With its syncopated sequences and cool cosmic chaos, the Berlin School of instrumental electronic exploration takes you on a trip beyond time and space

Maybe it was written in the stars but a revival of the so-called ‘Berlin School’ of electronic improvisation seemed inevitable. Pioneered by a cadre of psyche rockers orbiting Tangerine Dream’s Edgar Froese, the style is tied to its birthplace, though it’s also referred to as Kosmische Musik. Initially a subset of kraut rock, Kosmische evolved away from the standard instrumentation of rock, instead leaning heavily into electronic experimentalism, initially with organs and tape treatments, and later with synths such as EMS’ VCS3 and Moog modular systems.

It was a Moog 960 sequencer that first gave the Berlin School its signature sound - a chugging eighth-note rhythm first established by Tangerine Dream on their Phaedra LP.

Ex-Dreamers Klaus Schulze and Michael Hoenig further developed the style in the 70s, even while Tangerine Dream themselves churned out a classic catalogue of astral atmospherics. The UK experienced a minor revival in the mid-80s/early 90s, with acts like Wavestar, Ian Boddy, Mark Shreeve, and Andy Pickford all displaying a clear influence.

Yet Berlin School in its original form would return in all its glory once the modular synth revival was in full swing. Artists like Node led the way, while underground stalwarts like Ron Boots, Radio Massacre, and Parallel Worlds continue to finesse the form.

The style is easier than ever to accomplish - and we’ll get you going in under an hour! >Step by step 1. The Sequence

1 In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to build classic Berlin School-style sequences using software you already own, courtesy of our complementary plugin suite. Use your preferred DAW, but, as previously, we’ll be using Tracktion Software’s free T7 DAW for our examples.

2 We’ll use MIDI tracks, so let’s assign our USB MIDI controller keyboard to Track 1. In T7 DAW, this is done by using the drop-down menu that appears when clicking the empty slot in the track’s header (left) and choosing an input. We’ve selected ours, labelled ‘USB O2’. We’ll use this track for our first sequencer passage, calling it ‘Sequencer 1”.