Force Majeure

Force Majeure is a 1979 electronic music album released by the German group Tangerine Dream, originally issued on transparent vinyl. Following Stratosfear, the album developed Tangerine Dream's further evolution toward the more melodic sound they would adopt in the 1980s, with a heavier presence of guitars, drums and distinct musical suites in the tradition of progressive rock, rather than the band's 1970s output of Berlin School. The distortion of the bass sequence on "Thru Metamorphic Rocks" was the result of a burnt-out transistor in the mixing desk. When the band heard the result, they decided to keep it. Remixed excerpts of "Force Majeure" titled "Lana" and "Cloudburst Flight" titled "Guido The Killer Pimp" were used on the film soundtrack Risky Business while a remixed excerpt of "Thru Metamorphic Rocks" titled "Igneous" was used on Thief. A heavily remixed version was played live in 2003, and later released as "Meta Morph Magic" on the DM 4 album. In 1991, Chris Franke played "Cloudburst Flight" as part of his solo London Concert. Force Majeure is Tangerine Dream's fourth biggest selling album in the UK, reaching No. 26 and spending 7 weeks on the chart.