Romance 76

Born in 1953, Peter Baumann attended the JFK American School in Berlin, gaining an education in American culture as well as language. He first joined Tangerine Dream in 1972, following his stint with The Ants. Released in 1976 on Virgin Records, his solo record, Romance 76 was recorded during one of Baumann's hiatuses from the band. "Bicentennial Present" opens the album, and revealing Baumann's musical contribution to TD; mostly it's the melodic synth lines where the band's tone is instantly recognizable. "Romance" offers a melody similar to The Token's 1961 hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," but instead rides a simple sequencer line to its end. The second side is dominated by "Meadows of Infinity," a three-part epic that features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra in the piece's first part. It's a unique piece of music, combining classical orchestration with electronics. Moody and dark, the track traverses a wide range of territory, meandering through "The Glass Bridge," before arriving in a more familiar TD landscape for the closing section, "Meadow of Infinity (Part 2)." Following his departure from Tangerine Dream after their 1977 US tour, Baumann set up his Paragon recording studio in Berlin. There, he produced music for several German artists, including Cluster, Asmus Tietchens and Conrad Schnitzler, as well as an album with the female singer Leda, Welcome To Joyland. His Trans-Harmonic Nights album appeared in 1979 for Virgin; it offered shorter tracks, though they still contained his trademark sequences. However, Baumann's next album, Repeat Repeat, presented a significant shift in his music, as well as in his location. Now based in New York, he turned away from the TD dreamscapes and on to more commercial synth pop that defined the early 80s. Another similar album, Strangers In The Night, appeared in 1983. Baumann then left his musician career behind in 1984 and founded the Private Music label, which specialized in new age music.