Martha Bahr aka Panic Girl

Panic Girl is a composer and synthesizer sound designer based in Munich, Germany. She dedicated her life to music from an early age. After receiving classical training in piano, guitar, and singing she got deep into the production of electronic music. If you visit her place, it is hard to not fall over a big mess of cables and different production gear like a Eurorack System, ARP 2600, EMS Synthi A, Waldorf Iridium Core, Jomox XBase 09, Casio CZ 5000 or various Moog synthesizers.

Influenced by a wide range of music Panic Girl delivers a deep mixture of electronica and experimental cinematic sounds. She writes and produces all recordings on her own.

Waldorf Music was fortunate to have with Panic Girl an acclaimed musician to test drive the Iridium Core. Her intuition as a composer and sound designer was inspiring and her creative work is impressive. The integration in her modular set-up as well as the combination with vintage analogue gear is one of the use cases we had in mind when designing the Iridium Core. Watch her video using the Iridium Core here:

How did you start making music?

I was drawn to music and sound from early childhood on. After receiving classical training at the piano and singing in the school choir for several years I started playing in a band as a guitarist and singer. That was a fantastic time to explore and to have fun with friends. Sometime later I discovered the album “Mezzanine” from Massive Attack and from then on I wanted to make music like them. I bought some equipment, and educated myself in how to make electronic music. As I enjoyed the technical side of music more and more I eventually decided to do my Audio Engineering Diploma at the SAE Institute in Munich.

What was your first synth?

That was a Virus TI from Access Music.

What is the first thing you do…

when approaching a new synth?

I usually read the manual first to know what to expect from the instrument and to understand the designers philosophy behind the circuits or algorithms. Then I usually have a listen to what the sound sources and filters sound like. This way I can get a feeling in what direction I would like to take the synthesizer.

What inspires your music?

I like to experiment a lot with the instrument at hand until I find unusual sounds that inspire me. Those sounds often define where I want to go next with the composition. Besides that I’m very much inspired by soundtracks, by telling a certain story with my music and also by daily life with all its noises and emotions.

What is your favorite piece of gear…

in your studio that is not a synth that you can’t do without?

It changes from time to time, but at the moment I would say the RE-201 Space Echo from Roland. It produces such a warm and detailed texture that is wonderfully complementary to clean digital sounds for example.

Using presets or patching your own sounds?

Both, with a strong tendency to creating my own sounds. It very much depends on the synthesizer, but in general I like to listen to what other artists or sound designers came up with beforehand, to get an overview of what is possible. For my own projects I usually design my own presets.

At which time of day or night…

would we meet you most often in your studio?

I usually work in the mornings to fit my everyday life and also in the evenings from time to time, as I often get especially creative at that time of the day.

Which role do Waldorf synths play in your music?

The Iridium Core is my first synthesizer from Waldorf and it is getting more and more a core element for my productions. It is versatile and very powerful in its sound generation, reliable and uncomplicated when connecting it to a computer, controller or Eurorack system and in general an instrument that is very high in quality.

On what projects you are currently working?

At the moment I’m working on sounds for a radio play, for the public radio station in Munich, and also on a “Making Of” video for the soundtrack, that I co-composed with David Reichelt for the Netflix movie “Paradise”.

Follow Panic Girl:

Panic Girl about Waldorf Iridium Core:

„It is amazing how many sonic possibilities you have at your fingertips. It’s powerful, precise, and sounds breathtaking.“

Martha Bahr aka Panic Girl

Panic Girl is a composer and synthesizer sound designer based in Munich, Germany. She dedicated her life to music from an early age. After receiving classical training in piano, guitar, and singing she got deep into the production of electronic music. If you visit her place, it is hard to not fall over a big mess of cables and different production gear like a Eurorack System, ARP 2600, EMS Synthi A, Waldorf Iridium Core, Jomox XBase 09, Casio CZ 5000 or various Moog synthesizers.

Influenced by a wide range of music Panic Girl delivers a deep mixture of electronica and experimental cinematic sounds. She writes and produces all recordings on her own.

Waldorf Music was fortunate to have with Panic Girl an acclaimed musician to test drive the Iridium Core. Her intuition as a composer and sound designer was inspiring and her creative work is impressive. The integration in her modular set-up as well as the combination with vintage analogue gear is one of the use cases we had in mind when designing the Iridium Core. Watch her video using the Iridium Core here:

How did you start making music?

I was drawn to music and sound from early childhood on. After receiving classical training at the piano and singing in the school choir for several years I started playing in a band as a guitarist and singer. That was a fantastic time to explore and to have fun with friends. Sometime later I discovered the album “Mezzanine” from Massive Attack and from then on I wanted to make music like them. I bought some equipment, and educated myself in how to make electronic music. As I enjoyed the technical side of music more and more I eventually decided to do my Audio Engineering Diploma at the SAE Institute in Munich.

What was your first synth?

That was a Virus TI from Access Music.

What is the first thing you do…

with it when approaching a new synth?

I usually read the manual first to know what to expect from the instrument and to understand the designers philosophy behind the circuits or algorithms. Then I usually have a listen to what the sound sources and filters sound like. This way I can get a feeling in what direction I would like to take the synthesizer.

What inspires your music?

I like to experiment a lot with the instrument at hand until I find unusual sounds that inspire me. Those sounds often define where I want to go next with the composition. Besides that I’m very much inspired by soundtracks, by telling a certain story with my music and also by daily life with all its noises and emotions.

What is your favorite piece of gear…

in your studio that is not a synth that you can’t do without?

It changes from time to time, but at the moment I would say the RE-201 Space Echo from Roland. It produces such a warm and detailed texture that is wonderfully complementary to clean digital sounds for example.

Using presets or patching your own sounds?

Both, with a strong tendency to creating my own sounds. It very much depends on the synthesizer, but in general I like to listen to what other artists or sound designers came up with beforehand, to get an overview of what is possible. For my own projects I usually design my own presets.

At which time of day or night…

would we meet you most often in your studio?

I usually work in the mornings to fit my everyday life and also in the evenings from time to time, as I often get especially creative at that time of the day.

Which role do Waldorf synths play in your music?

The Iridium Core is my first synthesizer from Waldorf and it is getting more and more a core element for my productions. It is versatile and very powerful in its sound generation, reliable and uncomplicated when connecting it to a computer, controller or Eurorack system and in general an instrument that is very high in quality.

On what projects are you currently working on?

At the moment I’m working on sounds for a radio play, for the public radio station in Munich, and also on a “Making Of” video for the soundtrack, that I co-composed with David Reichelt for the Netflix movie “Paradise”.

Follow Panic Girl:

Panic Girl about Waldorf Iridium Core:

„It is amazing how many sonic possibilities you have at your fingertips. It’s powerful, precise, and sounds breathtaking.“

Martha Bahr
aka Panic Girl

Panic Girl is a composer and synthesizer sound designer based in Munich, Germany. She dedicated her life to music from an early age. After receiving classical training in piano, guitar, and singing she got deep into the production of electronic music. If you visit her place, it is hard to not fall over a big mess of cables and different production gear like a Eurorack System, ARP 2600, EMS Synthi A, Waldorf Iridium Core, Jomox XBase 09, Casio CZ 5000 or various Moog synthesizers.

Influenced by a wide range of music Panic Girl delivers a deep mixture of electronica and experimental cinematic sounds. She writes and produces all recordings on her own.

Waldorf Music was fortunate to have with Panic Girl an acclaimed musician to test drive the Iridium Core. Her intuition as a composer and sound designer was inspiring and her creative work is impressive. The integration in her modular set-up as well as the combination with vintage analogue gear is one of the use cases we had in mind when designing the Iridium Core. Watch her video using the Iridium Core here:

How did you start
making music?

I was drawn to music and sound from early childhood on. After receiving classical training at the piano and singing in the school choir for several years I started playing in a band as a guitarist and singer. That was a fantastic time to explore and to have fun with friends. Sometime later I discovered the album “Mezzanine” from Massive Attack and from then on I wanted to make music like them. I bought some equipment, and educated myself in how to make electronic music. As I enjoyed the technical side of music more and more I eventually decided to do my Audio Engineering Diploma at the SAE Institute in Munich.

What was your
first synth?

That was a Virus TI from Access Music.

What is the first
thing you do…

with it when approaching a new synth?

I usually read the manual first to know what to expect from the instrument and to understand the designers philosophy behind the circuits or algorithms. Then I usually have a listen to what the sound sources and filters sound like. This way I can get a feeling in what direction I would like to take the synthesizer.

What inspires
your music?

I like to experiment a lot with the instrument at hand until I find unusual sounds that inspire me. Those sounds often define where I want to go next with the composition. Besides that I’m very much inspired by soundtracks, by telling a certain story with my music and also by daily life with all its noises and emotions.

What is your favorite
piece of gear…

in your studio that is not a synth that you can’t do without?

It changes from time to time, but at the moment I would say the RE-201 Space Echo from Roland. It produces such a warm and detailed texture that is wonderfully complementary to clean digital sounds for example.

Using presets or patching
your own sounds?

Both, with a strong tendency to creating my own sounds. It very much depends on the synthesizer, but in general I like to listen to what other artists or sound designers came up with beforehand, to get an overview of what is possible. For my own projects I usually design my own presets.

At which time of
day or night…

would we meet you most often in your studio?

I usually work in the mornings to fit my everyday life and also in the evenings from time to time, as I often get especially creative at that time of the day.

Which role do

Waldorf synths
play in your music?

The Iridium Core is my first synthesizer from Waldorf and it is getting more and more a core element for my productions. It is versatile and very powerful in its sound generation, reliable and uncomplicated when connecting it to a computer, controller or Eurorack system and in general an instrument that is very high in quality.

On what projects
are you currently
working on?

At the moment I’m working on sounds for a radio play, for the public radio station in Munich, and also on a “Making Of” video for the soundtrack, that I co-composed with David Reichelt for the Netflix movie “Paradise”.

Follow Panic Girl:

Panic Girl about Iridium Core:

„It is amazing how many sonic possibilities you have at your fingertips. It’s powerful, precise, and sounds breathtaking.“