We have reached that point in popular culture where we are witnessing the snake eating its own tail… and it’s actually kind of a beautiful thing. I’m talking about the latest fan tribute to Netflix phenomenon Stranger Things. We’ve seen fans all over the globe do artistic tributes in response to the series, with everything from ’80s style video games, to adorable pugs dressed up as the characters. But thanks to HitFix, we’ve learned that the fans doing the latest tribute are actually some of the very artists that inspired the musical aesthetic of the series in the first place: electronic music legends Tangerine Dream.
For those of you out there who are unfamiliar, Tangerine Dream are a musical trio who describe themselves as a German “electronic music collective”, who were originally formed back in the late ’60s. They became well known for providing synth scores for ’80s films like Risky Business, Legend, Near Dark, and Firestarter, the latter of these which was a big influence on the character Eleven on Stranger Things. Their synth scores were definitely an influence on the group S.U.R.V.I.V.E.’s soundtrack for the series.
In fact, in a recent interview with Salon, S.U.R.V.I.V.E.’s Kyle Dixon talked about his Tangerine Dream influence, saying “we listen to a lot of Tangerine Dream and they did a ton of soundtracks. There’s a few key soundtracks by them that definitely influenced us in a lot of ways, like Thief and Sorcerer.” In response, Tangerine Dream put up not one, but three different homage tracks to the Duffer Brothers‘ series up on Soundcloud.
The first two are clearly riffs on the main them,and were given the titles “;-)” and  “😉 (without glitch).” Most interestingly, the third is called “:-) II”, suggesting it’s something of an audition track to become part of the show’s second season. Which, I think, would only be fair.
You can listen to all three of Tangerine Dream’s homages to Stranger Things down below, and be sure to let us know what you think about them in the comments section.
Image: Netflix
