Peter Baumann
Encyclopedia
Peter Baumann formed the core line-up of the German electronic group Tangerine Dream
with Edgar Froese
and Christopher Franke
in 1971. While touring with the band, Baumann composed his first solo album in 1976. Shortly thereafter, in 1977, he left the band and started his own solo career.
, Germany
, in 1953, his father a composer, his mother an actress. When he was eight, the Berlin Wall
was built, and Baumann entered the American/German Community School in Berlin
, where he learned English and was first exposed to American culture. At age 14, Peter joined a cover band
and performed at G.I. clubs. Then, in 1971, at age 18, he met Christopher Franke
, and ended up joining Tangerine Dream
in replacement of their former organist Steve Schroyder.
Two years later, Tangerine Dream signed with Virgin Records
and their first album on the label, Phaedra
, became a Top 10 seller on the Melody Maker
charts. As a result of this and other recording successes, Tangerine Dream toured the world for eight years. They also made successful forays into film scoring.
Baumann had temporarily left Tangerine Dream twice, first in 1973 (returning in time for Franke & Froese to shelf their current work on Green Desert
and the three to start anew on what was to become Phaedra), and again in 1975, leaving Michael Hoenig
as a temporary substitute for an Australian tour. His departure in 1977, shortly after the completion of the band's first U.S. tour, was final and led to a brief solo career.
During the 1980s, he founded a record label
, Private Music
, specializing in instrumental music in a style popularly referred to as New Age
. Artists signed to the label included Yanni
, Patrick O'Hearn
, Jerry Goodman
, Suzanne Ciani
, and former bandmates Tangerine Dream
. In 1996, the label was sold to Windham Hill Records
' parent company, BMG
, who continue to distribute some of the back catalogue of its more successful artists. Baumann has since kept a low profile from the music business, devoting his time to studying Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, religions and philosophies. He has since founded the Baumann Foundation and developed a philosophical theory
focused on human suffering and liberation called Natural Enlightenment.
and is a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute
.
In 2001, a musician/technician called Peter Baumann was credited with audio engineering
work on Landing
's EP Oceanless, and has since become a group member, rounding out the quintet for 2005's Brocade. However this is a different, much younger and unrelated Peter Baumann.
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
with Edgar Froese
Edgar Froese
Edgar Wilmar Froese is a German artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group, Tangerine Dream. Although his solo and group recordings prior to 2003 name him as "Edgar Froese", his solo albums from 2003 onward bear the artist name "Edgar W. Froese".Froese...
and Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1988 he was a member of the electronic group Tangerine Dream. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventually shifted to keyboards and synthesizers as the group moved away from its...
in 1971. While touring with the band, Baumann composed his first solo album in 1976. Shortly thereafter, in 1977, he left the band and started his own solo career.
Background
Peter Baumann was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, 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...
, in 1953, his father a composer, his mother an actress. When he was eight, the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
was built, and Baumann entered the American/German Community School in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he learned English and was first exposed to American culture. At age 14, Peter joined a cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
and performed at G.I. clubs. Then, in 1971, at age 18, he met Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke
Christopher Franke is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1988 he was a member of the electronic group Tangerine Dream. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventually shifted to keyboards and synthesizers as the group moved away from its...
, and ended up joining Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
in replacement of their former organist Steve Schroyder.
Two years later, Tangerine Dream signed with Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
and their first album on the label, Phaedra
Phaedra
Phaedra can refer to:*Phaedra *Various artistic works based on the legend:**Hippolytus by Euripides**Phaedra by Seneca the Younger**Phèdre by Jean Racine...
, became a Top 10 seller on the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
charts. As a result of this and other recording successes, Tangerine Dream toured the world for eight years. They also made successful forays into film scoring.
Baumann had temporarily left Tangerine Dream twice, first in 1973 (returning in time for Franke & Froese to shelf their current work on Green Desert
Green Desert
-Personnel:* Christopher Franke* Edgar Froese* Pete Beaulieu – engineering* Mark Weinberg – sleeve design...
and the three to start anew on what was to become Phaedra), and again in 1975, leaving Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig is a German composer who has composed music for several movies and games, in addition to two solo albums...
as a temporary substitute for an Australian tour. His departure in 1977, shortly after the completion of the band's first U.S. tour, was final and led to a brief solo career.
During the 1980s, he founded a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Private Music
Private Music
Private Music is a United States record company founded in 1984 by experimental musician Peter Baumann, as a home for instrumental music. Initially signing such artists as Yanni, Suzanne Ciani, Patrick O'Hearn, and Baumann's former bandmates Tangerine Dream, the record label specialized in New Age...
, specializing in instrumental music in a style popularly referred to as New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
. Artists signed to the label included Yanni
Yanni
Yanni , born Yiannis Hrysomallis is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has spent most of his life in the United States.He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time...
, Patrick O'Hearn
Patrick O'Hearn
Patrick O'Hearn is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, composer and recording artist. While his musical repertoire spans a diverse range of music, he is an acclaimed New Age artist in his solo career...
, Jerry Goodman
Jerry Goodman
Jerry Goodman is an American violinist best known for playing electric violin in the bands The Flock and the jazz fusion Mahavishnu Orchestra. Goodman actually began his musical career as The Flock's roadie before joining the band on violin. Trained in the conservatory, both of his parents were...
, Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani is an Italian American pianist and music composer who found early success with innovative electronic music.-Education:...
, and former bandmates Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
. In 1996, the label was sold to Windham Hill Records
Windham Hill Records
Windham Hill Records is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment specializing in Acoustic, New Age and Folk music. Originally founded in 1976 as an Independent record label by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson, Windham Hill was a successful and well-respected...
' parent company, BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, who continue to distribute some of the back catalogue of its more successful artists. Baumann has since kept a low profile from the music business, devoting his time to studying Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, religions and philosophies. He has since founded the Baumann Foundation and developed a philosophical theory
Philosophical theory
In the general sense, a philosophical theory is a theory that explains or accounts for a general philosophy or specific branch of philosophy. While any sort of thesis or opinion may be termed a theory, in analytic philosophy it is thought best to reserve the word "theory" for systematic,...
focused on human suffering and liberation called Natural Enlightenment.
Personal life
Baumann has been married for 27 years, and has three adult children. He is the director of several real estate and natural resource companies. In addition to creating the Baumann foundation, he is on the board of directors of the California Institute of Integral StudiesCalifornia Institute of Integral Studies
California Institute of Integral Studies is a private institution of higher education founded in 1968 and based in San Francisco, California. It currently operates in three locations just south of the Civic Center district...
and is a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute
Mind and Life Institute
The Mind and Life Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the relationship of science and Buddhism as methodologies in understanding the nature of reality...
.
Albums
- Romance '76 (1976) (LP)
- Trans Harmonic Nights (1979) (LP)
- Repeat Repeat (1981) (LP)
- Strangers In The Night (1983) (LP)
- Phase by Phase: A Retrospective '76 - '81 (1996) (CD)
EP
- Bicentennial Present (7" single) (1976)
- Biking Up The Strand (7" single) (1979)
- Realtimes (7" single) (1981)
- Daytime Logic (Extended Dance Mix) (12" single) (1981)
Hidden baumann
- Welcome to Joyland (as Leda) (1978)
- Grosses Wasser (co-producer on Cluster Album) (1979)
- Novels for the Moons (as Howard Bedman on AXXESS album) (1981)
- The Russians are Coming (12" single with Conrad Schnitzler) (1984)
- Blue Room (promo cassette with Paul Haslinger & John Baxter) (1991)
Other Baumanns
An album from 1978 named Baumann / Koek is sometimes believed to be a Peter Baumann collaboration, as the album is German, the music is in a style similar to early 1970s Tangerine Dream and contains a track called TD-Mem. Despite all this the album was actually composed by two musicians called Wolfgang Baumann and Eta Koek, and is not connected with Peter Baumann in any way.In 2001, a musician/technician called Peter Baumann was credited with audio engineering
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...
work on Landing
Landing (band)
Landing is an indie rock outfit from Connecticut, USA. Terms used to describe the music created by Aaron Snow and Adrienne Snow include ambient, shoegaze, slo-core, and space rock...
's EP Oceanless, and has since become a group member, rounding out the quintet for 2005's Brocade. However this is a different, much younger and unrelated Peter Baumann.