Peter Seiler
Open Borders
For all of you who do not know Peter Seilers music yet, there is a little sound sample from track 6 of Open Borders "Waiting for Fall". Our limited bandwidth really does not give credit to the beautiful piano, but well, you should get the CD anyway ...
As usual in GeZi's Record Outlet the sound sample is presented as a RealAudio file (correct - as a file - it is not streamed so you might have to wait for the download first) and the latest player can be downloaded (for free - the last time I checked) from the RealAudio site.
OK - now lets take a look of what the CD booklet has to say about Peter Seiler in general and the CD "Open Borders" in particular.
Peter Seiler
"No dogmas," is Peter Seilers main thought when creating music. "Although I prefer classical music, I'm no real purist about it. I also really like a good groove", says the thirty-seven year old. His records and productions are true one-man-shows, "I do everything myself: compose, arrange, play, produce and record and if you're not flexible within yourself, see the different angles every time, you get lost in your own little world."
'Open Borders' is the perfect example how to mix and match classical music with intelligent pop-music, "as long as you just let music flow, shift space and character to accommodate a feeling, rather than just DO ONE THING. I need movement in my music, not limits, no artificial borders." Hence the title of the album.
Nevertheless, his self imposed freedom does not make him slack or lazy when composing music. Being one of the few that can compose note by note "on paper", his productions are of faultless musical quality. "First, I have a rough idea for the song, then work it out at my grand piano, note for note. While I'm working on that, I make notes about other instruments that could be part of the song, write the score, and then I go into the studio and really work on it."
His background helps him work that way; working like a classical trained composer, schooled at a classical conservatory, lessons in orchestra conducting and constant training at the piano since the age of seven.
Three things stopped him from staying classical all the way: The Beatles, Jimmy Smith and his Hammond organ and Keith Emerson. Seiler was so impressed by their music that he wanted to go a similar route. He was one of the first German keyboard players to own the legendary Moog synthesizer and in 1971 he founded 'Tritonus', a very successful German progressive rock band, recording three LPs and doing eight years of live-touring.
He quit the band in 1979, set up his own recording-studio and worked from then on as producer, arranger and studio musician. Up to now he has participated on over 20 LPs and well over 40 Singles.
1986 saw the debut of Seiler's first solo project 'Flying Frames', a record that was released all over Europe, Japan, USA and Korea.
He loves playing live and does so often, in 1990, headlining the prestigious 'UK Electronica Concert'. The important English music magazine 'Q' saw the show and called him "the German synth-wiz" and "New Age superstar" seeing him in line with the Japanese Kitaro.
"My music is a lot more powerful and rocky than Kitaro on some tracks and much more classical on others and definitely more European overall," he distinguishes himself clearly, and strongly from Kitaro.
His many travels throughout the year always inspire new musical ideas in him. These impressions of land- and seascapes, people, cities and chance encounters he transposes into "musical poetry", into program music of a modern day and age, but in feel and concept similar to great program musicians such as Smetana and Sibelius.
Apart from music Seiler is busy scoring goals for his Mannheim football (soccer) team on the weekends and collecting old porcelain. However, his greatest passion is fishing, especially salmon fishing. For that he travels regularly to Scotland and Canada. "Just being out there in mother nature all day, quiet but concentrated - I get so much energy out of that and recharge my batteries", says Peter.
The father of three children is married to an advertising executive, just as high powered as he his. "She whizzes into marketing meetings – I whiz around my studio". There he produces his albums without hectic time pressure, at his own pace.
One thing he is very unhappy about is media recognition for New Instrumental Music. "My colleagues and myself are totally underrepresented. We are world champions for 'anonymous music productions', although our music is heard everywhere: TV documentaries, film music, jingles, multi media shows. On top of that, normal people in the street - once they have heard the music – just LOVE IT. But most radio D Js, TV show programmers and press people simply refuse to recognize that we exist and that we make music that people really like to hear."
Seiler lives in the hope that this indifference will vanish one day and one of his objectives is, "to write music that will outlive me for a long time." Listening to his beautiful compositions it is a wish that truly could come true.
For more information on Peter Seiler and Direct Mail orders write to:
Triple Music, Werftstr. 23, D-6800 MANNHEIM 1, Germany
Tel.: 0621-104150 * Fax.: 0621-103774
THE TITLES
Hymn For Voices / in G Minor, E Major, G Minor
A collage of language and song; 12 languages interweaving through one another,
elements of spoken words, sound landscapes with sampled voices and Sabine
Weber; she sings the E-Major role, the Hymn.
Waiting For Fall / in E Minor
August, 18th 1988 - a brooding heat wave in LA, "An Englishman in
California" dreams about autumn. I composed this music on his piano.
It was recorded on an autumn day in Mannheim, on my Schimmel grand piano.
Thanks Michael.
Balance Of Power
Man and nature. No, man against nature! The balance of power? Nevertheless,
I'm going to plant an apple tree.
Winds Of Peace
I hear serenity. I hear peace. And I'll never stop believing, what I keep
hearing.
Underwater Freedom
Composed in LA, having the bends, deeply inebriated and then completed
in Miami (after a deluge) with Jaques' Ocean-Sampling (just my kind of
"gusto").
Angelic Touch / in E Flat Major
While listening, I saw virgin goosebumps on someone I knew.
Children's Eyes
I can see the eyes of my children when they dream.
The longing for... / in D Minor
Discovering the world with my eyes, and my ears to find myself.
Silent Leaves
I walked through rustling leaves...and sat down with a friend, my old white
piano. (A Flat Major)
Peter Seiler "Open Borders" Total Time 54:31 IC 710.126
All titles composed, arranged, performed and produced by Peter Seiler
Recorded at Big Key Studios, Mannheim
Engineered by Peter Seiler / Robert Mueller
Mixed on Kenwood DAT DX 2200 by P. Seiler
All titles published by Triple Music (GEMA/Germany)
Cover photos by Friedrun Reinhold
Cover design by Michael Weisser
Many thanks to: Robert Mueller, Joachim Kuehlwein, Sabine Weber,
Anke Mittelstedt, Mark Sakautzky, Jochen Brauer, Michael Hoppe,
Wilhelm Kuechler (Kenwood), DA-Music, Michael Lorenz, Hotline
Promotions (Miami), Roland Keyboards, Aart Veder, Walter Helbig,
Zang-Studio staff, Donald Dilocker.
