Originally posted May 20, 2012

In this episode, I discuss my new age piece Late Day Storm (May 2012), along with new age music in general and the Tangerine Dream track “Exit.”

New age music is often used for relaxation and stress relief—during yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, massage, and more. It can be acoustic (guitar, flute, piano) or electronic (primarily synthesizers).

Tangerine Dream, formed in 1967, has released over 100 albums, including 30+ film soundtracks such as Risky Business and Firestarter.

To prepare for composing, I spent a couple of weeks listening to new age music, especially Tangerine Dream. I was particularly drawn to “Exit” (1981; re-released in 1994 on Tangents). I liked its ~87 BPM tempo and chord progression (Bb minor to Cb major 7), especially how the Bb note carries across both chords. The layered leads—pan flute, voices, and bell-like synth—also stood out.

I also explored the ~400 patches on my Yamaha YPG-235, focusing on pan flute-style sounds, synth leads, and effects rather than traditional orchestral instruments.

I composed Late Day Storm over four days (about 9.5 hours total). The piece uses an 8-measure progression repeated 11 times:

Dm – Gm – Dm – Gm – Abmaj7 – Ebmaj7 – Abmaj7 – Ebmaj7

There are 13 parts across 15 tracks (two doubled), including:

• Bass: poly synth pad
• Mid-range chords: Fargo + poly synth pad
• Drums: toms, bass drum, cymbals (4 tracks from 2 kits)
• Melodies: pan flute and blown bottle
• Main theme: Xenon pad
• Effects: “popcorn,” rain, wind, thunder

I recorded using MIDI (as in Episode 5, Sleepy), capturing performance data (notes, timing, dynamics), then editing as needed. Once finalized, I recorded each part as audio by soloing tracks and capturing the synthesizer output.

During production, I created rough mixes each day, adjusting levels and refining parts. I added effects like reverb (toms, popcorn, thunder), fades (rain, wind, drums), and used automation on the “popcorn” sound to pan it across channels.

After completing the final mix and fade-out, the piece was finished.

Going forward, I plan to continue composing new age music, explore new synthesizer sounds, and possibly incorporate saxophone—similar to what I did on Rue’s Whistle. Tangerine Dream has used sax since the 1980s and now includes a sax player. I’m also planning to see them live in NYC on July 7.