Andreas Gerth
This episode of Electronic Frequencies is entirely dedicated to **Andreas Gerth** (Leipzig, 1958), a versatile German musician, composer and visual artist who also releases under the names loopspool, Orgon and Schege.
• Background and early career
Gerth’s musical palette encompasses electronica, dub, jazz and experimental electronics. From his home base in Berlin, he works on various projects and collaborations.
Although born in the GDR, Gerth moved to West Germany as early as 1976. He studied sculpture and fine arts at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich, where he was taught by Eduardo Paolozzi.
In 1992, Gerth made his entrance into the Weilheim music scene by founding the band Ogonjok. His fascination with electronic sound production and dub led to an even more important step four years later: the formation of **Tied & Tickled Trio**. In this group, he joined forces with Markus and Micha Acher (known from The Notwist), saxophonist Johannes Enders and drummer Christoph Brandner. While the band primarily focused on jazz from the 60s and 70s, Gerth provided the electronic counterweight.
• Solo work and collaborations
From 1996, Gerth also began working solo under the pseudonym **Loopspool**. In this capacity, he contributed to the radio drama and media art department of Bayerischer Rundfunk, with solo releases, remixes and productions.
His collaborative spirit brought him into contact with an impressive array of artists: Ted Milton from Blurt, radio drama writer Andreas Ammer, Martin Gretschmann (Console) and musician Sam Shackleton, to name a few. Since 2013, Gerth has shifted his focus to music for modular synthesizers. A highlight of this is **Driftmachine**, his project with musician Florian Zimmer (Saroos).
• Notable projects and recent work
“The golden composition machine (2016)”: Together with Martin Gretschmann, Gerth developed this sound-generating modular system for the interactive radio drama “Unendliches Spiel”, based on David Foster Wallace’s novel “Infinite Jest”. This project was created in collaboration with Andreas Ammer and WDR.
“Schwarm radio drama (2020)”: With Andreas Ammer, Acid Pauli and Florian Zimmer, he produced the music for the monumental 16-hour radio drama “Zusammen Walden”, inspired by Henry Thoreau and broadcast by WDR.
The collaboration with musician Carl Oesterhelt resulted in two double albums: “The Aporias of Futurism” (2021) and “Music for unknown Rituals” (2023).
In 2024, Gerth composed the music for the live radio drama “Radiologie – Entzauberung auf dem Sender” together with Florian Zimmer (Driftmachine) and Anton Kaun (Rumpeln). This work, with texts by Andreas Ammer, was a tribute to Hans Flesch and 100 years of radio drama on German radio, performed during the 15th Radio Drama Festival Berlin for Deutschlandfunk.
In today’s broadcast, you’ll hear examples from various mentioned collaborations. Enjoy listening!
00) Electronic Frequencies tune
01) Sonic Sculpture (Featuring Ted Milton) by Driftmachine & Ammer
Album: Sonic Behaviour / Label: Umor Rex – UR151 / 2024
02) The Dissolution Of Time by Andreas Gerth & Carl Oesterhelt
Album: Music For Unknown Rituals / Label: Umor Rex – UR149 / 2024
03) Heinz K. (Horch, Was Kommt Von Draußen Rein) by Loopspool
Album: Heinz K. Aus H. / Label: Bodensatz – BS15 / 2005
04) The Piano Destruction (feat. Raphael Montañez Ortiz) by Loopspool & Andreas Gerth
Album: Piano Destruction Concert 1966 Remix / Label: Intermedium Records – 038 / 2008
05) Annotations 3 by Andreas Gerth & Carl Oesterhelt
Album: The Aporias Of Futurism / Label: Umor Rex – UR133 / 2021
06) Now It’s Finished (feat. Raphael Montañez Ortiz) by Loopspool & Andreas Gerth
Album: Piano Destruction Concert 1966 Remix / Label: Intermedium Records – 038 / 2008
07) At The Margin Of Moments by Andreas Gerth & Carl Oesterhelt
Album: Music For Unknown Rituals / Label: Umor Rex – UR149 / 2024
08) The Siren Is A Simple Device (Featuring Ted Milton) by Driftmachine & Ammer
Album: Sonic Behaviour / Label: Umor Rex – UR151 / 2024
