Christopher Franke (born 6 April 1953) is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1987, he was a member of the electronic group

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventually shifted to keyboards and synthesizers as the group moved away from its

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

origins. While he was not the first musician to use an

analog sequencer An analog sequencer is a music sequencer constructed from analog electronics, invented in the first half of the 20th century. Raymond Scott designed and constructed some of the first electro-mechanical music sequencers in the 1940s. The first ...

, he was probably the first to turn it into a live performance instrument, thus laying the rhythmic foundation for classic

pieces and indeed for the whole Berlin school sound. After his departure from the group, he founded the Sonic Images record label, a

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather tha ...

label called Earthtone and produced a number of solo music works. After leaving Tangerine Dream, his only live concert was on 9 October 1991 at the Astoria Theatre in London. He performed on stage with Edgar Rothermich who is also his producer and engineer on all his solo projects and film music after 1991. Franke moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to pursue film work. In 1995 he scored the AFI short ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

''. He may be best known for composing the music for the science fiction television series ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'', as well as the score of the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

movie '' Tenchi Muyo! in Love'' and in 2005 the music for German musical ''Ludwig²'' (with Konstantin Wecker).

Discography

Solo

* 1991 – ''Pacific Coast Highway'' * 1992 – '' Universal Soldier'' * 1992 – ''London Concert'' * 1993 – ''New Music for Films Vol. 1'' * 1993 – ''The Tommyknockers'' * 1993 – ''Klemania'' * 1993 –

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...

* 1994 – ''Raven'' * 1995 – ''

Night of the Running Man ''Night of the Running Man'' is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester and written by Lee Wells, who adapted it from his novel of the same name. It stars Andrew McCarthy and Scott Glenn. The film debuted on HBO before be ...

'' * 1995 – ''

'' * 1996 – '' Perry Rhodan – Pax Terra'' * 1996 – ''The Celestine Prophecy'' * 1996 – ''Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo! in Love'' (rereleased in 2002) * 1996 – ''Enchanting Nature'' * 1997 – ''Babylon 5, volume 2: Messages from Earth'' * 1997 – '' Babylon 5: In the Beginning'' * 1997 – '' Babylon 5: Thirdspace'' * 1997 – '' Pacific Blue'' * 1997 – ''Transformation of Mind'' * 1997 – '' Babylon 5: River of Souls'' * 1999 – ''Epic'' * 2000 – ''Babylon 5: Episodic CDs – 24 CDs x 30 minutes per CD'' (1997–2000) * 2000 – ''New Music for Films Vol. 2'' * 2000 – ''The Calling'' * 2001 – ''The Best of Babylon 5'' * 2003 – ''Music for Films Vol. 3'' (2003) CD-R * 2004 – ''

What the Bleep Do We Know!? ''What the Bleep Do We Know!?'' (stylized as ''What tнē #$*! D̄ө ωΣ (k)πow!?'' and ''What the #$*! Do We Know!?'') is a 2004 American pseudo-scientific film that posits a spiritual connection between quantum physics and consciousness (as ...

'' * 2005 – ''Ludwig² – Das Musical'' * 2007 – '' Babylon 5: The Lost Tales''

with
Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

;Major releases * 1971: ''

Alpha Centauri Alpha Centauri (, α Cen, or Alpha Cen) is a star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus (constellation), Centaurus. It consists of three stars: Rigil Kentaurus (), Toliman (), and Proxima Centauri (). Proxima Centauri ...

'' * 1972: '' Zeit'' * 1973: '' Atem'' * 1974: ''

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * Phaedra (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

'' * 1975: '' Rubycon'' * 1975: ''

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

'' (Live) * 1976: '' Stratosfear'' * 1977: ''

Sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...

'' (Soundtrack) * 1977: ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...

'' (Live) * 1978: ''

Cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

'' * 1979: ''

Force Majeure In contract law, force majeure ( ; ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, ...

'' * 1980: ''

Tangram The tangram () is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat polygons, called ''tans'', which are put together to form shapes. The objective is to replicate a pattern (given only an outline) generally found in a puzzle book using all seven pi ...

'' * 1980: '' Quichotte'' (Live) * 1981: ''

Thief Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

'' (Soundtrack) * 1981: ''

Exit Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange A ...

'' * 1982: '' White Eagle'' * 1982: ''

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

'' (Live) * 1983: ''

Hyperborea In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans (, ; ) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the Ecumene, known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas (god), Boreas" (the God of the north wind). Some schol ...

'' * 1984: ''

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

'' (Live) * 1983–1985: ''Multiple film soundtracks'' * 1985: '' Le Parc'' * 1986: ''

Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

'' (Soundtrack) * 1986: '' Green Desert'' (Recorded 1973) * 1986: '' Underwater Sunlight'' * 1987: '' Three O'Clock High'' (Soundtrack) * 1987: '' Tyger'' * 1988: ''

Near Dark ''Near Dark'' is a 1987 American neo-Western horror film co-written and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (in her solo directorial debut), and starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen and Jenette Goldstein. The plot follows ...

'' (Soundtrack) * 1988: '' Shy People'' (Soundtrack) * 1988: '' Livemiles'' (Live) * 1991: '' Canyon Dreams'' (Recorded 1986)

External links

Official website

Sonic Images official homepage
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franke, Christopher 1953 births German electronic musicians German television composers Living people Male television composers New-age musicians Private Music artists Tangerine Dream members

Discography

Solo

with Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

See also

External links

with
Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...