Alpha Centauri (album)
Alpha Centauri | ||||
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![]() 1971 LP album cover | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1971 | |||
Recorded | January 1971 | |||
Studio | Dierks Studio | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:48 | |||
Label | Ohr | |||
Producer | Tangerine Dream | |||
Tangerine Dream chronology | ||||
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Alpha Centauri is the second major release and second studio album by German electronic music group Tangerine Dream. It was released in March 1971 by record label Ohr.
Content[]
The music on this album is quite different from Tangerine Dream’s first album Electronic Meditation, partly because of a heavier reliance on keyboards and electronic technology, although they still mostly remain in the background: the dominant instruments on the album are organ and flute. The other difference is that this album focuses on dark, spacey soundscapes as opposed to jam sessions.[citation needed] The shift in instrumentation resulted in an atmosphere dubbed by Edgar Froese himself as "kosmische musik".[citation needed] Julian Cope's Head Heritage wrote that the album "used the space rock template from [Pink Floyd's] Saucerful of Secrets (and removed the rock)".[4]
A nowadays extremely rare single "Ultima Thule" was released in February of the same year. Side 1 employs the same guitar riff as "Fly and Collision of Comas Sola", but the single was at the time otherwise an unconnected release. Re-releases of Alpha Centauri in the 2000s have however included either or both parts of Ultima Thule as bonus tracks.
Release[]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Head Heritage | positive[2] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10[1] |
Alpha Centauri was released on March 1971 by record label Ohr. It sold 20,000 copies in their native Germany, nearly four times as many as their later classic Phaedra.[citation needed]
Track listing[]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Sunrise in the Third System" | 4:21 |
2. | "Fly and Collision of Comas Sola" | 13:23 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Alpha Centauri" | 22:04 |
No. | Title | Length |
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4. | "Oszillator Planet Concert" (Sanctuary/Castle (2002), Arcàngelo (2004), Reactive/Esoteric (2011)) | 8:03 |
5. | "Ultima Thule, Part One (2000 remix)" (Arcàngelo (2004), Reactive/Esoteric (2011)) | 3:24 |
6. | "Ultima Thule, Part Two" (Reactive/Esoteric (2011)) | 4:24 |
Personnel[]
- Edgar Froese – guitar, organ, bass, composer
- Christopher Franke – drums, percussion, flute, zither, piano, VCS3
- Steve Schroyder – organ, voice, echo machines, iron stick
- Udo Dennebourg – flute, voice
- Roland Paulick – synthesizer
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Leone, Dominique (6 February 2003). "Tangerine Dream: Electronic Meditation/Alpha Centauri". Pitchfork.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | Tangerine Dream – Alpha Centauri". 5 February 2005.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Breece, Michael G.. Tangerine Dream – Alpha Centauri at AllMusic
- ^ "Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | Tangerine Dream – Atem". 9 March 2012.
External links[]
- Alpha Centauri at Discogs (list of releases)
- 1971 albums
- Krautrock albums
- Space music albums
- Tangerine Dream albums
- Ohr (record label) albums
- Albums produced by Edgar Froese
- Albums produced by Christopher Franke