Interview With Peter Baumann
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Had the honor of catching up with legendary musician, producer and synth pioneer, Peter Baumann!
Baumann formed the core line-up of the pioneering German electronic group Tangerine Dream with Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke in 1971. He composed his first solo album in '76 and embarked on a solo career in '77. He also produced a number of momentous albums at his Paragon Studio (by the likes of Conrad Schnitzler, Cluster, Hans-Joachim Roedelius) and also founded the record label Private Music, signing artists like Ravi Shankar, Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Andy Summers (The Police), Ringo Starr, Etta James and his former bandmates, Tangerine Dream. Needless to say, he's one of those artists that is a pioneer in more ways than one!
His 50th Anniversary re-issue of Romance 76 is out now via Bureau-B, limited to 500 copies and pressed on transparent yellow. Link.
Without further ado...
Synth History: What were some of your early synthesizers and do you have any all-time favorites?
Peter Baumann: The very first synthesizer I worked with was the VCS3. It was remarkably complex for its size and came in a briefcase-style caseI always loved the slogan 'every picnic needs a Synthy.' I also enjoyed the Minimoog, of course. How could you not? But my all-time favorite was a custom-built modular system from Projekt Elektronik.
Synth History: What drew you to electronic music and what was the general music scene like when you were first starting out?
Peter Baumann: I started out playing in a conventional band, we played GI clubs in Berlin. The bass player and I began experimenting with all sorts of sounds that we recorded: slamming a door, breaking a glass, rattling knives and forks. Then I met Christoph Franke and was invited to join him and Edgar for a rehearsal session. My only instrument at the time was a Farfisa organ.
Just a bit later, we got a simple noise generator that had three buttons: white noise, pink noise, and volume control. A tone generator followed soon after, it had a square wave, sawtooth, and sine wave. Next came some outboard gear: tape delays, wah-wah pedal, and others. What drew me to electronic instruments was the unusual sounds you could make and the ability to use them in unconventional ways.
Synth History: Can you describe the process of recording Romance '76?
Peter Baumann: I recorded Romance ’76 in between Tangerine Dream tours, in a rehearsal room on an 8-track Ampex machine over a period of about four months. David Bowie was living in Berlin at the time, he came by and gave me a few pointers. David was recording Low during that same period.
Synth History: One of my favorite YouTube videos is the Tangerine Dream Coventry Cathedral performance, with all the candles inside a bit church. I wish I was there! Can you tell me about it?
Peter Baumann: During that time we did a few concerts in cathedrals, Coventry, Reims, and a few in Germany. The whole period was a bit of a Twilight Zone; it all kind of fell into place. I don't remember whose idea the candles were, but I thought it was pretty cool.
Synth History: I read that you used a Projekt Elektronik Modular Synthesizer, Sequencer, ARP Pro Soloist and Mellotron for the score for William Friedkin’s Sorcerer! What was it like working on that film?
Peter Baumann: Yes, those were the instruments we used. The best thing was that William Friedkin, who invited us to visit him in Paris as he prepared the movie, didn’t give us any direct ideas of what he wanted. Friedkin basically suggested we record whatever we felt would fit the script and then send it to him so he could play it during shooting. A good chunk of the music was recorded in Edgar's shop on a TEAC 4-track machine. I loved the whole process, no limitations!
Synth History: If you could give one tip for overcoming writer's block, what would it be?
Peter Baumann: Write one word at a time, then one sentence, then one paragraph. Just start and see where it takes you. Don't worry about whether anyone will want to read it or not.
Synth History exclusive.
Photos via provided by Peter Baumann/Bureau-B Press Kit.
Conducted by Danz.
