Electronic Mediation is a significant album for two reasons: it is the first album released by Tangerine Dream, and it marks the first album appearance of Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze, and Conrad Schnitzler – a nexus of musicians who would individually go on to influence and shape the sound of electronic music in Europe for the next several decades.
The group had been in existence for almost three years with members rotating in and out regularly. Tangerine Dream was still not entirely stable even at the time of this recording as Schulze and Schnitzler both bowed out soon after for other projects, and Froese would hook up with more permanent musicians as well. Thomas Keyserling and Jimmy Jackson also appear playing flute and organ respectively.
Musically, the album is interesting as it shows a band that is still in a very experimental and transitional phase. However, a bit of warning: Electronic Meditation is not recommended for laid-back listening and drifting. This is not an album that the casual electronic music fan or even casual TD fan –would enjoy. This is avant-garde rock and roll bordering on the psychedelic. The music is sometimes harsh, abrupt, and reckless in it’s approach. The recording is also not of the best of quality, even after remastering. However, what the album lacks in polish and pure novelty (as other bands had tread most of the ground before), it imbues the chaotic sounds with a subtle underlying direction. This is not music for madnesss’ sake – there is promise of things to come.
