeper, if you like to understand just a little bit of the compositions, the different sound colours etc. - which underline and animate a story like a score - then you always have the possibility to deal with those works of art.

Regards,
EB (ADMIN)
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. ALBERT EINSTEIN
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T4N63R1N3 DR34M
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Re: The Castle

Post by T4N63R1N3 DR34M »



Dear T4N63R1N3 DR34M,

Sorry, but I have to ask you the following: Edgar, for example, devotes himself since 30 years to the works of Kafka:
Do you think he could have created albums like The Castle from Kafka, The Dante Series, The Five Atomic Seasons, Poe, Joyce, Meyrink etc. if he wouldn't read and focus on this stuff before? The opposite is the case: Literature, fine arts and philosophy are part of his life and he definitely has an inner urge to compose music on these works. The musical result is a very personal and individual interpretation of those works, but the musical content is definitely connected to them.
Of course Edgar or TD would never force somebody to read or think about this stuff and the music functions without reading a story anyhow (with your very own cinema in your head!), but if you like to go deeper, if you like to understand just a little bit of the compositions, the different sound colours etc. - which underline and animate a story like a score - then you always have the possibility to deal with those works of art.

Regards,
EB (ADMIN)
Not disagreeing that he's studied them in great depth, but for me that does not mean that I have to go study the same.
My comments apply only to my thoughts on the CDs. To me the music is the importance, not the subject matter.

( However, if Edgar wants to do a series based on Stephen King novels, I'm happy for him to do so. :) )
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Re: The Castle

Post by bigmoog »

One of the great things about t.d. Is the associative power of the album title/ track titles/ music/ cover art.


The magick of tangmusique is the ability of the soundscape to conjure up imagery in thee minds eye ( or not as the case may be).

Of course, imagine, wiv hindsight that phaedra is rubycon and rubycon is phaedra...would they still be classics? Me thinketh er...

Just my opinion, shape bending not needed...


:mrgreen:
...The wise.....are silent.....
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T4N63R1N3 DR34M
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Re: The Castle

Post by T4N63R1N3 DR34M »

Barnabas The Messenger..... 8)
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Jon
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Re: The Castle

Post by Jon »

I think we have to respect different opinions. Donofrio didn't like the album, that's fine. I'm glad we can state things like that here without getting pissed on. I haven't heard The Castle, by the way.
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Re: The Castle

Post by Steve C »

Jon wrote:I think we have to respect different opinions. Donofrio didn't like the album, that's fine. I'm glad we can state things like that here without getting pissed on. I haven't heard The Castle, by the way.
You are right Jon. What I like about the Forum is that members can freely criticise without fear of any comeback, other than good natured "joshing". We are all fans but no-one likes everything that TD have produced. We all have our favourite albums and eras.
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Re: The Castle

Post by Donofrio_TD »

I was listening to FKTC again last night and nothing changed much. Except for one little thing... and that was track no. 7, The Implicit Will To Meet Klemm. It's an easy track to overlook sometimes, but it's also one of the best in the album. It gets somewhat repetitive once you get past the five minute mark (they thought each track had to be more than 5 or 7 minutes long, for some reason; sometimes it works very well, sometimes it gets boring) and it ends on a bit of a cliched note, but the damage is not that bad here.
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Re: The Castle

Post by Insvims »

The opposite for me. The Castle is the most interesting of all the Sonic Poems. I really love Finnegan's Wake, but this one is maybe even better. Wonderful sounds, and I am sure all the compositions are deeply inspired by various parts of the book.
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Re: The Castle

Post by TDludo »

For me, The Castle is as interesting and good as Finnegans Wake and The Island of the Fey (three different moods).
I have more (little) problems with some parts of The Angel from the West Window (but some tracks are wonderful too).
A new cosmic address for the Master Dreamer...
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Re: The Castle

Post by gumball »

This in my opinion is one of their best recordings since the 80's. So atmospheric and melodic. Is it me or are there a number of musical references to older tracks?
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Re: The Castle

Post by stiffdog »

Track 2 -Tangram themes in the rhythm. Not sure I have heard much else.
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Re: The Castle

Post by MrCox »

That album was a bit hard to get into for me. But the same happened when I read Kafka's novel. 8)

Compared to the first three Sonic Poems this album lacks catchy melodies. But to make up for this, this work is full of fantastic atmospheres. In fact it has more in common with the "Five Atomic Seasons" than "Island Of The Fay" or "Finnegans Wake".

Most surprising were the many calm and peaceful compositions, especially "Approaching Snowy Village", "The Untouchable Castle" or "Surrender And Adaption". The latter always reminds me of music by Florian Fricke (Popol Vuh) with its tabla percussion and acoustic guitar melody.
These compositions are nice, but I wouldn't have seen them in a Kafka context, as they are too peaceful. Kafkas work evokes feelings of unease in me.

And this is indeed reflected in this album on the compositions that make use of TD's most experimental sounds and samples in years. I love "Odd Welcome" - Edgar's strangest intro ever I think, especially over headphones. Here he goes quite mad ... but this is exactly the kind of atmosphere I'd call "kafkaesque".
"A Place Of Mercy" is appropriately titled, but this coposition also contains some strange sounds that fall into that category.

The real highlights however are tracks 4 to 8. These 34 minutes form a fantastic suite in its own right. "The Apparently Lunatic Hierarchy" with its apparantly lunatic title is apparatly lunatic (sorry, I couldn't resist that :lol: ). Edgar and Thorsten went all atmospheric here, although halfway through a great melody arises. I just wished that track was longer, I could listen to that one for hours. I think this would be the perfect concert opener for the 2014 tour. I'd love to hear that one live. :wink:
"Barnabas The Messenger" will surely make the playlist. This one definately has the album's best guitar solo, no doubt about it. Then "Irredeemable Entity" is all electronic and full of microscopic beats and sequences - a nice contrast. "The Implicit Will To Meet Klamm" is a typical Edgar Froese composition - the rhythmic elements as well as the chords. But it works in that context. After that Thorsten's "Desperate Neverending Longing" is another hymn full of strange rhythms and sounds. This one rocks and would have been another great album finale (just like "Darkness Veiling The Night" on "Island Of The Fay" or "The Invisible Seal Of The Holy Tribe" on "The Angel Of The West Window").

"The Castle" somehow has a different dynamic than the first three Sonic Poems. As this album ends on a sombre note it feels like omething is missing in the end. But the same applies to Kafka's novel ... that ends in the middle of a chapter and the end of the story is missing.
But after all, I love this album the way it is. Certainly it is Edgar's and Thorsten's personal view on Kafka, but as a musical translation it works for me ... though sometimes in an unexpected way - with more romantic undertones and less paranoia. :wink:
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Re: The Castle

Post by TDludo »

Great text, Mr Cox. I globally agree with you... What a nice (and strange) album ! 8) 8)
A new cosmic address for the Master Dreamer...
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Re: The Castle

Post by bigmoog »

Thee best sonic poem so far, imho. :D
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Re: The Castle

Post by Steve C »

bigmoog wrote:Thee best sonic poem so far, imho. :D
Better than Tyger, the original sonic poem from the 80's??? :wink:
Seriously, is there a better guitar solo from Edgar than on London?
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