STAR'S END Update 27 April 2025
RubyconTangerine Dream The "Me Decade" of music is now a world apart from our own. Back then a significant portion of the record buying public was supporting innovative music releases, and the Virgin Records label was feeding this demand with a range of titles that would eventually attain classic status among fans of Rock n' Roll as well as the aspiring genre of Spacemusic.

Throughout the early 1970s Tangerine Dream and their contemporaries in Berlin began to establish an as yet unheard musical form. The previously known trends in music would not allow these groups to properly express themselves, and what with electronic and synthesizer technologies becoming more available a groundbreaking new music manifested itself - one which used an unfamiliar futuristic instrument and was fueled by a passionate disengagement with the past.

After several early releases of surreal sound collage Tangerine Dream produced the groundbreaking Phaedra (1974). Art belongs to the subconscious, and this album attempted to sonically portray this enigmatic region of the mind. While Phaedra seemed like a sound structure that the listener was miraculously passing through, the following album Rubycon (1975) feels as though it is generating its own engulfing atmosphere each time it is played. Upon first hearing the tracks on Phaedra we find an experimental edge to them, but by the time TD went into the studio to make Rubycon (or even Edgar Forese's solo album Epsilon in Malaysian Pale) the randomness of their avant-garde edge had coalesced into a suite-like form and a somewhat linear compositional arc - fitted nicely into the 17 minute duration of one side of a 33 1/3 RPM long play record album.

The three separate sections of Rubycon Part 1 and Part 2, although significantly different from one another, worked together to form a fascinating whole. Each realization begins with an eerie amorphous interlude of drones, metallic tones and wondrously modulated aural accents. The mounting tension resolves with the emergence of an ever repeating pattern of propelling bass tones, above which is played the lilting melody of a soft synthesizer lead. The minimalist sequence runs on, then gradually brightens as individual notes are transposed and repeated - minutely altering the pattern and quickening the music's pulse. Transitioning out of this energetic phase the magical beauty of the closing section solemnly brings the piece to its conclusion.

The overall effect offered a strange and novel kind of cognitive disengagement - the unusual idea of traveling while sitting in place, which has yet to be fully explained or replicated by musicians who have followed. The generations after the Rubycon era may come close to achieving the evocative mood and otherwordly touch of this work, but never the innocence. New musical territory can only be discovered once - and Rubycon looms as the standard ever out of reach.

Please tune in to the 04.27.25 broadcast of STAR'S END for music from Rubycon the classic album by Tangerine Dream and more...

Additional Content:

Encore (1977) by Tangerine Dream

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WXPN/STAR'S END 2025 Member Listening Session
Chuck van Zyl/XPN Members

Those making a donation during the 02.23.25 fundraising broadcast of Star's End were among the first to receive an invitation to register and attend an exclusive Spacemusic Listening Session lead by long-time Star's End host Chuck van Zyl. Our group will be introduced to a select range of early releases significant to the establishment and elevation of this most unique form of contemporary Electronic Music, and joined briefly via the Internet for additional commentary by UK synthesist Ian Boddy - with the session culminating in the focused spinning of the 1975 classic Rubycon by Tangerine Dream.

WXPN/Star's End Members Listening Event

The WXPN/Star's End 2025 Member Listening Session will take place on Saturday 26 April 2025 from 7:00pm to 10:00pm in the intimacy of WXPN's Performance Studio, 3025 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. This event is free for XPN Members, but a reservation is required as seating is limited to just 40 attendees.

Thanks for Your Support!

(Click Here for 2024 Member Concert Photos)

Chuck van Zyl - Fox 29 Philadelphia Feature

Hank Flynn's FOX 29 Feature on STAR'S END Host Chuck van Zyl for The 215

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STAR'S END - WXPN's Archived Stream
Chuck van Zyl

Beginning with the 10.07.18 edition, an archived stream of each broadcast of STAR'S END will be available through the WXPN website. To listen anytime, please access: www.xpn.org/program/stars-end

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The Listening List - Recent Album Reviews From STAR'S END
11000 Lightyears The Reverent Sky Heyr Where the River Widens Sounds Searching for People

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April 2025 Top 40 STAR'S END Releases - Alphabetical
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Images From Selected Live On-Air Concerts - Click on an Image for Details
Ombient Saul Stokes RMI Guitar Pilots Chuck van Zyl Robert Rich Ian Boddy

Access the Concerts page for more about live on-air in-studio STAR'S END radio recitals

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2025 : Live on STAR'S END

STAR'S END Space Camp 2025
- Dannielle Nia : 3 August 2025
- Huron : 10 August 2025
- Joe Aliberti : 17 August 2025
- Neil Cippon : 24 August 2025

Chris Meyer's Alias Zone : 14 September 2025

Ótal - 12 October 2025

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Please Check Back for Updates!

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Griffin + Sabine Website Pages Updated/Added


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