German electronic project
Software were founded by sound designer
Peter Mergener and science fiction writer
Michael Weisser in the early '80s. Heavily inspired by Berlin school electronics, the duo found a home with
Klaus Schulze's Innovative Communication label, where they released well over a dozen albums and several compilations. Their music explored science fiction concepts, but the duo's usage of natural sounds, including bird calls and rushing waves, as well as acoustic instruments (particularly saxophone), kept their music earthly and organic.
Software were never as well-known or acclaimed as artists like
Tangerine Dream, but they found a sizeable audience among fans of new age music, and their work anticipated much of the ambient techno and downtempo of the 1990s and beyond.
Initially recording under their own names,
Mergener and
Weisser made their debut in 1984 with Beam-Scape, an album of pulsating, arpeggio-heavy soundscapes. Phancyful-Fire and Night-Light were both credited to the two individuals, but Chip-Meditation and
Electronic-Universe, both released in 1985, were released under the
Software name, and the duo continued producing under the moniker.
Syn-Code and two
Past-Present-Future compilations appeared in 1987, and several albums followed in 1988, including
Digital-Dance, which contained the single "Island Sunrise."
The-Third-Dimension-Live-In-Concert and
Chip-Meditation, Pt. 2 (containing material recorded in 1985, during the sessions for the first volume) both appeared in 1989.
Mergener left
Software for the first half of the 1990s, during which he released several solo albums on CUE-Records.
Software's 1990 album,
Fragrance, was composed by
Weisser along with
Schulze and his studio engineer,
Georg Stettner. Billy Byte (aka Stephan Töteberg, of the group
Megabyte) joined
Software from 1991 until 1993, appearing on the erotically charged
Modesty-Blaze albums, as well as the more nature-focused
Cave. Following remix album Space-Design,
Software (once again the duo of
Mergener and
Weisser) released the darker, medieval-inspired
Heaven-to-Hell (Requiem für Analoge Seelen), which featured vocals from several choirs. Sky-Dive and Fire-Works followed, also containing a heavy presence of choral vocals, but the duo ceased activity around 2000, and
Mergener continued releasing solo albums on the Prudence label. A few CD compilations of
Software material were subsequently released.
Software largely faded into obscurity until their music was rediscovered by a new audience during the 2010s, as interest in new age rebounded. "Island Sunrise" earned recognition as a prototype of vaporwave, and
Software began to develop a new cult following. In 2017, the entire
Software catalog was made available digitally for the first time by 100% Electronica, which also reissued the in-demand
Digital-Dance on vinyl. ~ Paul Simpson