I was born in 1941 and had five years of piano lessons as a child. I played guitar in local beat-bands in the 60's and became interested in electronic music when listening to records using Moog synthesisers at the end of the 60's. In 1972 I built my first Wersi organ, followed by amps and effects boxes, bought up new and used electronic keyboards and constructed a large modular synth system from Elektor Formant kits. The main reasons for this large collection of instruments are; that I wanted to play my music 'live'; that I didn't have a multi-track tape machine at the time; and that I like collecting electronic instruments! Because of my classical piano training and playing in rock groups, my music contains orchestral sounds and elements of rock.

Instruments

The Lorensizer is a nickname for the modular synthesiser consisting of PPG modules, Formant modules and modules designed and constructed by Dieter Doepfer and Markus Aigner. There are also two Moog modules — Sample & Hold and Ribbon Controller — a Korg MS20, Interface and Sequencer, and a pedal synth with Formant circuits. The kits are built by myself, although I don't know how the electronics work — I only really know what a resistor is! The modular system allows me to programme a lot of things and play them in live performance using one finger. I only have two hands, and I think playing live is more fun for the musician, which is important as music is my hobby; by profession I'm a pharmacist. My other musical instruments are a Korg Polysix, Roland Vocoder Plus and SH3, Crumar Brassman, Korg Vocoder, MFB 508 Sequencer, Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer and Casiotone 201.

Discography

I have several cassette albums on Syntape, an alternative cassette label founded by myself and Peter Schaefer; because each musician only sells and promotes his own music we avoid complications with the German copyrights organisation GEMA. My releases include Syntape 002; Silver Steps; Syntape 004, Wonderflower; Earthrise, on YHR; and a cassette for Transmitter Cassettes entitled Queen of Saba. Also there's now an LP for Syncord, Invisible Voices, which is sold in the UK by Lotus. In the near future there'll be another track of my music on the 'World Electronic Sampler' published by Conrad Schnitzler in Berlin. My LP's are recorded on an old Dokorder 4-track and mixed with a Boss KM-60 onto a Revox A77.

Contacts

Rudiger Lorenz, (Contact Details).
Syntape, (Contact Details).
Transmitter Cassetten, (Contact Details).
Lotus Records, (Contact Details).