Hans Field is an UK-born musician living in Germany. He makes music in his predominantly analog studio and also busks with local musicians all the time. His songs are all fits of inspiration, often penned on paper at 2AM and arranged later. They contain rich guitar and synth work stemming from a lifetime full of musical activities. Read his story about playing with the Wizzard Of Oz when it all came crashing down, or hanging out at the bar where Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull used to meet up. Hans is a fascinating character and having him on Drooble is all sorts of wonderful.

How did you grow up to become the musician you are today?

Good question. I guess it was about 60 years ago where my parents were given an old upright piano in a very bad state, and my Dad decided to repair it. A friend of my parents was a piano builder and tuner and brought it into a state where it was playable. I used to sit on the stool and tried get my fingers around the keys. Then my Dad decided to paint it white. We had the only white piano in the town and it was so cool cause all of my mates came around to look at the white piano. Then a young school kid came for German lessons with my mum and saw the piano she started to reach me a few things and at the age of 5 I fell in love with the older woman (She was 15) She then went on to go to music college in Manchester.

Later on I went to grammar school and guess what My Music teacher was Miss Clementson, my first piano teacher. She was very progressive and the end of the 1960’s was when Electronic music appeared on the scene, and I so wanted a Moog. Instead I learned the Organ, Guitar, Bass, anything with strings and keys in fact. I studied as a composer and wrote for my old school, as well as for other organisations, and for a while was a Theater Musician, traveling with the shows. No money but a hell of a life. Several of my songs are based around my feelings about this.

Came over here to Germany and (I was born in the UK) and started several bands, built up my recording studio and started creating sound landscapes for film and theater. In my heart though I will always be a Busker, playing simple songs simply, without the electronics. I have just bought a new toy, a Korg M1 (I also have a novation Mini Nova as well as a Yamaha Tyros). Novation because I love the old Juno sounds, and the 30-year old M1 because it still has the best string sounds of any synth.

Introduce your current musical projects and tell us what makes each one special for you!

At the moment I am working on so many projects for my clients that I am struggling to get on with my own thing. I have produced several Albums both alone and with interesting musicians. About 2 years ago I re-recorded a whole pile of songs in the form of Busking.

This album is called Busking Munich Freiheit. Why Munich Freiheit? Well the local council of Munich have banned any form of busking here, I recorded this as a protest. Several thousand copies have been sold and I donated the profits to the Munich Winter Bus. This is a Bus with a kitchen that travels around the homeless in Winter to provide them with at least one hot meal per day. We have about 5000 homeless here, however the German Government moved the finances for the Homeless to pay for housing the Immigrants that stormed south Germany. The next project is a new Album called Blooos and Tooos, and again, the profits will go to the Cold Winter Bus.

You have been playing for a long while! How do you find the drive and inspiration to keep going?

Drive and inspiration came from a fairly colourful life and the fact that I am dyslexic as well as borderline. In my bad moments, I found that words used to flow from pencil to paper (yes, I still use a pencil). As a composer, finding the orchestration for each song was easy because I can hear it just by looking at the words.

Sometimes a tune enters my head, and that is the end. I cannot leave until I have done something with it. I am actually learning new things and ideas by just listening to some of the stuff the kids here on Drooble do. One thing I am picky about, though, is rap. In my mind it’s not really music, but it is only my own opinion. (I actually studied as a classical Musician, Bach on the Organ, Beethoven on the Piano, Manio de Fer on guitar, and elements of my classical past can also be heard in my music).

How’s the local music scene in your perspective?

The local music scene in Munich is fantastic, you can go out every night and listen to music in 30 to 40 venues per night. With Munich having a very important music school, Munich also had the biggest recording studio in the world, Music City. Sadly, this had to close down in the late 1990’s due to too much road sounds and vibrations, and the fact that Hilton wanted to build their Munich Hilton Hotel on the site. Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull used to live up the road from me and I still go to the Pub, where they used to meet. George Brown still plays drums here, as well as a few more notable musicians.

What is your all-time favorite record and how did it change you as an artist?

My all time favourite record was actually taken from a live unplugged concert by Eric Clapton for the BBC. Introduced by Bob Harris. The Album was released as Clapton Unplugged, and here I fell in love with Delta Blues, and the old Bluesmen. So, yes, I guess this has to be my favourite.

What software and hardware do you use for music production?

My Studio is basically very analogue. I prefer to use actual instruments and still record analogue on a Fostex 224 Digi Ana Desk. I then use the Magix suite for post production, if I need it. Why Magix, well I have been using it for the past 30 years or so, and they seem to let me have free updates whenever I change platforms. I have tried Ableton, but my first was Cubase on an Atari. If I had the space I would still love to record on 16 track tape, but those days are over. My newest acquisition is a little device, the Sonuus G3m Digital Converter, that takes any analogue input, voice, guitar, or bass, microphone, and converts it to a MIDI signal, which I use to drive the Novation and the KorgM1. Great fun, but now I need to work out how I can use it in my Music.

What is your songwriting process?

What is my songwriting like? Quite simple really … I get hit with an idea and the rest of the world disappears. This mainly happens at 2 am where I need to grab one of my 8 guitars (you can never have enough guitars) and a pencil and notebook, and if I am lucky I have the basis of a song in about 3 or 4 minutes. It is hell for my girlfriend, it means she can’t get to sleep either!

What is the most memorable live show you played?

Live shows that I have played, oh that is a tough one. One of the most interesting ones was playing for a stage orchestra as Bassman for the Wizzard of Oz in Crewe. Halfway through “We’re off to see the Wizzard” Dorothy trod on the Lions tail, which tripped her up falling onto the Tin Man, which pushed him into the Orchestra pit. The Lion, in the attempt to free his tail, fell into the Wicked Witch of the wests Castle flat, which toppled over knocking all of the flats down, revealing the Munchkins all changing costumes. With out batting an eye lid, Dorothy just said “oh My , Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My” the drummer , on whom the Tin Man fell shouted “OH FUCK”…..

What is your biggest musical goal?

My Goal is to keep on writing music till I drop, and to get a big rock band back together to keep playing the great Rock Anthems for the Next generations, as the old Big Rockers are all gradually leaving this world; and visiting Elvis for the biggest rock party in the sky.

How has being on Drooble helped you as a musician?

Drooble is great. I can present my stuff and see how the younger musicians react to it. It has also given me a platform where I can meet with local musicians that are here in Munich, and start some collaborations with them. Haven’t done one yet but it is on the cards. Keep it up Drooble it can only get better.