B

Banco De Gaia
artist

Peter Baumann
artist

Bent
artist

Between
artist

Big Bud
artist

The Big Chill
label

Hildergard Von Bingen
artist

Biosphere
artist

Alastair Black
artist

Bliss
artist

Blu Mar Ten
artist

Bluetech
artist

Boards Of Canada
artist

Richard Bone
artist

Bonobo
artist

Kevin Braheny
artist

Brain Ballet
artist

David Bridie & John Philips
artist

Michael Brook
artist

Gavin Bryers
artist

Harold Budd
artist

David Byrne & Brian Eno
artist

A-Z INDEX

 

artist:
Peter Baumann
country of origin:
Germany
style(s):
Krautrock, Berlin-school, ambient trance

essential releases:
Romance '76 (1976, Virgin)

Exactly who did what in pioneering electronic band Tangerine Dream during its various 70's and 80's incarnations has always been something of a mystery, except perhaps to other electronic musicians. That Baumann alone recorded one of the classic albums of Berlin-school ambient Romance '76 suggests his contribution to TD must have been been significant. It came out a year before he actually left the band but it remains his solo masterwork, a sparser variation of the sequenced electronics heard on his former band's Stratosfear (1976). Its a perfect snapshot of mid-70s' sequencer-driven electronica. The melodies are seductive and shadowy and there's a certain looseness - bum notes and all - that's rare in the genre. Most impressive of all is the two-part “Meadow Of Infinity”. Part One features dramatic flourishes from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, while Part Two develops one of the most extraordinary and eerily beautiful melodies from the Mellotron keyboard that's ever been committed to record.

Baumann’s subsequent albums like Transharmonic Nights (1979) opt for more pop-inflected, minimal electropop ala Kraftwerk but with decidedly less engaging results than his debut. In the 80's he moved to the USA and set up adult alternative label Private Music.

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