Z CAR M BIO
Berny A. Rácz
Musician · Composer · Recording Artist · Author
Berny A. Rácz has been making music since the 1970s, with keyboards as his principal instrument and additional work on electric and acoustic guitar.
Music was already part of his family environment. His father was a Hungarian professional musician who played viola at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern during the 1970s. Berny began classical piano training in 1974 and joined his first band, Octopus, in 1974/75. In 1977 he founded the rock group Bourbon, continuing his development as a live musician and songwriter.
In 1980, he founded Z CAR M in Kaiserslautern with Karl-Heinz “Kalle” Huth and Frank Rácz. The original three-piece band became part of the local music and underground scene of the early 1980s. After the band period ended, Berny continued working under the Z CAR M name, developing it into a long-running independent music project.
Throughout the following decades, his musical path included further bands, live performances, songwriting, home recording and professional studio productions. His music later took him to the Philippines and Ireland, where he continued composing, recording and performing. In 1999 he co-founded the pop-rock group Misty Rain in San Carlos City, Philippines, producing a CD demo album.
Z CAR M became increasingly independent from the traditional band structure, embracing computer-based recording, digital distribution and international collaborations. Among the artists he has worked with are musicians from Germany, Ireland and the Philippines, including Paul Vincent Camoro, Yatz Santos, Claudia Sahin, STP, Markus Ziegler and Aldea Magno.
In 2004, the Z CAR M song “Charisma Of Love” appeared on the compilation Playtime, followed by further releases, collaborations and digital distribution. Z CAR M later developed its own independent catalogue, record label activities and physical CD releases.
By 2026, the Z CAR M catalogue had grown to twelve albums, alongside numerous individual songs and collaborations available through digital music platforms.
Music, however, is only one part of Berny A. Rácz’s creative work. As a contemporary witness of the Kaiserslautern music scene, he contributed original photographs and personal stories to the published historical documentation Soundtrack einer Stadt. He is also the author of Punker Kalle und die Lautrer Underground-Jahre, a personal and historical account centred on Karl-Heinz “Punker Kalle” Huth and the Kaiserslautern underground years.
His continuing work combines music, songwriting, recording, photography, writing and historical documentation — connecting the independent music culture of the 1970s and 1980s with his ongoing work as Z CAR M today.