I’ve been making music since I was a teenager and I love all kinds of music ranging from Hip Hop to classical. My main instrument is the guitar, which I use in almost all of my songs.

For the last three years I have been working on my first album which is called “shadows & lights”. When I create my music, I always write about my own personal experiences and so this album represents somehow an impression of my very own life.

A life that was not very easy at times, but which still provided me with beautiful experiences and memories that helped me through the difficult times. It often seems to me that my life has been a collection of either incredible highs or incredible lows. A somewhat various assembly of black and white moments. Therefore the name „shadows & light“ seemed very fitting to me…

It is my personal experience that all things that truly matter do not come easy to us. Sometimes we might get lucky and find a shortcut to the finish line, however this is of course not the standard by any means and most people have to struggle on their way.

And so we all have to deal with the obstacles that life throws at us. However, sometimes those obstacles seem insurmountable and this is when I often turn to music to keep going on.

I’ve been struggling with diverse chronic health issues since I’ve been 18 years old and music in a way has given my life a purpose and a direction.

Due to my sometimes quite debilitating health issues, I was often forced to stay a lot of time at home, where I spent most of my time working on my music. This was also the reason why I learned how to record and mix my own music, as it was just the easiest available option to me…

sDespite my unstable health, I was able to live a more or less normal live until about three years ago. Of course my health issues also brought along all the little and big deceptions and missed chances that all people that suffer from chronic disease know all too well, but I was still able to work in my dayjob and to make music the rest of the time.

However, about three years ago I had a massive health issue which completely knocked me out of my life and worst of all directly affected my ability to make and listen to music.

I had terrible and unbearable symptoms for nearly two years and many times I thought that I would never get better.

Having lived through this terrible time has profoundly changed me and finishing this album represents a large part of my recovery and my return to a “normal” life.

The song “We Keep singing” was the song that I wrote after my symptoms started to improve. It represents a letter to my loved ones about my feelings during this time and my struggle with potentially leaving them behind.

But even though the topic of the song is quite sad, I chose the music to be uplifting and happy. A celebration of our beautiful life together. Because one thing that this experience has taught me is that I still love my life and even in darkness there is always beauty and light to discover.

And this is the case for my music in general. Even though my songs often have quite serious topics, they are always thought to be uplifting and life affirming. So I hope that people will enjoy them and find a bit of hope and positivity in their own lifes.

Even though I haven’t fully recovered yet, I’m on my way and releasing this album and my music is a big step forward for me…

Even without all of my health issues, finishing and releasing this album would have been probably one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It took me an incredible amount of time to write, record and arrange my music, as well as to learn how to mix the songs professionally.

I never bothered very much of what other people think about my music, however I had a very precise vision of how the album and the songs should sound for myself. And so I would work on the songs until they sounded good to me, sometimes many months or even years.

I recorded most of the songs in my parent’s basement, which I transformed in a makeshift studio. Extremely professionaly as can be seen on the pictures 🙂

Only people that are musicians themselves, know how much work it actually takes, to get from the first demo recordings to the final result.

All the instruments that can be heard on the album were played by me, with the exception of the drums which I arranged for all songs and then had recorded professionally by “Chris Whitten” who is an exceptional drumer.

I also learned how to play the piano, however my skills are quite rudimentary, so the piano parts on the album are quite simple. However I would really like to do a full piano song so if there are any musicians interested in a collaboration out there, please let me know…

All of my music would however not be complete without the beautiful artwork of my little sister Kassandra. I’ve always loved her drawings and her artistic skills and I’m very grateful to her for providing me with all the drawings for my songs, that can be seen on the other pages of this website.

What is interesting to me is that some of the drawings existed actually before I had written my music and yet somehow, they seem to fit perfectly to my songs. But not only the depicted scene itself, but also the colors and composition somehow match my musical style.

So I think in a way the songs would have been incomplete artistically without their corresponding artwork and I’m very thankful to my sister for bringing those drawings to life…

This album also wouldn’t have been possible without the help of a few other people.

My dad Wilfried, also know under the artist name “Folkstrottel” who supported me with his guitar skills and his vast musical knowledge.

My mom Silvia, who is an incredible classical singer herself, and who gave me countless singing lessons and feedback on my vocal performances.

My other sister Sarah, who shares the same taste in music with me and who probably has the same crazy artistic brain as me.

My brother Florian who supported and did not give up on me even during the hard last two years.

My friend Hardi Aziz, who is an outstanding musician himself, who helped me a lot with the recordings and the arrangements of my early songs and taught me how to mix my songs myself.

Chris Whitten who is an excellent drummer who provided me with feedback and recorded the drums for me on five songs.

And of course my wife Niusha, who supported me during all the difficult periods in my life. Finishing this album would have never been possible without her unrelenting support and love. Many of the songs have been influenced by her and our common taste in music.