Tangerine Dream - Line-up

Line-up

In the late 60s and early 70s, several short-lived incarnations of Tangerine Dream were formed by Froese teaming up with various musicians from West Berlin's underground scene. A few of these collaborators included Steve Jolliffe, Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler.

The most notable of Froese's collaborations ended up being his partnership with Christopher Franke. Franke joined Tangerine Dream in 1970 from the group Agitation Free to replace Schulze as the drummer. He is credited for the initial discovery of the sequencer technique, introduced on Phaedra, that came to define the band's music. Franke left Tangerine Dream over creative differences with Froese nearly two decades later in 1987.

Other long-term members of the group included Peter Baumann (1971–1977), who later went on to found the New Age label Private Music, to which the band was signed from 1988 to 1991; Johannes Schmoelling (1979–1985); Paul Haslinger (1986–1990); and, most recently Froese's son Jerome Froese (1990–2006).

A number of other members were also part of Tangerine Dream for shorter periods of time. In contrast to session musicians, they also contributed to some compositions of the band during their stay. The five most notable such members are Steve Schroyder (organist, 1971–72), Michael Hoenig (who replaced Baumann for a 1975 Australian tour and a London concert, included on Bootleg Box Set Vol. 1), Steve Jolliffe (wind instruments and vocals on Cyclone and the following tour; he was also part of a short-lived 1969 line-up), Ralf Wadephul (in collaboration with Edgar Froese recorded album Blue Dawn, but it was released only in 2006; also credited for one track on Optical Race (1988) and toured with the band in support of this album), and Linda Spa (saxophonist who appeared on numerous albums and concerts between 1990 and 1996, as well as 2005 onwards).

As of 2009 Tangerine Dream comprises Edgar Froese and Thorsten Quaeschning, who collaborated in the composition of Jeanne d'Arc (2005) and several subsequent releases. For concerts and recordings they are joined mainly by Hoshiko Yamane, Iris Camaa, Linda Spa and Bernhard Beibl.