Home New Age music history Peter Baumann remembers Tangerine Dream’s Virgin years

Peter Baumann remembers Tangerine Dream’s Virgin years

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In connection with the release of the 7-Album Box Set: “In Search of Hades”, Uncut Magazine has interviewed Peter Baumann about Tangerine Dream’s Virgin years. Here the synth master discusses “Phaedra” and more. 

UNCUT: There are some fantastic live sets here (on “In Search of Hades”), the sound quality is amazing.
PETER BAUMANN: I remember we recorded all those on a little four-track machine! Very often we’d listen back to them – sometimes we’d think, ‘Ah, tonight wasn’t worth listening to!’ But we took it along to every concert.

Do you think Phaedra marked a big change?
It’s hard to say, because there was nothing to compare it to. We felt it was like a progression from “Zeit and “Atem”. Those were released in Germany, and I don’t think Virgin ever got the rights to them. Certainly, Phaedra was a major step forward. The times had changed, the equipment we got had changed, and Richard Branson came to Germany and said, ‘Hey, I want to sign you!’ We were the second artist that Virgin released, after Mike Oldfield.

And, like Mike Oldfield, you sold a lot of records!
I remember I was with my girlfriend in Italy on vacation, and I got this telegram from Richard Branson saying, “Your record is in the Top 10, you’ve gotta come to London and do interviews.” I said, “What Top 10?” I mean, it never dawned on me that the record could actually ever be in charts. It was a big surprise.

Read the complete interview here.

The 7-Album Box Set: “In Search of Hades”: