Thomas Lehn & Marcus Schmickler

Odum

2116 West Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60622

Thomas Lehn (analog synthesizer) and Marcus Schmickler (digital synthesizer and computer) perform together in Chicago for the first time.

A recording of this concert was later released on Navigation Im Hypertext (a-Musik).

Thomas Lehn (b.1958, Fröndenberg, Germany) studied recording engineering and piano at the Music Academy of Detmold, classical piano at the Music Academy of Cologne, and jazz piano with Frank Wunsch and Francis Coppieters. In the 1980s he took part on courses of Studio for pianistic interpretation held by Prof. Jürgen Uhde. Since that time he has been active as a performer of both contemporary music and classical piano repertoire. For the past twenty years, his major and widely known work has been performing and producing live-electronic music. Rooted in the experience of a wide spectrum of musical fields and based on his background as a pianist, he has developed an individual ‘language’ of electronic music. The electronic equipment he uses consists of analog synthesizers from the late 1960s, particularly the EMS Synthi A. The specific character of this modular instrument allows him to spontaneously act and react in close contact with the various structural degrees of the musical process. In addition to his duo with Schmickler, ensemble work includes Gerry Hemingway, Günter Christmann, Eugene Chadbourne, Paul Lovens, Raymond Strid, and trio Konk Pack with Tim Hodgkinson and Roger Turner.

Marcus Schmickler (b.1968, Cologne, Germany) has been involved with numerous projects, including the seminal group Kontakta. As a solo artist, he has created important works such as Wabi Sabi, Sator Rotas and Param, as well as three recording projects under the name Pluramon. While rooted in electronic music, he also has a background in contemporary composition, having studied under Stockhausen collaborator Johannes Fritsch. Schmickler also has worked in the house and techno scenes, both on his own and with musicians such as Thomas Brinkmann and Cristian Vogel.

Thomas Lehn made his Lampo debut in May 2003. Marcus Schmickler first performed at Lampo in September 2002.