History of Berlin School of Electronic Music & Ambient Live Jam

[@TheZooman22]

Wonderful music. For me, there is nothing quite as beautiful as the Berlin School style of music. It represents one of the highest art forms in music.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Yes, there's some kind of magic around Berlin School Music. Especially the music which was created during the 1970s....

[@Digiphex]

I noticed a setting on my Five12 Vector sequencer called Berlin and I had heard of it in the past, not knowing exactly what it was. Thank you for doing this.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Glad you enjoyed our video!

[@brucebachleda7838]

I'm 65 and you guys are great, keep it up.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Bruce, thank you very much for watching and your kind support! It's greatly appreciated. At your age you must have taken full notice of the space program of the 1960s. As Hadi said, Berlin School is the right music and sound for SciFi topics :-) Cheers, Ralph

[@callactm14]

I know is been 4 years, but is amazing seeing you both

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you 🙏 I am glad you finally found us 😃

[@lukebingus9432]

Its so great to hear from folks decades older than me about these masterpieces, as y'all were probably my age when these were being released. As a young man nowadays its like glimpsing into an abstract future that never came to be. Absolutely love this genre.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Luke, I couldn't agree more with you! Even to me, as a teenager of the 1980s, the electronic music of the 1970s seems like music from a distant future yet to come...Have a good weekend, Ralph

[@sultansepehr9626]

Wonderful. I love this style.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you for watching and for your feedback.

[@gusmanavt]

Cool jam, Sirs) and thank you for introducing Berlin school

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you very much for taking the time watching our video! Glad you enjoyed it. Have a great day, Ralph

[@crappie050764]

Hello Ralph. Very interesting video about the Berlin school history. I enjoined it very much, nice pads you both were playing. I was born in 1964 (Brussels) and I met first contact with Berlin school when my father recorded on the weekly radioshow in 1978-79 "Muziek uit de Cosmos". I heard Ashra, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Isao Tomita, Kraftwerk, and many others for the first time. Phaedra was always my favorite record. I still have those original tapes from those early radioshow. Since then I was sold with Berlin School music and I got for my birthday when I was 14 years old my first synth Roland Jx-3p. Till now I'm still loving Berlin School very much...

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Luc, thank you for sharing your personal stories about Berlin School! Pretty interesting, because we were listening to the same kind of music :-) For me it was just a few years later in 1980-82! My first Synth was a Korg Delta, which was a birthday gift from my parents. I still have it, but it requires a repair service. I hope I get it repaired one day, then I will use it in one of my jams.

[@johnmcnally322]

I would love more history of Berlin school electronic music videos. I would also like a tutorial video about how to make Berlin school.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello John, many thanks for your feedback! Yes its about time to finally make another video about Berlin School. Have a great day, Ralph

[@RickMaczka]

Triggered some old memories of my tangerine dream record collection, klaus Schulz, can , Amon duel, and eventually kraftwerk, but never knew term Berlin style until I became a electronic musician myself to me was just a whole range of great mind bending music up there with Pink floyd (early years) and anyone who played some phat synth leads and wonderful full sounding pads. Good bit of nostalgia, history and passion young man

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Rick, thanks a lot for watching and for sharing your thoughts. It’s fascinating how these electronic music pioneers created complete new styles of music and sounds. Since most of them were using very individual setups of equipment and gear, they sounded really different from each other :-) I am planning to do more Vlog episodes on the history of German Electronic Music. Thanks again for stopping by. Greetings from Germany, Ralph

[@Individual_two]

Nice jam with your pal there at end of the show! Also, I am a huge fan of Tangerine Dream, too.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hi John, whats' your favorite Tangerine Dream album? Cheers, Ralph

[@maulaff15]

Oh yeah, God bless Herr Schnetzer, our music teacher and pusher. :-)

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hi Andy, yes Herr Schnetzer was very cool! I remember one time when we were talking with him about Klaus Schulze. He said that K.S. was much better in the studio than live on stage ;-) Cheers, Ralph

[@maulaff15]

So, I guess he was very well prepared, for the live-performances ;-] Cheerio, Andy

[@RalphBaumgartl]

K.S. was lucky because Eberhard Panne was his sound engineer ;-)

[@mpingo91]

Yes, more Berlin School, please!

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thanks for watching! Your are right I should make another video about 'Berlin School' again ;-) Cheers, Ralph

[@toddmurray1828]

Ralph, I am really enjoying your whole series. I grew up listening to much of the European influence on the music scene of the late 60s and 70s, especially Tangerine Dream, and Kraftwerk. Although I have always been a fan, I never knew the history of German electronic music and love the way you folks are keeping it relevant in today's culture. Keep up this awesome work as I am getting to learn more and experience additional musicians you talk about.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Todd, thank you so much for watching and for sharing your thoughts. I personally believe that the classic German Electronic Music (such as Berlin School and Duesseldorf School) is gaining in relevance with the recent resurgence of hardware and modular Synthesizers. I will definitely produce more videos on this topic! Rest assured! Thanks again for stopping by! It’s highly appreciated. Greetings, Ralph

[@jupitermenace9920]

Yes more videos like this, Ralph. Somebody loaned me a cassette they recorded of hyperborea back in the mid-80s. Then I bought Rubycon which I found in a cut out bin in a record store.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thanks for sharing your story :-) My first three electronic albums were: 1. Die Mensch Maschine by Kraftwerk 2. Encore by Tangerine Dream and 3. Live (1980) by Klaus Schulze. Thank you for watching! Greetings, Ralph

[@m0osebeard]

I am just discovering this "style" of music now -your channel has been really enjoyable and informable. Thank you.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Glad to know that you found your way to Berlin School of Electronic Music and to my KZbin channel. Greetings, Ralph

[@davidnoir188]

Loved the history lesson, spotified all the Tangerine Dream albums you mentioned, thanks. Your own music is excellent too, always a treat to listen to.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello David, thank you for watching! Make sure you listen to 'Atem'. In my personal opinion it's the best TD album of that period. Also may thanks for checking out my music. Greetings, Ralph

[@dirklyssens8936]

Love it. Keep going on. Top.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you Dirk! Cheers, Ralph

[@ajohnsonstudio]

Excellent informative video, thank you! I've been trying to figure out some tags for songs I'm putting on Bandcamp, this captures nuances I was looking for....much appreciated!

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Glad that you find this somewhat "older" video useful. Greetings, Ralph

[@mvoproject]

Thank you for the interesting video and such an excellent live ambient floating! I discovered the berlin school and other German, Dutch, British, North American and electronic music from the other countries thanks to Martin Landers (Sergey Tutov) and his radio show "Back to the Universe" at the late nights in 2004. Before that I knew only the music by J-M Jarre, Pink Floyd`s "On the run", Enigma, Art of Noise, SpAce and D.Moruani, Kraftwerk (just a couple of songs), some of our Soviet/Russian composers/bands like Zodiac, etc. Today I just cant live without the kosmische music/kraut /art/space/psychedelic rock =) And yeah, I`m composing the same music too. Because the berlin school/traditional electronica/ambient, space and other non-dancing EM just can bring other moods, other reality, another dimension, another spaces and universes ... It`s a really Magic World! * Last days I bought almost the same Brennenstuhl )))

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Vladimir, thanks for visiting my channel. I really glad to have some viewers from Russia 🇷🇺 Have a good week, Ralph

[@DabuRaif_001]

Hallo zusammen, es hat mir gefallen, wie ihr über die Musik der Berliner Schule gesprochen habt, finde ich sehr informativ.Meine erste "Berührung" mit dieser Art der Musik hatte ich mit Tangerine Dream's Album "Encore", welches mir damals ,1977. empfohlen wurde und seit dieser Zeit bin ich Fan von TD und später auch von Klaus Schulze. Auch Eure Musik finde ich sehr interessant, bitte macht weiter so. Gruß H.U.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hallo Holger, vielen Dank für dein klasse Feedback! 'Encore' war auch mein erstes TD Album :-) Ja, wir werden weiter machen mit diesem Vlog Format über die Berliner Schule. Nochmals vielen Dank fürs Anschauen. Beste Grüsse, Ralph

[@AttilaFolklor]

Interesting new format! My all-time favorite of TD is Rubycon. Great music as always btw!

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you Attila! I am already talking to Hadi how we best proceed with this new format :-) I also like Rubycon very much. I was really blown away when I heard these sea gull synth sounds (guess you know what I mean) for the first time ;-) Thanks again for stopping by. Cheers, Ralph

[@AttilaFolklor]

Good news! I know what you mean eheh. Inspiring stuff! Take care!

[@RalphBaumgartl]

I knew it ;-) Such a simple sound, but so effective on the recording :-)

[@HarryFullerCT]

This was great Ralph thanks. I would love to see more. That sure sounded like a great class you took on Cosmic Rock. Thanks for making this.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Harry, thank you for watching and for your feedback. Guess I will talk to Hadi very soon on how to continue with this Vlog format :-) My music teacher was really awesome. His class on Pop Music stretched over a couple of month covering the entire history of Pop Music starting with Rynthm n' Blues and ending with New Wave. He also introduced me to the music of ELP. Although I am a teenager of the 1980s, I was listening a lot to 1970s Prog-Rock, because of his music classes. God bless him! Greetings, Ralph

[@derrylallen]

beautiful

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you! Glad you got something out of our video.

[@calabiyou]

great stuff!

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you very much for watching! Have a great day, Ralph

[@stephenjames4937]

This is one of your most enjoyable videos yet, Ralph. Phaedra is one of my favourite albums of all time. A friend turned me on to Rubycon, and I later bought Phaedra. Any more info/examples you can give us about Berlin School electronic music would be wonderful. Thank you!

[@RalphBaumgartl]

+Two-Dog James Hello Stephen, thank you! Glad you like this video. Yes, I am thinking about doing more regular videos covering topics of Berlin School of Electronic Music. After all that's the kind of Synth Music which I am playing myself ;-) Cheers, Ralph

[@forehead84]

I'm 32 and I enjoyed this too lol :)

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Your comment just proves that music and art crosses any boundaries and goes beyond any age restrictions :-) Thank you so much for watching! Greetings, Ralph

[@howardmangrum5413]

Great stuff! Interesting to learn history from your prespective. I grew up on Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk. I remember playing alpha centari at a party in the mountains through my rather crude PA system, while in high school.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Howard, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I remember taking "Atem" on a cassette tape recorder out into nature and listening to it. Well, the 1980s ;-) Cheers, Ralph

[@RalphBaumgartl]

@La Hire have fun discovering their music! Greetings, Ralph

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Howard, have a nice trip 😉 Greetings, Ralph

[@100ThingsIDo]

Great Video Ralph! :D Totally enjoyed. I hope to do a similar video on Pete Namlook / FAX records and the Dark Side of the Moog Series at some point this year.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thanks for watching! And go for it! Cool idea! The history of music can be a fountain of inspiration... ;-) Greetings, Ralph

[@theharmonicconvergence5839]

From the states here, loved the video (please keep them coming) and would definitely be interested in hearing more about the history of German Electronic music from a German perspective - seems appropriate, no?

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you so much for watching and for giving me your feedback! I am in the process of compiling a list with topics on Berlin School Electronica that I am going to cover over the course of the next couple of weeks and month. I am really grateful to you that you took the time to let me that your are interested in such a video format. Thanks you! Best regards from Germany, Ralph

[@maurisan]

When it comes to talk seriously about electronic music, it has to be german. Thanks for the vídeos.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Thank you Mauricio! In case that you are also interested in some German language videos about Electronic Music, then here's the link to an interview that I did with Eberhard Panne who was the Sound and Recording engineer for Klaus Schulze, Manuel Goettsching, Harald Grosskopf etc. Enjoy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXKVp5qjfa5jqq8

[@maurisan]

My german is still pre basic. I will wait for my girlfriend to come back from holidays to help me out with translations. Danke, Ralph.

[@Zongroned]

Earthstar now released on MiG Music

[@TR25W]

Of course, Phaedra was TD's first record to feature the Moog, including the sequencer module. They had been using the EMS VCS3 for a few years before that.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

On the 1972 album 'Zeit' Florian Fricke of the german band 'Popol Vuh' joined TD to play a Moog Modular. But 'Pheadra was the first album on which they used a sequencer. Thanks for watching and for commenting. Greetings, Ralph

[@rondoran5106]

Great video! Please give more history of German Electronic Music from the German perspective! Please cover some of the other bands besides TD! My favorite TD album I "Stratosfear".

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Ron, thank you for watching and for your kind feedback and input! I am currently compiling ideas how to proceed with this video format. BTW, if your favorite TD album is 'Stratosfear', then you should also listen to Edgar Froese's solo album 'Macula Transfer'. It was recorded shortly before 'Stratosfear' and it really influenced its sound. But I am sure you know that already ;-) Thanks again for stopping by! Cheers, Ralph

[@garyweaver9222]

Very much appreciated ! In your Progressive Society, were all those dudes on hashish ?

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Gary! Thank you for watching this video :-) I cannot speak for the others, but I got my kick and flash out of freestyle and mogul skiing ;-) Greetings from Germany, Ralph

[@jupitermenace9920]

Edgar Froese quit drinking, drugs and became vegetarian in, I think, 1977. Very inspiring to me.

[@garyweaver9222]

That's not un typical : ), for spoiled baby boomers. I'm just inquiring about the culture of that period. I think Frank Zappa was fairly clean, but, music and drugs isn't unknown. Space Music isn't just Electronic, as there was some far out "poop" being made.

[@jupitermenace9920]

Yea, Zappa was cigarettes and coffee only.

[@garyweaver9222]

That's great, Ralph. . I haven't seen you perform sitting on the floor, have i...... Maybe you could do one : ) hahaha

[@janpieternieman5295]

What about the dutch electronic music? Haha just a little joke. I love Germany and German electronic music. Great video. I have all albums of TD and kraftwerk and I do own some synths myself. Greetings from Holland

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Jan Pieter, but I can assure you that I have come across some great contemporary dutch electronic music artists here on YT and and other social media platforms. Today there are great artist in every country! Have a great day, Ralph

[@dirklyssens8936]

I heard that you are from 1965. Me also. I was born on the 1.1.1965.

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Hello Dirk, and the good thing about our generation is the fact that we were already alive when the Apollo Space Program was taking place ;-) Greetings, Ralph

[@dirklyssens8936]

@@RalphBaumgartl thanks Ralph, very much indeed. I adore the synths.

[@TheLightAhead]

Sehr nettes feature zum Thema! Es erinnert mich sehr stark an eine Zeit, als im Hessischen Rundfunk "Sounds vom Synthesizer" ausgestrahlt wurde (de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds_vom_Synthesizer) - ein Format, für dessen Extravaganz dem öffentlich rechtlichen Rundfunk heute schlichtweg der Mut fehlt. Denn welcher Sender traut sich heute noch, Stücke der sogenannten U-Musik zu präsentieren, die länger als 5 Minuten lang sind. Dachte ich! Im Wikipedia-Artikel wird darauf verwiesen, dass die Sendung 10/2008 wieder aufgelegt worden ist..... So manche Perle ist mir damals auf diesem Wege bekannt geworden - wie beispielsweise Jean Pierre Alarcen, von dem ich danach nie wieder irgendwo etwas gehört habe (damals wurde der zweite Teil im ersten Satz aus Tableau No.1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYiQc2avobZ3r5Y ausgestrahlt). Der Cassetten-Rekorder lief immer mit! .-) Phaedra war nach White Eagle übrigens mein zweites Album von TD, danach der O.S.T. zu Thief, für den sie 1982 für die Goldene Himbeere nominiert (schlechteste Filmmusik) waren! 8-O

[@TheLightAhead]

Nebenbei - mein Lieblingsalbum von TD ist seit jeher das Doppel-Live-Album "Poland", zum dem es mittlerweile sogar einen gekürzten Video-Mitschnitt auf KZbin gibt (von einem anderen Konzerttag als dem vom Album)! :-) (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaq6h4SPf5qieaM)

[@RalphBaumgartl]

Ja, ich kann mich auch an diese Radio Sendung gut erinnern. Habe ich als Teenie oft gehört und bin damit in “unbekannte Welten” eingetaucht ;-) Hier ist der Link zu einem Track den ich mit meinem Schulfreund zusammen in dieser Zeit aufgenommen habe. Uns hat die Berliner Schule damals voll im Griff gehabt: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH25qad5jKmbp8U

[@ymotechnopopfan]

I prefer Techno-pop, berlin school, new wave and neoclassical music.

[@britainthroughmylens]

Phaedra was the first album I bought, but I subsequently bought all of the other albums you show here in the video. I saw Tangerine Dream on a number of occasions, the first being in Bristol here in the UK in 1975. A friend of mine spoke about these amazing avantgarde electronic musicians from Germany and said I should come along. I was instantly mesmerised. I recently found a (rather crude bootleg) recording of the actual concert here on KZbin. I now make a variety of music myself, including some perhaps clumsy attempts at the Berlin School style. I’m not a purist like you guys, as I use software emulations including many of the classic TD sounds but I thought you might like to hear my latest track here: vimeo.com/282930610 And yes, please keep the excellent videos coming!