Johannes Schmoelling (born November 9, 1950 in
LohneLohne can refer to several places in Europe:*in Germany:**Lohne, Germany, in the Vechta district in western Lower Saxony.**Lohne is the larger part of the town of Wietmarschen, also in western Lower Saxony, in Grafschaft Bentheim county...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
) Johannes was a member of the prolific electronic music group
Tangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
from 1980 to 1986. A classically trained musician he began playing piano at the age of eight. By twelve he had begun playing the pipe organ and successfully mastered the instrument so well that he began to play professionally at various churches. By 1978 Johannes had graduated from college with a degree in sound engineering and secured a job working on live theater performances at the prestigious Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer in Berlin.
Johannes Schmoelling (born November 9, 1950 in
LohneLohne can refer to several places in Europe:*in Germany:**Lohne, Germany, in the Vechta district in western Lower Saxony.**Lohne is the larger part of the town of Wietmarschen, also in western Lower Saxony, in Grafschaft Bentheim county...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
) Johannes was a member of the prolific electronic music group
Tangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
from 1980 to 1986. A classically trained musician he began playing piano at the age of eight. By twelve he had begun playing the pipe organ and successfully mastered the instrument so well that he began to play professionally at various churches. By 1978 Johannes had graduated from college with a degree in sound engineering and secured a job working on live theater performances at the prestigious Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer in Berlin. He ended his stint with
Tangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
in 1986 to pursue a solo career and has produced several solo albums as well as soundtrack music for numerous German television programs. In 2000 he created his own record label Viktoriapark records.
Tangerine Dream
Johannes met
Tangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
founder
Edgar FroeseEdgar Wilmar Froese is a German artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group, Tangerine Dream. Although his solo and group recordings prior to 2003 name him as "Edgar Froese", his solo albums from 2003 onward bear the artist name "Edgar W. Froese".Froese...
in 1979 and after his successful audition, was brought into the band as a replacement for
Peter BaumannPeter Baumann formed the core line-up of the German electronic group Tangerine Dream with Edgar Froese and Christopher Franke in 1971. While touring with the band, Baumann composed his first solo album in 1976...
thus re-establishing the trio. His first album with Tangerine Dream was
TangramTangram is a 1980 album of electronic music by Tangerine Dream. It became their fifth biggest selling album, reaching #36 in the British Top 40, and spending 5 weeks on the chart.-Overview:...
and he successfully performed with the band through many studio albums like
White EagleWhite Eagle is an album of electronic music released by Tangerine Dream in 1982. It reached No.57 in the UK album chart in a 5-week run.The title track was remixed and went on to become the theme music for a German TV series Tatort with a German title "Das Mädchen auf der Treppe".-Track...
,
Logos LiveLogos Live is an album of electronic music released by Tangerine Dream in 1982. It is a live album from the concert at the Dominion Theatre in London, England...
, and
ExitExit is an electronic music album released in 1981 by the German group Tangerine Dream. The first track features an uncredited Berlin actress chanting, in Russian, the names of the continents of the world and pleading to end the threat of "limited" nuclear war...
. He was also a key performer during their prolific soundtrack years in the 1980's and has soundtracks to movies such as
ThiefThief is a 1981 noir crime drama written and directed by Michael Mann, based on the novel The Home Invaders by "Frank Hohimer"...
,
Risky BusinessRisky Business is a 1983 comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It is best known for being the film that launched Tom Cruise to stardom.The film also stars Rebecca De Mornay as Lana and Joe Pantoliano as Guido...
,
LegendLegend is a 1985 fantasy film released by 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures , directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, Alice Playten, David Bennent, and Billy Barty...
and
FirestarterFirestarter is a 1984 science fiction thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The plot concerns a young girl who develops pyrokinesis and the secret government agency which seeks to control her. The film was directed by Mark L. Lester, and stars Drew Barrymore and David...
to his credit. In addition he performed several concerts with the band at various locations throughout the world.
Solo discography
- Wuivend Riet (Erdenklang, 1986)
- The Zoo of Tranquility (Theta, 1988)
- White Out (Polydor, 1990)
- Lieder Ohne Worte - Songs No Words (Erdenklang, 1995)
- The Zoo of Tranquility (re-recording, Erdenklang, 1998)
- White Out (re-recording, Viktoriapark, 2000)
- Recycle or Die (Viktoriapark, 2003)
- Instant City (Viktoriapark, 2006)
- Images and Memory (2-CD compilation, Viktoriapark, 2007)
- Early Beginnings (recorded 1979-1985, Viktoriapark, 2008)