Peter Baumann

As part of Tangerine Dream – in fact a core member during their most creative early years – Peter Baumann is rightly regarded as a hero of electronic music and these two releases on Esoteric show much of why he is so highly regarded.

The music here follows a very different path to that of Tangerine Dream; more melodic and less grand in scale, in many respects more accessible as well. But there is no lack of depth or originality and the songs show how complex a composer he was capable of being.

‘Romance 76’ was his first solo album, composed and recorded while he was still with Dream. Almost inevitably on a first album there are a wide variety of sound and structural constructs from the opener ‘Bicentennial Present’ which is spare and angular and with a Tonto-like skittishness about the rhythm. Every note is beautifully presented in a layer of sound that stands above the main rhythm track and in a third layer that allows him to add and build on the continuity of the main. The haunting refrain shows a humanity that is often lacking from Tangerine Dream’s more impressive pieces.
Compare that to the 3 part suite comprising ‘Meadow of Infinity’ pts 1 & 2 either side of ‘The Glass Bridge’ all of which would have been side 2 of the original release. Using choir and orchestra to supplement his electronica he makes early strides into what is now common but then was shocking. The complex timpani and percussion of ‘The Glass Bridge’ create a fascinating aural chase sequence before delving into the darkness of ‘Meadow of Infinity Part 2’.

The second of these two albums is a personal favourite and its release in ’79 triggered a new interest in synth based music after the explosion of the punk era.

The album has more melody than the previous album and almost a sense of fun about the opener ‘This Day’ with vocoder and guitar alongside the synth track bringing the whole track to a furious finale. ‘White Bench And Black Beach’ is darker but with a sense of solitude in the carefully picked out synth line. ‘Biking Up The Strand’ shows his humorous side with a jaunty – almost sea-shanty like – refrain while ‘Phaseday’ brings an Elizabethan vibe into the music.

One of the elements that always appealed so much to me is his use of space to allow the sounds their own solitude and the album creates a romantic and very human vibe with hypnotic elements.

Two albums that complement each other and have very individual characters.

I have to say that Esoteric have done a fine job on the remastering and that they haven’t added and bonus tracks or other mixes is to be applauded – these two albums are as they were intended to be.