Moving halfway around the world to make music

Six years ago, on this day in April, we arrived in the United States with some suitcases, and with traveler checks to pay for our temporary apartment. As I wrote in the first two parts of my “Sad California” playlist (here and here), it’s always a bittersweet experience to relocate to another part of the world, leaving family and friends, but it also gave me a new freedom. Being a freelancer again, I could finally focus on my music, develop my skills, and start to build a local network in the entertainment industry. And as I usually think more in musical terms, and rather remember what music was playing at what time in my life, here are my personal musical highlights from these past six years – the very personal part of the soundtrack of my life, it seems:

My “Sad California” playlist – Part 2

California, the Golden State. Los Angeles, the city of dreams, where stars are made and fall again. A fascinating town – glamorous and seedy, full of aspiring entertainers, dazzling wannabes, and failed characters. And there are a lot of songs perfectly capturing this ambiguous nature. So, here’s the second part of my Sad California playlist:
(check out Part 1 here…)

My “Sad California” playlist – Part 1

When we decided to move from Germany to California, of course I immedately started to compile a “mix tape” for the occasion. And me being me, it of course tended to be more on the dark, sad, melancholy side.

5 Reasons why I seldom listen to radio

Radio Ga Ga… Radio can be very cool to listen to, but on the other hand I never liked it as much as listening to full albums or concerts. And there are a few reasons for that. So here’s my little rant about commercial radio.

5 songs everyone recognizes but don’t know the artist

Don’t you hate that: You know the song you’re just hearing but can’t remember the title or who the artist is. Well, you’re not alone – and there’s a big amount of songs that most people recognize, but don’t know the title, let alone the artist’s name. “Popcorn” probably is the perfect example: Everyone knows the bouncy melody, but who can honestly say, who recorded it? Some might know the version by Hot Butter – but that’s not the original…