New interview with Chris

[har]

"Reality TV", scoring Supernanny and Big Brother .... words fail me.
Chris Franke what have you done ... it's the equivalent of Jamie Oliver preparing Cheeseburgers and loving it...

Dearie me............what a waste total mince programmes

[Hipgnosis]

Hi,

It's actually a nice interview ... but my gut tells me that something is missing ... and what that is ... is not at the tip of my tongue or fingers.

I'm not sure ... and I will admit I have not heard many of these new clips and library ... that music should be qualified in terms of mood ... that scares the living worms out of my spleen!

It's the same as Hollywood ... pre-fab shots and film conventions supposedly mean this and that ... and folks like Chris know that all too well .. c'mon ... he was there during the surrealistic 60's --possibly a bit young then too -- but he would know that the main thrust of those days, and eventually Tangerine Dream ... was to break those conventions down and "find something else" ...

You know ... I play "El Greco" a lot ... and someone told me that it was sad. I play "Slow Waves, Soft Stars (Anthony Phillips) a lot ... and the lady I wrote a lovely poem to, thought it was "sad" ...

Feelings ... that's one thing ... perception ... is another ...

The first time I heard Phaedra, I was scared ... only to discover a month later that it was lovely and fascinating and colored my inquisitive and exploratory mind much better than anything I had ever heard, seen or loved ... EVER! But it is NOT ... in any way shape or form ... a representation of a feeling of .. this or that ...

So, in the end, I find this quite an interesting commercial pump ... you make sure that people know that you can do different things ... and one day someone is gonna come by and ask you for that same theme again ...

It's sad ... by doing that Chris will never be the next Maurice Jarre, the next Nino Rota ... the next Bernard Herrman ( he should really listen to Bernard a little to find out how to experiment a little in case he has forgotten! ... ) ...

It's weird ... I thought his music for Babylon 5 was nice ... albeit it was not used hald as well as it should have been and there were a lot of moments in many shows ... not just one ... that could have used better direction and music integration ... not just the conventional hollywood sound bites. I really liked his London concert CD ... but I had an issue with it being associated with "New Age" ... knowing darn well that he didn't.

Chris ... if I may ... and I am not your dad ... forget the past ... forget "soundtrack" ... be yourself ... not an image of hollywood/bollywood. If another Werner Herzog comes by, maybe he will use your music and ask you for more ... if not ... please ... the Hollywood types are not your style. Never will be!

You know what is sad about soundtracks? On a psychic level more than 75% of the time it has absolutely nothing to do with what you are seeing ... and in many ways this is "mis-leading" and often throws the film off its track. There are directors out there that know how to use music and they will blend some music to the moment in film ... beautifully ... but few of these are in Hollywood, where the largest segment of the movie world has ... no heart or soul to have any music in it ... in the first place.

[Rubyconesque]

Felt I had to write on CF's recent output and direction. I have had the privilege of meeting CF in 2006 and he gave me some 4 hours of his music. I hear some of it in Super Nanny etc..but what struck me was the IMMENSE talent of this one guy who can turn his hand from doing a sequenced TD style piece to a majestic symphonic track which wouldn't be out of place in Indiana Jones/Harry Potter blockbuster and in between do jazz /soft piano/rapstyle/b and b etc etc. The guy is truly phenomenal in his skill. One should also remember that scoring for an orchestra is far more complex and difficult than doing a synth album eg on a keyboard you can play a chord...but violins can only play one note at a time so playing an orchestral chord involves 3 violins playing a note each. His 'Celestine Prophecy' showed an innate ability to compose world music which sounds beautifully authentic . He doesn't want to go back to producing single note sequences of old and re-producing the stuff we love so much eg Ricochet etc...always looking forward andI feel he has soared to new heights since leaving TD. His years with TD were great - but he felt a parting of the ways was necessary for hi to broaden his own horizon.

[Jon]

Wow, I'm sure Rubyconesque's post will spark discussion.

I agree with much of what you say, but why can't Franke at least give us some albums with his (film) music? Even Paul Haslinger is scoring rather big films these days, while Franke concentrates on reality TV. The only thing he has been doing this year is Amazing Race. Looks like he hasn't scored a feature film in 3 years. Let's hope his career doesn't come to a full stop yet.

[Rubyconesque]

I asked why he didn't put out more cd's and his reply was 'cd's are dead'. Remember also that his library music sells for around 248 US dollars per minute and he can't therefore willy nilly chuck out some of it for fan consumption - unfortunately. Certainly, he has more than enough material to put out to the hungry fans which would more than appeal to them - some wonderful moods and textures. I asked if he intended to complete the so called material he said he was preparing when he put out ' Barryl Blues' on the 70-80 boxed TD set. He replied a definitive 'No!' He has moved on from that phase of his musical life.....inc that with TD so I don't think we can ever expect anything like 'The London Concert' type output from Chris again.

[cantosis]

I asked why he didn't put out more cd's and his reply was 'cd's are dead'. Remember also that his library music sells for around 248 US dollars per minute and he can't therefore willy nilly chuck out some of it for fan consumption - unfortunately. Certainly, he has more than enough material to put out to the hungry fans which would more than appeal to them - some wonderful moods and textures. I asked if he intended to complete the so called material he said he was preparing when he put out ' Barryl Blues' on the 70-80 boxed TD set. He replied a definitive 'No!' He has moved on from that phase of his musical life.....inc that with TD so I don't think we can ever expect anything like 'The London Concert' type output from Chris again.

I have always enjoyed the majority of Chris Frankes solo stuff, I dont have all the B5 albums but the ones I have are enjoyable. And albums the London Concert,Klemania,Celistine Prophecy are classics in my book

You have to respect an artisit for the direction they choose to go, when they start doing things just to please the fans then they have sold out, I know some people will say Chris has sold out to the US dollars and maybe he has but I will always have a lot of respect for the man mainly for his TD input but always his solo work that I used to and still do get a lot of pleasure from

[TheMan]

I asked why he didn't put out more cd's and his reply was 'cd's are dead'. Remember also that his library music sells for around 248 US dollars per minute and he can't therefore willy nilly chuck out some of it for fan consumption - unfortunately. Certainly, he has more than enough material to put out to the hungry fans which would more than appeal to them - some wonderful moods and textures. I asked if he intended to complete the so called material he said he was preparing when he put out ' Barryl Blues' on the 70-80 boxed TD set. He replied a definitive 'No!' He has moved on from that phase of his musical life.....inc that with TD so I don't think we can ever expect anything like 'The London Concert' type output from Chris again.

I have always enjoyed the majority of Chris Frankes solo stuff, I dont have all the B5 albums but the ones I have are enjoyable. And albums the London Concert,Klemania,Celistine Prophecy are classics in my book

You have to respect an artisit for the direction they choose to go, when they start doing things just to please the fans then they have sold out, I know some people will say Chris has sold out to the US dollars and maybe he has but I will always have a lot of respect for the man mainly for his TD input but always his solo work that I used to and still do get a lot of pleasure from

CF is a complete sell out in my book. That doesnt take away any of his paste achievements however.

[24db]

well, that's put that one to bed then. Talented guy though, you can't ignore that, whatever you think of what he does and the real reasons why he continues to do it

[Rubyconesque]

[CF is a complete sell out in my book. That doesnt take away any of his paste achievements however.[/quote]


Why? just because he isn't producing 8 note sequences of 30 years ago?? For heavens sake - as a artist/musician it is natural to want to expand ones horizons and move on to pastures new. Fact is, Chris is his OWN man - and doesn't pander to the whims of his fans. Years ago I asked if he'd miss playing on stage having left TD...and in a roundabout logical argument, he presented the conclusion that artists go on stage for the adulation of the fans
and the need to be in the limelight - but that he no longer had such desires , consequently, he wouldn't miss playing live on stage. I think he was quite right in his assesment of why bands tour forever - usually playing the same material years later. Personally, I think leaving TD has enable him to develop his musical ability in directions that would never have been possible within TD. He did say in one interview, he left TD because he felt that the music wasn't going anywhere and that he needed to break out of it's constraints. Personally, I think TD has gone in directions it probably would never have had CF still been with them and that it was to the gain of both TD and CF that they parted company.

[24db]

[CF is a complete sell out in my book. That doesnt take away any of his paste achievements however.

Why? just because he isn't producing 8 note sequences of 30 years ago?? For heavens sake - as a artist/musician it is natural to want to expand ones horizons and move on to pastures new. Fact is, Chris is his OWN man - and doesn't pander to the whims of his fans. Years ago I asked if he'd miss playing on stage having left TD...and in a roundabout logical argument, he presented the conclusion that artists go on stage for the adulation of the fans
and the need to be in the limelight - but that he no longer had such desires , consequently, he wouldn't miss playing live on stage. I think he was quite right in his assesment of why bands tour forever - usually playing the same material years later. Personally, I think leaving TD has enable him to develop his musical ability in directions that would never have been possible within TD. He did say in one interview, he left TD because he felt that the music wasn't going anywhere and that he needed to break out of it's constraints. Personally, I think TD has gone in directions it probably would never have had CF still been with them and that it was to the gain of both TD and CF that they parted company.[/quote]

Sadly Chris is also on record saying that he did want to play live...but that was in 1991/92...shame really, but you've got to allow people to change their minds I guess. Of the three people who left TD (Paul, Chris and Johannes) and all they've managed between them is 3 gigs . Once Hollywood gets hold of you it doesn't allow you to say no many times, say it once or twice...'sorry I'm on tour' and they stop calling.

[TheMan]

[CF is a complete sell out in my book. That doesnt take away any of his paste achievements however.

Why? just because he isn't producing 8 note sequences of 30 years ago?? For heavens sake - as a artist/musician it is natural to want to expand ones horizons and move on to pastures new. Fact is, Chris is his OWN man - and doesn't pander to the whims of his fans. Years ago I asked if he'd miss playing on stage having left TD...and in a roundabout logical argument, he presented the conclusion that artists go on stage for the adulation of the fans
and the need to be in the limelight - but that he no longer had such desires , consequently, he wouldn't miss playing live on stage. I think he was quite right in his assesment of why bands tour forever - usually playing the same material years later. Personally, I think leaving TD has enable him to develop his musical ability in directions that would never have been possible within TD. He did say in one interview, he left TD because he felt that the music wasn't going anywhere and that he needed to break out of it's constraints. Personally, I think TD has gone in directions it probably would never have had CF still been with them and that it was to the gain of both TD and CF that they parted company.[/quote]

Why? Because his music is wholly uninteresting to me and totally anonymous. It smacks of zero inspiration. Just something that a talented guy can pound out without too much work and get on with his California life. Just my opinion.

[24db]

One thing I do respect Chris for, and that's that he knows once you've done something well, there's no point keeping repeating it..he's changed even if some fans haven't. I don't like his current direction and 'perhaps' the real reasons behind it, but I wish him well.

[Laserdisc Dream]

What really happen too CF I don’t from him for a while.

[Mac cuber transfer]

Hi Rubyconesque

Good and insightful posts in Chris's defence, and I'm with you on most of it

I know there is a hunger from fans for Chris to return to his roots, me too if truth be known, but we just have to accept that what we like no longer holds any fascination for him.

I think there is a much repeated natural cycle for an artist to follow : when young you are more naturally aggressive and determined whilst maturity brings understanding and refinement of the artistic process. Maybe that's just bunkum but it does seem the most radical and creative time for many artists is when they are young-ish.

It took me a while but I love the textures and atmospheres of Celestine prophecy and B5 but I'm there now and I'm pleased Chris has made those albums. However, I hope library music is not Chris's future because no matter how good it may be it is a dead end creatively.

Personally I think Chris is in need of a fresh challenge beyond the confines of the hollywood machine and I believe he will only find that in his european heritage and culture and not that of the USA, but again, that too may be bunkum.

[bigmoog]

Hi Rubyconesque

Good and insightful posts in Chris's defence, and I'm with you on most of it

I know there is a hunger from fans for Chris to return to his roots, me too if truth be known, but we just have to accept that what we like no longer holds any fascination for him.

I think there is a much repeated natural cycle for an artist to follow : when young you are more naturally aggressive and determined whilst maturity brings understanding and refinement of the artistic process. Maybe that's just bunkum but it does seem the most radical and creative time for many artists is when they are young-ish.

It took me a while but I love the textures and atmospheres of Celestine prophecy and B5 but I'm there now and I'm pleased Chris has made those albums. However, I hope library music is not Chris's future because no matter how good it may be it is a dead end creatively.

Personally I think Chris is in need of a fresh challenge beyond the confines of the hollywood machine and I believe he will only find that in his european heritage and culture and not that of the USA, but again, that too may be bunkum.

not bunkum but truth, IMHO, great post and I agree with it, not that my agreement means a hill of baked beans....Come Back Chris, your fan needs thee....er, possibly