Michael Hoenig (born 4 January 1952) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

composer who has composed music for several films and games, in addition to two solo albums, including the highly acclaimed 1978 album ''

Departure from the Northern Wasteland ''Departure from the Northern Wasteland'' is the debut studio album of electronic music composer Michael Hoenig, released in 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ''Departure from the Northern Wasteland'' lin ...

''. In 1997, he was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the award was presented with the "possibility of one, more than one, or no award given ...

for composing the theme to the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series '' Dark Skies''.

Early career

As the editor of the underground magazine ''LOVE'' in the late sixties, Hoenig was part of the burgeoning progressive rock scene in Berlin, which fostered bands like

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

, Ash Ra Tempel and Agitation Free. His interest in

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

music, sound generators and prepared tapes caught the eye of Michael Günther, the bassist of Agitation Free, and he joined the band in February 1971. In March 1975, Hoenig was hired to replace Peter Baumann in Tangerine Dream for an Australian tour and a London

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

concert, and subsequently left Agitation Free, which broke up shortly after. Baumann rejoined Tangerine Dream soon after, and Hoenig went on to collaborate with

Klaus Schulze Klaus Schulze (4 August 1947 – 26 April 2022) was a German electronic music pioneer, composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried and was a member of the Krautrock bands Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel, and the Cosmic Jokers ...

on the short-lived project "Timewind" (unrelated to the 1975 Schulze album of the same name). In 1976 he had a brief collaboration with Manuel Göttsching of Ash Ra Tempel; a recording of one of the sessions was released in 1995 under the title "Early Water". In 1977, he released his first solo album, the highly acclaimed Berlin School classic ''

'', and left for

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

shortly after it was released.

Later career

Hoenig owns a recording studio in Los Angeles and through his company Metamusic Productions, he has composed the scores for several movies (see filmography below) and television shows. In addition to this, he has composed music for the extremely popular

Baldur's Gate ''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both t ...

PC games by

BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American ...

. In 1987, Hoenig released his second solo album, Xcept One. The track Bones on the Beach from the Xcept One album was installed in the roller coaster CHAOS at Opryland in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, making the attraction the first roller coaster to be synced to music. Bones on the Beach has also been used at a similar roller coaster, Revolution (Dutch Wiki), at

Bobbejaanland Bobbejaanland is a theme park in Lichtaart, Belgium. The park was founded by Bobbejaan Schoepen, a Flemish singer, guitarist, and entertainer who enjoyed international success in the fifties and early sixties. In 1959, he bought a 30 hectar ...

, a family park in Lichtaart,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

from 2004 to 2008 and since 2011.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1978) *'' Xcept One'' (1987) *'' The Blob'' soundtrack (1988) *'' Dark Skies'' score (1997)

with Tangerine Dream

*''Bootleg Box Set Vol. 1'' (2003) *'' In Search of Hades: The Virgin Recordings 1973-1979'' (2019)

with Manuel Göttsching

*''Early Water'' (1997)

Producer

*'' Lovely Thunder'' –

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American music composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimal music and avant-garde scene of Southern California ...

(1986)

Filmography

Films

*''Deadly Encounter'' (1982) *'' Koyaanisqatsi'' (1982 – additional music) *'' Night Patrol'' (1984) *''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'' (1985) *'' 9½ Weeks'' (1986 – additional music) *'' The Gate'' (1987) *'' Shattered Spirits'' (1987) *'' The Wraith'' (1987) *'' The Blob'' (1988) *'' I, Madman'' (1989) *'' The Last of the Finest'' (1990) *''

Class of 1999 ''Class of 1999'' is a 1990 American science fiction thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester. It is the director's follow-up to his 1982 film ''Class of 1984''. Plot In the 1990s, youth gangs take over areas in major North American cities. Tw ...

'' (1990) *'' Visions of Murder'' (1993) *'' The Amy Fisher Story'' (1993) *'' Search for Grace'' (1994) *'' Eyes of Terror'' (1994) *'' Above Suspicion'' (1995) *''Terminal Justice'' (1995) *'' Her Costly Affair'' (1996) *'' Thrill'' (1996) *'' After Alice'' (1999) *'' Contaminated Man'' (2000) *'' Dracula 3000'' (2004)

Television series

*'' Max Headroom'' (1987–88) *'' Dark Skies (1996–1997) *'' Strange World'' (1999) *''

The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. P ...

'' (2000–2004)

Games

*''

'' (1998) *'' Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast'' (1999) *'' Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' (2000)

References

External links

*
Artist profile
at

OverClocked ReMix OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-commercial organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs, both with new technology and software and by vari ...

*
Departure From The Northern Wasteland review (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoenig, Michael 1952 births German ambient musicians Composers from Hamburg German film score composers German male film score composers German television composers German video game composers Living people Male television composers New-age composers New-age musicians