FMP-staff

Over the last years – until the end of 1999 - Free Music Production (FMP) was run by and with the following people, each with a different main focus but - at any one time - in close collaboration:

Presiding over everything was Jost Gebers - who, asidefrom his responsibility for finance – was largely responsible for all production work in the area of live activities (projects, concerts, workshops) as well as for the LP and CD productions. These areas of work included not only the planning and conception of the afore mentioned projects but also the following tasks: recording – mixing – mastering (partly in collaboration with different recording engineers, including Holger Scheuermann und Jonas Bergler from 1989 onwards), design, layout, occasional photos for the LP-covers/CD-Booklets in coordination with the musicians and/or photographers/authors involved. He undertook the planning of live projects and conceived of the programs and poster design in numerous cases. 1977: Critics’ award of the Association of German Critics and 1990: Certificate of Honour, the award of the German record critics association for his long-standing commitment as producer of Jazz records.

Dieter Hahne began his activities with FMP in February 1975. Since then he has been responsible for all the commercial aspects (distribution, promotion, fees and licensing, book-keeping, marketing). Additionally, he was involved in the planning, organisation and realization of all concert and project activities of FMP as well as in all preparatory work for the LP and CD productions including design and layout of some LP-covers. During all FMP events Dieter Hahne was responsible for the record and info stand at the different events. From October 1984 to December 1992 he ran „Jazzcock“ (retail sale of Jazz records with mail-order worldwide), but also continued to work for FMP during this time. Until summer 2002 he helped with the liquidation and closing down of Free Music Production (FMP) and has been involved in the archive work until the present time.

Since the early 70’s, Dagmar Gebers has worked mainly as photographer and has documented nearly all the concerts, projects and studio activities, and also the more private activities which took place on the perimeter of the musical events. She developed the films and enlargements in her own laboratory. Her work can be seen on countless LP covers, on and in CD booklets, books and posters as well as in newspapers and specialist magazines. Her work has been featured in photo exhibitions in Germany, Italy and in the USA. She was among the prize winners for “100 best posters of the year” in 2001.

Holger Scheuermann started his work for FMP as a young sound engineer for the 1989 Total Music Meeting. Broadly speaking he was responsible for the PA system and the recording technology for the concerts and projects. In consultation with Gebers and in accordance with the demands of each individual program he planned the entire technical requirements. He dealt with transportation, set up and break down, planned the hire of technical equipment and instruments, set up and installed recording and PA equipment and took care of the alignment of such equipment. Lastly he was responsible for the live recordings and the sound reinforcement on the mixing desk. He was responsible for the maintenance and repairs of the entire technical equipment owned by FMP and also worked as sound engineer in the FMP-Studio.

After the closing down of Free Music Production (FMP) this team got together once more in the autumn 2000 in order to organize and operate the TMMcompact over three days in November.