Even before there was Ice Ages or Summoning, I made my first experiments with keyboards. The first was a ridiculous little device with only 2 octaves and estimated 10 sounds, but for the first time I learned how to play with keys instead of guitar strings and also be able to musically accompany myself with the left hand (which is not possible with a metal guitar). Those times I created some short ideas, which none of them made it onto any album, but which certainly laid a foundation for my future songs.
My first relevant synthesizer was the Korg 01 WFD. Not only could it not be compared in terms of sound to its predecessor, it also had an integrated sequencer with which I could record 16 tracks without any loss concerning sound quality. At this point I also learned that I can "quantify" notes played by my hands and thus make them sound as precise and mechanical as a machine - an essential step in the creation of Ice Ages. But even if this synthesizer had an extremely large number of sounds to choose from, the possibility of manipulation was very limited compared to today. Like most synthesizers, it consisted of integrated samples that could be played back at the push of a key and had only two bus effects. Instead of creating sounds myself, I was forced to choose the most suitable sounds from the synthesizer - the result was the first Ice Ages album. But from the beginning I had this dream of one day being able to be independent of any samples, so to speak to create "sounds out of nothing" that are not derived from the real world - but I assumed that it would always remain a dream.
This dream remained a dream with my next synthesizer. When I bought the Korg Trinity, I was still very enthusiastic about the significantly expanded option of being able to put insert effects on every track. Now I still couldn't create any sounds "out of nothing", but I could manipulate the finished sounds massively with distortion effects, for example. A lot of very industrial-sounding drums back then were often completely different-sounding drums like Congas, which I, for example, pitched down dramatically and then massively distorted. This synthesizer can be heard on the 2nd Ice Ages album.
Finally, I got to know the possibilities of modern software synthesizers. Especially Reaktor from Native Instruments impressed me with its flexibility. For the first time, I was able to virtually construct my own synthesizer, where every fader and button is exactly adapted to my wishes. I began to work intensively with sound generators such as FM modulation and ring modulation and in this way was able to create any sound I wanted from simple waves (mostly sawtooth and random waves). For the first time I was no longer dependent on samples and completely put them out of my albums. My old dream finally came true, and I was able to create my own sounds "out of nothing". Instead of endlessly comparing and selecting different ready-made sounds, I removed all sound libraries and started creating every sound I wanted specifically for the current song. The result was the last two albums and will also be heard on the next.