ESKILSTUNA KULTURSKOLA conducted by THOMAS RYDELL – An Orchestral Dream (2021, 10”EP FdM Friends of the Fish 53)
RELEASE INFO:
Label: Fruits de Mer Records
Format: 10”, EP (33rpm), Lathe-Cut (around 50 copies)
Release Date: 20 Dec 2021
Well, I think, that this time, Keith surpassed any expectation in releasing “obscure things” through his Fruits de Mer Records label. This time, he is releasing a 10-inch EP on a very small amount of copies (around 50 lathe-cuts), a group of Swedish music students that have recorded three acoustic versions of Tangerine Dream tracks under the guidance of their teacher Thomas Rydell. Keith explains: “I happened to find them on youtube and couldn’t resist releasing them – they have a real charm, a very different take on TD… It’s amazing what you can find on Youtube – completely by chance. On one occasion I found a version of Tangerine Dream’s ‘Poland’, a totally unexpected version, performed by a group of Swedish students – all non-professionals – under the guidance of a Thomas Rydell. Further investigation unearthed two more ‘TD’ tracks by them and a very limited run 10” lathe-cut single is the result…
I’m a sucker for the overly ambitious, the unexpected, and the unfathomable – check through the Fruits de Mer back catalog and in there you’ll find gems like a one-man version of Egg’s first album, remakes of VDGG’s ‘Pawn Hearts’ and Joe Meek’s ‘I Hear A New World’…‘An Orchestral Dream’ is very much in that “how…why…wow” category and I think deserves to be heard by more people. All credit to the students of Eskilstuna Kulturskola and to their teacher Thomas Rydell for making it happen”…
On the other side, the teacher Thomas Rydell, explains the background to the recordings…
“I work as a guitar teacher at Eskilstuna Kulturskola in Sweden, and occasionally I make music videos featuring my students. It can be anything from classical music to pop and rock. However, since I have a special interest in krautrock and progressive rock I decided that I wanted to attempt to record some of my old favorites as well. It is not the type of music that music students are normally exposed to, as the music repertoire in schools most often is traditional and predictable. Over the years I have made student video covers of Gentle Giant, Yes, Genesis, Alan Parsons Project to mention a few.
Tangerine Dream hold a special place in my heart, and in 2017 I decided that I wanted to record a crossover acoustic version of one of their songs. Things that I considered were that it should be playable by acoustic instruments, and by students who are not professionals. The music include enough pauses for the woodwind and brass instrument players to breathe(!), and in general not too difficult when it came to tempo and key. At the same time, I wanted to be as true to the original as I could possibly achieve; the three tracks here were recorded over the next three years”…
The tracks on the 10” are:
“Poland” (11:04) which was originally included on Tangerine Dream’s 1984 “The Warsaw Concert” (their 24th major release and their 5th live album). “Charly The Kid” (4:06) also from 1984, is taken from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “Firestarter”. The last track is “Love On A Real Train”, again from the year 1984, taken from another movie, the famous “Risky Business”, a song that Tangerine Dream released as a 7-inch vinyl single! All three reinterpretations over here are quite imaginative, very inspired, and in a genius way, different than the original versions! There’s a lot of passion and it’s really hard to believe that this is a bunch of school students and not a famous ensemble! All melodies of the Tangerine Dream songs are here, of course, but they are presented/executed in a fantastic colorful, and uplifting exciting way! Fans of Tangerine Dream will definitely be pleasantly surprised and it’s really sad that this extra limited release can’t reach more aficionados out there… TimeLord Michalis
Tracklist
A1 | Poland | 11:04 | |
B1 | Charly The Kid | 4:06 | |
B2 | Love On A Real Train | 4:07 |
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