Robert Schroeder

Robert Schroeder, a German composer working in electronic music, produces ambient soundscapes that often turn experimental. He entered the world in Aachen, Germany, on May 20, 1955. Music first captured his attention near age 13 when he obtained his initial guitar. Experimental sounds and techniques soon replaced conventional playing, prompting him to abandon the instrument altogether in 1970 so he could devote himself fully to electronics and engineering.

Following secondary school Schroeder took up research and development of electronic instruments, refining his synthesizer voice in private hours. A contract with Klaus Schulze’s Innovative Communication label arrived in 1978, leading to the 1979 appearance of his debut album, Harmonic Ascendant. The suitably named Floating Music came next in 1980; with Mosaique in 1981 he began merging electronics and live instrumentation, and the succeeding Galaxie Cygnus A arose in tandem with a multimedia presentation.

Pegasus reached the public in 1982 without Schroeder’s authorization. His next sanctioned release, Paradise, followed in 1983. Computer Voice returned in 1984, and 1985 brought his soundtrack for the 3D film Brain Voyager. As half of the duo Double Fantasy with Charly McLion he issued Universal Ave. in 1986, then resumed solo activity with Time Waves, the most widely praised of his works. Hamaja in 1991 led him to establish his own imprint, NEWSmusic, which subsequently issued Mindwalk in 1993 and Everdreams in 1994.

After a hiatus extending into the mid-2000s Schroeder resumed his explorations, delivering several albums on the Spheric label that included Brainchips in 2006, Sphereware in 2007, and Cream in 2010. Additional atmospheric, lounge-oriented sets appeared on the same imprint, among them Club Chil, Vol. 1 in 2011, Ferro Oxid in 2012, and the 2014 release Backspace, shaped by 1980s influences. The ever-active composer presented the ambient-leaning Velocity in 2017.