Kevin Schroeder, aka “DejaVu Sound”, is an internationally renowned sound designer, synth programmer, and composer who has dedicated his life to creating sounds we have all heard on the big screen.

He has worked alongside Trevor Morris, Paul Haslinger, and Hans Zimmer on various film scores such as Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun Maverick, James Bond and Dune. He is currently touring with Hans Zimmer as part of the Hans Zimmer Live Show where all these crazy sounds are played live!

Kevin’s relationship with Waldorf Music is long-lasting. He has created factory sounds for the Quantum & Iridium family, as well as the acclaimed and available soundsets for both instruments. These sound libraries are a valuable addition to the Waldorf ecosystem, offering users a door into the world of cinematic music production.

→ Check out Cinematic Dark Sequences and Synthwave Edition.

We had the opportunity to speak with our friend about his work, creative process, and how he uses the Quantum and Iridium instruments both in the studio and on stage.

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Originally, Jean-Michel Jarre brought me to music. His album Oxygene completely inspired me when I was a 10-year-old boy. As a result, my parents gave me a keyboard. At some point, I reached its limits—I wanted more, I wanted to bend sounds and design them myself. So at the age of 14, I bought my first analog synthesizer, a Roland HS-60. It was like a Juno-106, only with speakers.

What fascinates me most is that I play synthesizers without being able to read sheet music :)

Making music has accompanied me from a very early age and still does today. I will probably spend the rest of my life making music and sounds.

I don’t have a recipe for that. Normally, I’m a studio musician and had never played on an international stage before. I simply play according to how I feel in the moment. If emotions get the better of me during a live performance, my entire keyboard setup might start shaking quite a bit :-D

Last year, we rehearsed in London for four weeks. During that time, we revised the pieces, shortened or extended them, and developed new sounds along the way.

We played through the show countless times beforehand. During the show, you indirectly continue experimenting with your playing style and whether the sounds actually fit. Sometimes you simply have to let certain things breathe to feel whether they work.

The biggest challenge is playing the right notes :-))

You learn new things with every show. Sometimes I change my playing style, adjust my sounds on the Waldorf Quantum, or even replace sounds altogether.

It’s exciting to constantly invent new things together with Hans.

Why should it always be the Vangelis lead sound when you essentially have endless possibilities to try something new?

In Hans’ environment, you can really let loose and make some serious noise.

When we work on a project, I usually fly to Los Angeles and we sit together in the studio. We watch the film, talk about ideas, colors, and what defines the film.

Then I sit down in the studio and start programming the first sounds that might fit the film. At the same time, I automatically begin composing a few things that may point in the right direction. That’s how small ideas grow into something larger.

Things are prepared in advance that, for example, run in sync on stage via sequencers. I also pre-programmed the bat flaps in The Dark Knight show using a synth called ZebraHZ by u-he.

It’s impossible to play all synth lines live on stage, so some sequencers have to support the performance.

As early as 2023, I reworked the soundtrack for Top Gun: Maverick so that it would function well on stage.

There are about 150 people on the tour, and everyone has their task to ensure everything runs smoothly.

You’re constantly working on yourself to become even better and make the show even more exciting.

Every synthesizer has its own sound. The Quantum and Iridium fit particularly well on stage because of their versatility.

Of course, we also use the Quantum for sequencer sounds, which can be realized very well with its fast filters.

It’s about layering different tonal colors.

For the F1 soundtrack, we use three Waldorf Quantums on stage with completely different lead sounds. This creates a uniquely massive lead sound that we use to play the main theme.

On stage, I use our The Legend HZ by Synapse Audio for huge bass sounds, which Hans and I further developed together.

For pads, lead sounds, and sequences, I use the Waldorf Quantum.

Our live setup is basically our studio setup.

I think that’s unique and has never existed on this scale before.

You could say that we feel on stage as if we were in our own home studio :-)

I try to forget everything I did before. Whenever I start a new sound set, I act as if I’ve never created one before. That’s what makes it so exciting for me to invent new things that may never have existed before.

Both. The spontaneous sounds are the most exciting patches for me.

I see colors in my mind, bright or dark places. You’re flying through a universe without a destination—a journey into the unknown.

Structured sounds, on the other hand, are planned and sometimes less exciting to me.

There are limitless possibilities when creating patches—that’s exactly what inspires me.

I believe everything has to work together harmoniously to achieve a good result.

It changes from time to time. I try not to stand still because that quickly becomes boring.

Of course, after many years, experience grows as well, and you reach your goals much faster than you did 20 years ago.

A good sound should work musically because that’s what sounds are programmed for.

The “Worm Thumper” that I programmed for the film Dune obviously doesn’t function musically—that was more of an exception :-))

That’s difficult to explain, but a finished sound should feel rounded and complete.

Always within the musical context. And because I’m also a musician, I know quite precisely whether a sound works musically or not.

An important one, because all the sounds I play in Hans Zimmer Live were programmed by me.

I’ve also programmed horns that sound deceptively realistic. I play them in Gladiator, The Dark Knight, and Man of Steel. However, I programmed those horns using ZebraHZ by u-he.

I approach every sound set as if I had never created one before :) But of course, all sounds should be musically usable—that aspect is very important to me. Naturally, I always try to develop new sounds and avoid being influenced by external factors.

What particularly attracted me was the Iridium Desktop and its possibilities. Later, the Iridium Keyboard was added, which I used to create the Synthwave soundset. With the Iridium Desktop, I can comfortably program sound sets in bed or out on a sunny terrace.

For me, music, sounds, and nature are very closely connected. That’s why my studio always needs a window :-)

The ability to work with two layers and two sequencers on the hardware also inspired me greatly.

I love creating sequences because they’re often a great creative starting point for producing music.

I enjoy programming with my hands, and the mouse can stay where it is.

Quantum and Iridium can do things that I previously only knew from software.

I especially like the large modulation matrix, which allows me to connect anything I can think of.

However, I do miss so-called multi-stage envelope generators. They allow you to build your own envelopes and create even more rhythmic ideas. Maybe I can still convince Waldorf to add them :)

I often use wavetable and granular synthesis.

The latter integrates particularly well into atmospheric sounds.

Yes, I programmed an organ sound on the Waldorf Quantum that Hans and I play on stage during Interstellar.

I’ve started some new things for the Iridium/Quantum. But it’s still too early to talk seriously about it.

There are many experiments happening at the moment :-)

I always make sure that the sound truly works in the context of the music I’m producing. Basically, any concept is possible—from EDM and synthwave to cinematic music.

The organ for Interstellar on the Waldorf Quantum and several patches that work with two sequencers.