Harry Thumann was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and sound engineer

Audio engineering

An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

. He designed and built groundbreaking synthesizers and studio equipment from the early 1960s onwards.

Born Harald Thumann in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, he started out as a drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 while getting a thorough grounding in audio engineering in German broadcasting. When touring lost appeal, Thumann put his musical and technical experience to work and started his first recording studio

Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

 in a bedroom at the family home. Thumann participated in the development of the SSL 4000 series of consoles, and took the first one for this studio. Premises for a permanent studio with live-in accommodation were found in Germering

Germering

Germering is a city within the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km west of Munich. The popular German band Sportfreunde Stiller is from here.-History:...

 near Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, and Countrylane Studios were born.

Thumann later recognised the potential of MIDI, and used Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

 computers with MIDI cards, controlling a system that evolved into a synthesizer installation including Fairlight II

Fairlight CMI

The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...

 and Moog 3C modular system. This led to a string of album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s for Rondò Veneziano

Rondò Veneziano

Rondò Veneziano is an Italian chamber orchestra, specializing in Baroque music, playing original instruments, but incorporating a rock-style rhythm section of synthesizer, bass guitar and drums, led by Maestro Gian Piero Reverberi, who is also the principal composer of all of the original Rondo...

, which married both acoustic instruments and synthesizers. Thumann's own second solo album was Andromeda (1982).

Thumann had a run of what he called "dog records", under the 'Wonder Dog' name, which received some success in Germany and the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

  (through E&S Music). The single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "Ruff Mix", peaked at #31 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 in September 1982.

With the introduction of the Yamaha DMP-7 digital mixer, Thumann built a second control room housing several DMP-7s as an integrated digital console system, interfaced with a rebuilt Neve broadcast console. Countrylane moved into audio-visual

Audio-visual

The term Audio-Visual may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or to equipment used to create and present such works...

 production, and started producing its own telefilms.

Albums

• 1979 American Express

1. "American Express" – 7:26
2. "Give A Little Help" – 8:30
3. "Underwater" – 6:05
4. "You Turn Me On" – 4:45
5. "Christine" – 6:30

• 1983 Andromeda

1. "Andromeda" - 7:48
2. "I'm Happy To Be In The Sun" - 5:30
3. "Out Of Tune" - 2:31
4. "Welcome Back, Jolette" - 4:58
5. "Bitch" - 3:30
6. "Paris 1944" - 3:57
7. "Sphinx" - 5:19
8. "Living On A Farm" - 2:56

Singles

• 1979 "Underwater" - UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
  
   #41; US
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
   Hot Dance Club Songs #17
• 1982 "Andromeda"
• 1982 "Living On A Farm"

Remixes

• 1992 "Break Down The Line" (Extended Version) on Jam Tronik's "Stand By Me" (Dance Mix)

External links