Tangerine Dream - That Familiar Cinematic Synth Sound

I have been a longtime fan of film scores. I like just about everything that Italian horror masters Goblin have done. Stewart Copeland (Rumble Fish), Howard Shore (Scanners), John Carpenter (Escape from New York) Giorgio Moroder (Scarface) and Jeremy Schmidt (Beyond the Black Rainbow) have also created some memorable background sounds. However, my favorite is Tangerine Dream.

Tangerine Dream, a name may not be familiar to most but many should find their sound very familiar. Tangerine Dream is a German electronic band that has released an enormous amount of albums, but they are mainly known for their soundtrack work. Of the many films they have scored, my favorites are The Keep, Near Dark, Risky Business, Sorcerer, Legend, The Park is Mine, Wavelength…ahh I could go on.

Their ambient music is like no other and it creates an unmistakable, atmospheric landscape. Each of the films listed above would have a completely different feel had they been scored by someone else. Their music has a mood inducing effect that truly makes the films stand out.

For instance, The Keep is a slowly paced, brooding gothic horror film with very little action. Some would say it is rather boring, but the score is what entices me to watch it over and over. During the long, dream-like sequences it feels as if the music has my attention frozen.

Another example of how their music can change the course of a movie is the 1983 Tom Cruise vehicle Risky Business. When I viewed it for the first time it had just been taken out of theaters and was debuting on cable. The trailer gave the impression of another light-hearted, teen-sex comedy filled with pop rock music. The film was just that, yet Tangerine Dream’s score gave it a totally opposite vibe. It was comedy twisted with a dark mood. At the time, I found it very strange but that is what always stood out from the movie.

Another film, Near Dark, the vampire epic that battled fellow movie The Lost Boys for 80s bloodsucking supremacy (you could argue for Fright Night and The Hunger as well). I like both films for different reasons, but of the two, Near Dark is the superior output. The film itself has a great cast (Lance Henrikson and Bill Paxton) mixed with horror and action. Tangerine Dream’s contribution is what truly what mends the cinematography together into a masterpiece.

I could easily review each film the band scored and go on and on with accolades. Their music is incredible and I listen to it quite often. I find the best time for listening is when doing something creative…maybe when I have a dull knife to my throat.