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RP:
Could you comment us something about your background? How did you get started in music.
AM:
I started taking organ lessons at the age of 12, playing pop, and a bit of jazz, when I was 15 in the late 70s I came in contact
with the progressive rock of Genesis, Yes and Kansas, and then I wanted to play this kind of music. When I saw the
German band Anyone’s Daughter playing live in my hometown, at the age of 17 I wanted to play in a band, and at the age
of 18 I had my first band…later I played in a lot of bands, rock’n roll, fusion, pop, and artrock,
RP:
Tell us something about Rachel’s Birthday history and the start up of your solo projects.
AM: The story began when
I met Ralf Glassbrenner, later singer of Rachel’s Birthday, in 1986. I
invited him to rehearsals to my band Quenya, we played there several months and then both leaved and after some months forming
the band “Emerald”, with later Rachel’s Drummer Juergen Haegele. After some troubles and line-up changes
this nucleus of the band formed Rachel’s Birthday in 1991. I played with Rachel’s until 1997, but during that
time I was two years away in 1993 and 1994. The Band had some line up changes until we had Bernd Mueller as a guitar player
who joined Rachel’s in late 1995. In 1996 we recorded the album “an Invitation to” for the WMMS label, and
I left the band in march 1997. The time with the band for me was exciting but I had often troubles with the rest of the band
about the musical direction and we discussed and argued rather much. After I left Rachel’s, I tried to make a solo album
with WMMS. We started recording the material, but before we finished,, WMMS had gone bankrupt. So, at this time, in 1998 I
had a lot of songs and no band and no record deal…after some attempts in vain to start a new band, or to get a new record
deal, I started producing my songs on my own. So, Soniq Theater as an independent one man project was born…
RP: Regarding your current
equipment, what keyboards, programmers, synths are you using? Any favorite?
AM:
The Ensoniq TS10 as a masterkeyboard, this is a great instrument, I compose all songs
on this keyboard, using the internal sequencer, and the other keyboards and modules as listed below run in MIDI function while
the song plays. Important to say that I use no computer for composing and producing my music...Then: Ensoniq EPS sampler,
Yamaha SY85 Synthesizer, Roland JV80 soundmodule, EMU Vintage Keys and EMU Orbit soundmodules, Alesis DM5 drummodule. Effectprocessors:
Digitec Studioquad Multieffectprocessor, Alesis Microverb, Ibanez SDR1000 Digital Reverb and Deltalab Effectron I Digital
Delay. Mixing console: Behringer Eurorack MX2802, Tascam 788 8 track Harddisc rRecorder, Sony DAT-Recorder
RP:
-When it comes to “symphonic music” against “ambient music” you seem to coordinate both styles very
well. What’s your approach when you start composing a theme? How does the
inspiration flow?
AM:
My background came earlier from the symphonic progressive rock of the 70s, from middle of the 90s on I interested also in ambient, soundscape music.
I
am a very intuitive writer, and I have to be in a mood to play new ideas. I develop songs from a basic idea, and like a crystal the following parts collect around that...if I start a song, I mostly don’t
know where it goes to and where it ends. I don’t have the song in my head before I start composing. I find the title
of the song mostly during composing or even if the song is already finished.
RP:
Comment us something about your musical evolution from your first cd to the last.
AM:
I wrote most of the Soniq Theater material that you hear on the five albums before I compiled the first album, a lot of songs
in the 90s. But I was only able to produce them in high enough quality since about 1999. So from the first album to the latest,
it was more a development of production quality than a musical evolution, and I’m still learning….
RP:
In my opinion I think your last record Pandromania is a little bit more “up
tempo” than your previous works. Do you feel the same? Any reason for that?
AM:
I actually had no care about that. On each album there are a majority of up tempo tracks and some slow ones. The title track
“Pandromania” is indeed very fast paced, it’s really sort of “mania” ;-)
RP:
Most of the new prog bands seems to privilege the technical approach and forget the gut feeling while composing and performing.
What’s your opinion about that and where does Soniq Theater fall among those two approaches.
AM:
I consider my musical abilities are much higher than my technical ones. That’s probably because I was a band keyboard
player and later more and more a producer. I try to be technically as good as I can, but I have limits, the bigger the system
the more problems I have. I see technique and equipment only as a means to realize my musical ideas and to carry emotions,
moods and feelings.. During the years, my ears became better and better, so I
hear and correct many things that I had no care in earlier days.
You
are right, that many productions nowadays are on a very high technical level, but sometimes certainly they sound too cold
and also sometimes there is a lack of musical substance.
RP:
Do you have space for improvisation when you’re recording? How it comes?
AM:
Although my music sounds rather coordinated, I also improvise …If I’m composing, I’m recording at the same
time, playing the ideas into the sequencer. Then I keep the takes that I like most.
For example the solos are made in this way. I don’t construct too much, but let the fingers play…
RP:
Tell us something about your current projects, promotions, etc.
AM:
I only do Soniq Theater now. I am working on the 6th album currently. I am very interested that as many people
as possible shall know my music, and the best thing to reach this, is through airplay, much more than cd-sales. Through the
web it’s not very difficult, to come in touch with many DJ’s around the world, as you for example ;-) I lead a
list, on which about 60 radio stations around the world are noted, that already already played my music. I also got many album
reviews from magazines and webzines…
RP:
Any chance of seeing Alfred performing live? Any chance of seeing Alfred forming a band or playing along other musicians or
add somebody else to your solo projects?
AM:
Last year I came in touch with a band, not very far from my hometown. They were
influenced by Rush and the Flower Kings. The guys were talented and they invited me to join the band. It was a pity that I
had to refuse this offer but due to serious health problems, rehearsing and playing live with a band would be far too much
stress for me meanwhile. I offered the singer who was also playing bass and guitar pretty well that we could record some songs
together. We actually recorded one song, the performance of him was really good, but I didn’t agree with the lyrics
he wrote for that song. So, after a discussion, we stopped this collaboration. Several months later this guy died in holidays
at the Tsunami flood in Sri Lanka.
Finally,
the fact is that I reach now very much more people with my music through airplay, than during the times when I played live.
Also, playing live for me always was a big stress, and due to my health problems simply is no more possible.. These times
seem to be over forever…
