Oliver Riedel

Oliver Riedel
Oliver Riedel
	Riedel in 2010
Background information
Born	11 April 1971 (age 53); Schwerin, East Germany
Genres	Neue Deutsche Härte, folk punk
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar
Years active	1990–present
Member of	Rammstein
Formerly of	The Inchtabokatables

Oliver "Ollie" Riedel (born 11 April 1971)^[1] is a German musician, best known as one of the founders and the bassist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein.^[2]

Early life

Riedel was born in Schwerin on 11 April 1971.^[3] Growing up, he had relatively good relationships with both of his parents, which he attributes to the small gap between their ages.^[4] As a child, he was not a good student, but he made his way through school with the assistance of his mother. Riedel was quite shy, especially during his teenage years; while his friends partied, he would often be found just "hanging around".

Career

In 1992, Riedel began playing in a folk/punk band called the Inchtabokatables.^[5] That same year, he traveled to the southwest of the United States together with Richard Kruspe and Till Lindemann.^[3] In 1993, Riedel co-founded a new project named Tempelprayers with Kruspe and Christoph Schneider.^[3] Together with Lindemann, they entered the Berlin Senate Metrobeat contest in 1994 and won a recording session in a professional studio.^[6]^[7] Paul Landers and Christian "Flake" Lorenz would later join the band, which was then renamed to Rammstein.^[8]^[3]

Personal life

Riedel has two children.^[4] He enjoys photography and sports, especially skateboarding and surfing.^[9] He is the tallest member of Rammstein, standing at 6 ft 7 in (2 m).^[10] Riedel is known to live a private life and rarely gives interviews.^[3] He is said to be the most computer-literate member of Rammstein. ^{[citation needed]} In 2022, Riedel auctioned off two of his signature Sandberg basses as part of the Gear For Hope music auction where proceeds were donated to aid organizations in Ukraine.^[11]

Musicianship

Technique

Riedel is primarily a fingerstyle player, although he uses a pick for most songs when playing live.

In certain softer songs, Riedel has been known to play with a banjo style plucking technique with his right hand to play arpeggiated chords, such as in "Seemann". He also plays the acoustic guitar introduction to "Tier" and "Frühling in Paris" during live shows.