Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke (born April 6, 1953) is a German film composer and electronic musician, as well as a former member of the electronic music band Tangerine Dream.
Christopher Franke

Paul Carless from St Albans, UK · Tangerine Dream 1980something · CC BY 2.0
- Born
- 1953
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- composer · film score composer · recording artist · audio engineer · musician
- Fields
- new age music · avant-garde music · minimalist music · psychedelic music · progressive electronic music · stage and screen
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Christopher Franke (born April 6, 1953) is a German film composer and electronic musician, as well as a former member of the electronic music band Tangerine Dream.
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Note VALÉORINE
Christopher Franke (born 1953) is a German audio engineer, composer and film score composer, among other activities. Genres include avant-garde music, minimalist music and new age music, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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In this article
Early life
Early life
Franke studied composition at Berlin Conservatory, where his influences included Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage.
Career
Career
Franke was a member of the group Tangerine Dream from 1970 to 1987 where he was dubbed the "Sequencer King" for his use of analog sequencer on stage. His use of sequencers with the band is attributed to molding its fast hypnotic style, including on its Phaedra in 1973. This album paved the way for the classic style of the group and attributed to the Berlin school of sound. After leaving Tangerine Dream, Franke performed a number of solo projects. He performed live in 1991 at the Astoria Theatre in London. Recorded live with Edgar Rothermich, who also produced and engineered most of his projects, it was released as a full-length album in 1993. In 1991, Franke opened a recording studio in West Hollywood and began composing the music for featured films that included Universal Soldier, Tarzan and the Lost City, and Night of the Running Man. The following year, he founded the record label Sonic Images to release soundtracks, Electronica, and World Music. He also released Pacific Coast Highway, his first solo album outside of Tangerine Dream. For television, Franke has composed music for a number of television shows including for the Sci-Fi series Babylon 5 and Pacific Blue to name a few.
with Tangerine Dream
with Tangerine Dream
Sorcerer (1977) Thief (1981) Identification of a Woman (1982) The Soldier (1982) Risky Business (1983) Wavelength (1983) The Keep (1983) Firestarter (1984) Flashpoint (1984) Heartbreakers (1984) Forbidden (1984) Vision Quest (1985) Legend (1985) (American release) Shy People (1987) Near Dark (1987) 3 O'Clock High (1987) Canyon Dreams (1987)
Solo
Solo
Trabbi Goes to Hollywood (1991) McBain (1991) Eye of the Storm (1991) Universal Soldier (1992) The Surgeon (1995) Night of the Running Man (1995) Solo (1996) Public Enemies (1996) Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo in Love (1996) Tarzan and the Lost City (1998) Ms. Bear (1997) Fortress 2: Re-Entry (2000) The Calling (2000) Jack the Dog (2001) Johnny Flynton (2002) Manhood (2003) Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (2007)
with Tangerine Dream
with Tangerine Dream
The Park Is Mine (1985) (TV movie) Street Hawk (1985) Deadly Care (1987) (TV movie) Tonight's The Night (1987) (TV movie)
Solo
Solo
She Woke Up (1992) (TV movie) Raven (1992–1993) The Tommyknockers (1993) (TV miniseries) Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2000) Tales from the Crypt (1993) (Episode: "Came the Dawn") The Yarn Princess (1994) (TV movie) Angel Falls (1993) Babylon 5 (1994-1998) (110 episodes) Movie Magic (1994-1997) Beyond Betrayal (1994) (TV movie) M.A.N.T.I.S (1994) Kidnapped: In the Line of Duty (1995) (TV movie) Pacific Blue (1996–2000) (101 episodes) Hypernauts (1996) A Face to Die For (1996) (TV movie) Code Name: Wolverine (1996) (TV movie) Tell Me No Secrets (1997) (TV movie) The Inheritance (1997) (TV movie) The Devil's Child (1997) (TV movie) Menno's Mind (1997) (TV movie) Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998) (TV movie) Babylon 5: The Gathering (1998) (TV movie) Babylon 5: Thirdspace (1998) (TV movie) Terror in the Mall (1998) (TV movie) Babylon 5: The River of Souls (1998) (TV movie) Lost in the Bermuda Triangle (1998) (TV movie) From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic (1999) The Outer Limits (2000) (Episode: "Judgement Day") A Holiday Romance (1999) (TV movie) 18 Wheels of Justice (2000–2001) Seventeen Again (2000) (TV movie) Turtle Hero (2001) Murder on the Orient Express (2001) When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001) (miniseries) Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers (2002) (TV movie) Music Behind Bars (2002) Dear Santa (2002) (TV special) Dancing at the Harvest Moon (2002) (TV movie) The Family (2003) The Amazing Race (370 episodes; 2003–2026) Footsteps (2003) (TV movie) Hunter: Back in Force (2003) (TV movie) Hunter (2003) A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster (2003) (TV movie) The Elizabeth Smart Story (2003) (TV movie) Supernanny (2004–2008)
Solo
Solo
1991: Pacific Coast Highway 1992: Universal Soldier 1992: London Concert 1993: New Music for Films Vol. 1 1993: Klemania 1994: Raven 1995: Night of the Running Man 1995: Babylon 5 1996: Perry Rhodan – Pax Terra 1996: The Celestine Prophecy 1996: Tenchi the Movie: Tenchi Muyo! in Love 1996: Enchanting Nature 1997: Babylon 5, Vol. 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 2000: New Music for Films Vol. 2 2000: The Calling 2001: The Best of Babylon 5 2007: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales 2025: Purple Waves

Christopher Franke
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Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke · Sonic Images
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1995
Centauri Opera - Composed by Christopher Franke (Babylon 5) (1995) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
Major releases
1971: Alpha Centauri 1972: Zeit 1973: Atem 1974: Phaedra 1975: Rubycon 1975: Ricochet (Live) 1976: Stratosfear 1977: Sorcerer (Soundtrack) 1977: Encore (Live) 1978: Cyclone 1979: Force Majeure 1980: Tangram 1980: Quichotte (Live) 1981: Thief (Soundtrack) 1981: Exit 1982: White Eagle 1982: Logos (Live) 1983: Hyperborea 1984: Poland (Live) 1985: Le Parc 1986: Legend (Soundtrack) 1986: Green Desert (Recorded 1973) 1986: Underwater Sunlight 1987: Three O'Clock High (Soundtrack) 1987: Tyger 1988: Near Dark (Soundtrack) 1988: Shy People (Soundtrack) 1988: Livemiles (Live) 1991: Canyon Dreams (Recorded 1986)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Christopher Franke
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q61272: Christopher Franke
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Christopher Franke”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Burlingame, Jon. Music for Prime Time. Oxford University Press. 2023. 9780190618308.
- 2.Partridge, Christopher. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Popular Music. Bloomsbury Publishing. 15 June 2023. 9781350286993.
- 3.Leader of Tangerine Dream, the electronic band whose influence has been felt for more than four decades. The Independent. 28 January 2015.
- 4.Chris Franke: The Sequencer King. Sound on Sound. 1 May 1994.
- 5.Osborne, Ben. Game Changer: How Tangerine Dream's 'Phaedra' set the template for ambient electronics. DJ Mag. 29 July 2019.
- 6.Sfetcu, Nicolae. The Music Sound. 7 May 2014.
- 7.The London Concert. Voices in the Net.
- 8.Billboard. Labels Key in to Books' Messages. 6 December 1997.
- 9.Franke, Christopher. Cue Records.
- 10.Wilds, Stephen. The Legacy of Babylon 5: 30 years in the wake of the shadows. Space. 22 February 2023.
- 11.Wagner, Matthias. 3000 Plattenkritiken. 22 November 2016. 9783741869433.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Christopher FrankeMetaBrainz Foundation
VerifiedInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q61272: Christopher FrankeWikimedia Foundation
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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