The late ambient legend and Fax label boss took a multi-faceted approach to sound, employing vintage analog synths, the latest digital keyboards, and whatever else helped him craft his sonic epics. This is the gear of Pete Namlook.
It’s often said how prolific Pete Namlook was. The German musician, who ran the incredibly influential FAX +49-69/450464 label (known colloquially as Fax Records) from 1992 until his untimely passing 20 years later at the age of 51, was at one point releasing two albums a week. Granted, not every album on Fax involved the man himself, but most did, either solo or in collaboration with other luminaries of electronic music such as Richie Hawtin, Move D, and Klaus Schulze. But what’s most surprising about Namlook is how utterly modern his approach was, much closer to our current streaming model, where quantity can juice the algorithm into better reach and more royalties.
His philosophies about music-making and the gear he used were also ahead of their time. In an era when many musicians insisted on analog purity, Namlook was regularly combining his beloved vintage polys with modern digital instruments, and recording everything to computer – unusual even in big commercial studios in the early ‘90s.
With ambient everywhere now and electronic music more popular than ever, it seemed the perfect time to look back at the work of Peter Namlook, his recording processes and the equipment that he used.
