b. 1968, Frankfurt, Germany. Alongside fellow German experimentalist Pete Namlook, Schmidt is one of the most prolific composers in modern electronica, releasing hundreds of recordings under a variety of aliases. He started making music in 1991 and within three years had released over 60 different records on a variety of labels, including Pod, Rising High Records, Delirium, After 6am, US Instinct and FAX. Among his biggest early tunes were ‘I’m A Secretary’ on FAX, ‘Mihon’ by Ongaku, and ‘Elektronikkaa’ by Pink Elm and Atom Heart on Rising High. His early work dabbled in techno and acid house, before a highly productive association with Namlook’s Frankfurt-based FAX label saw him moving into trance and ambient before heading into the outer reaches of contemporary electronica with a staggering array of releases on his own Rather Interesting label. Most of these releases were limited to a 1000-copy pressing, sometimes less, although several recordings have been licensed to American and UK labels. The aliases under which Schmidt’s work has appeared include: Lassigue Bendthaus, i, Urban Primitivism, Datacide and Masters Of Psychedelic Ambiance (with Tetsu Inoue), Atomu’ Shinzo, Couer Atomique, Lisa Carbon, Softcore, the Bitniks, Flextone, Dots, VSVN, Aerial Service Area, Masters Of Psychedelic Ambiance, Silver Sound, Mono™, Atom™, and the Roger Tubesound Ensemble. After moving to Santiago, Chile in 1996, Schmidt recorded a series of bizarre Latin albums under the Señor Coconut moniker. Atom Heart, the title Schmidt most frequently uses, was chosen because he was, and remains, interested in the combination of the emotional and the mechanical/technical.