Bernd Friedmann
Encyclopedia
Bernd Friedmann (born 1965 in Coburg
, Germany
) is a German musician and producer who works under a variety of project names in the fields of Electronica
, Dub
und Jazz
.
Friedmann was raised in Kassel
where he studied painting, performance and video at the Kunsthochschule Kassel
from 1984 to 1990. His first recordings of found and self-built instruments, done with Wolfram Der Spyra from 1978 to 1982, were released under the name TOXH in 1989. Since then the ever-growing list of projects includes:
Friedmann's music defies easy categorisation. His instruments include ambient noise and speech samples, analogue synthesizer
s and organs, as well as toy piano
, steeldrum, kalimba, vibraphone
or Melodica
. Over the years his trademark sound became easily recognizable even in his remix work for other artists. Often complex polyrhythmic patterns stand beside long passages without audible drums.
Since 2000 Friedmann runs his own "nonplace" label. He lives in Berlin
.
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
, 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...
) is a German musician and producer who works under a variety of project names in the fields of Electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, Dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
und Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
Friedmann was raised in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
where he studied painting, performance and video at the Kunsthochschule Kassel
Kunsthochschule Kassel
Kunsthochschule Kassel is a college of fine arts in Kassel, Germany. Founded in 1777, it is a semi-autonomous department of the University of Kassel .-Notable people:* Bernhard, Count of Bylandt* August Bromeis...
from 1984 to 1990. His first recordings of found and self-built instruments, done with Wolfram Der Spyra from 1978 to 1982, were released under the name TOXH in 1989. Since then the ever-growing list of projects includes:
- Some More Crime (1990 - 1995, Friedmann and Frank Hernandez)
- Drome (1991 - 1995, Friedmann and Frank Hernandez)
- Nonplace Urban Field (1992 - 1997)
- FlangerFlanger (music)The Flanger project was founded in 1997 by Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann , who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album Templates at Mira Musica, Santiago de Chile in 1997...
(1999 - , Friedmann and Atom Heart) - Nine HorsesNine HorsesNine Horses is a musical collaboration between singer/instrumentalist David Sylvian, his brother and frequent collaborator drummer Steve Jansen, and electronic composer/remixer Burnt Friedman....
(2005 - , Friedmann and David SylvianDavid SylvianDavid Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
)
Friedmann's music defies easy categorisation. His instruments include ambient noise and speech samples, analogue synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s and organs, as well as toy piano
Toy piano
The toy piano, also known as the kinderklavier , is a small piano-like musical instrument. The present form of the toy piano was invented in Philadelphia by a 17-year-old German immigrant named Albert Schoenhut. He worked as a repairman at Wanamaker's department store, repairing broken glass...
, steeldrum, kalimba, vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
or Melodica
Melodica
The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
. Over the years his trademark sound became easily recognizable even in his remix work for other artists. Often complex polyrhythmic patterns stand beside long passages without audible drums.
Since 2000 Friedmann runs his own "nonplace" label. He lives 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...
.
Selected discography
- Drome - Anachronism (1992)
- Drome - The Final Corporate Colonization Of The Unconscious (1993)
- Nonplace Urban Field - N.U.F Said (1994)
- SMC (Some More Crime) - Fuzzysets (1995)
- Drome - Dromed (1995)
- Nonplace Urban Field - Nonplace Urban Field (1995)
- Nonplace Urban Field - Raum Für Notizen (1996)
- Nonplace Urban Field - Golden Star (1996) (Remix)
- FlangerFlanger (music)The Flanger project was founded in 1997 by Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann , who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album Templates at Mira Musica, Santiago de Chile in 1997...
- Templates (1997) - Burnt Friedman & The Nu Dub Players - Just Landed (1999)
- Burnt Friedman - Plays Love Songs (1999)
- Flanger - Midnight Sound (1999)
- Burnt Friedman - Con Ritmo (2000)
- FlangerFlanger (music)The Flanger project was founded in 1997 by Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann , who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album Templates at Mira Musica, Santiago de Chile in 1997...
- Inner Space/Outer Space (2001) - Replicant Rumba Rockers (2002) (Friedmann's Remix of Atom Heart-Material)
- Burnt Friedman & Jaki LiebezeitJaki LiebezeitJaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral"....
- Playing Secret Rhythms (2002) - Burnt Friedman & The Nu Dub Players - Can't Cool (2003)
- FlangerFlanger (music)The Flanger project was founded in 1997 by Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann , who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album Templates at Mira Musica, Santiago de Chile in 1997...
- Spirituals (2005) - Nine Horses - Snow Borne Sorrow (2005) (with David Sylvian and Steve Jansen)
- Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit - Secret Rhythms II (2005)
- Nine Horses - Money For All (2007) (with David Sylvian and Steve Jansen)
- FlangerFlanger (music)The Flanger project was founded in 1997 by Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann , who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album Templates at Mira Musica, Santiago de Chile in 1997...
- Nuclear Jazz (2007) - Burnt Friedman - First Night Forever (2007)
- Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit - Secret Rhythms III (2008)
- Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit - Secret Rhythms IV (2011)