MUSIC
Band project: METAL K!DZ
Inspired by the WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP’s I’ve been to, I wish to continue passing down the touch of eye-opening experiences I’ve gained through the camps to younger generations of heavy metal artists. The METAL K!DZ will be a band in which I take over a mentor role and help young children gain their first experiences in a band and on stage.
The project’s goal is to give and inspire young children what had inspired me back in 2017 during my first stage performance.
Band project: Interns of Hell (Established 2018)
As mentioned above, the band name “INTERNS of HELL” was established in the WM:C in 2018. I decided to continue the legacy of the band name outside of the W:M:C and got people together to play at the HEADBANGERS NIGHT BONN in 2019. Nowadays, the band is re-branded as a fun and energetic band, focusing on humor, fun, and lots of breakdowns!
It’s first official release came in the form of a video game soundtrack, programmed by @AliCodeMaker (on Instagram). The game itself is completely directed by the community that follows Ali, and together with others from the community I have helped to create the official soundtrack of the game.
List of Published Songs:
XENEX
What would happen if a metal drummer and a rap artist met on the baseball field? Well, you’d get the explosive concoction known as XENEX!
After moving from Germany to Switzerland, I met Q-Rhyus, a fellow musician from the Hip-Hop/Rap scene, and together with him I have experimented with a fusion mix between both of our styles.
List of Published Songs:
Music project: exp.66 – Solutions | 2021
In 2021, I started to work on an album with a friend of mine, in which I took a risk by doing the vocals on all the songs, even though I have never done vocals before. The project was done only with the two of us, and the album consists of 8 songs with me on the drums and vocals and my friend on the guitar and bass. Even though this is currently still an unfinished project, I am extremely proud of the way how this album turned out to be. For a first attempt, I’d say this was a really good shot! 😉
Listen to the album HERE.
CAptain Blackbird´s Drum School (ESTABLISHED 2020)
During my high school years, I taught the basics of drumming to others in my school, showing them how to properly hold a drumstick, how to properly play the instrument, and basic grooves & fills. In addition, I also taught them how the basics of the double pedal.
MY Guitar Career | 2020
Thanks to my bass teacher (who mainly plays the guitar), I was also introduced to the guitar. The decision was made very quickly to pick up the guitar alongside the bass and the drums if I wished to compose songs in the future. While the bass and drums give the structures to a song, the guitar and vocals give the song meaning through their melodies, which is why I wish to master the guitar as well.
HEADBANGERS NIGHT BONN | 2019
The HEADBANGERS NIGHT BONN was a festival I organized in 2019, which was inspired by the same concepts the WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP was operating on. I wanted to allow young musicians to gain live performance experiences and feel empowered, just like I was after leaving the WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP in 2017. Not only did I wish to allow others to experience this adrenaline kick, but I too wished to play another live performance with my friends in the INTERNS of HELL.
The festival even appeared in the local newspaper, local television news, and the official WACKEN Instagram page.
See the video HERE
METAL:WINTER:WONDERLAND | 2019
METAL:WINTER:WONDERLAND (M:W:W) is a music camp organized by the same people who organized the WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP (W:M:C). In 2019, I went there with two buddies of mine to write a new song in mind. However, unlike writing a song with a full roster of band members, we were missing a vocalist. Hence, our song became a song where the guitar became the voice of the song. Originally, I was supposed to play the drums in this camp, but certain circumstances forced me to pick up the bass guitar yet again for this camp.
Our band name became the embodiment of our music. As we had no vocalist in the group, we decided to call ourselves “INSTRUMENTALS.”
You can listen to the song HERE.
TAIKO DRUMMING | 2018
In 2018, my parents surprised me with a Taiko drum course for my birthday. Taiko drumming is considered a wide variety of Japanese percussion instruments that focus on fast and precise rhythmic patterns assisted by loud, tribe-like callouts to create masterpieces filled with energy. This course was very eye-opening, as I found many similarities between heavy metal and Taiko drumming. This mix of styles is also one that I wish to pursue in the future once I meet the right people to start such a project with.
ROCKIN’ 1000 – Florence | 2018
After going to the WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP in 2018, I attended the concert of ROCKIN’ 1000, the largest rock band in the world. The show was held in Florence, where 1000 musicians met up to play a list of songs in the Football Stadium of Florence. During the concert, I played the bass guitar again.
The setlist of ROCKIN’ 1000 in 2018:
- Preludio n.1 in Do Maggiore – Johann Sebastian Bach
- Sympathy for the Devil / Hush
- Shoot to Thrill – AC/DC
- Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones
- Don’t Look Back in Anger – Oasis
- Numb – Linkin Park
- Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana | same song as official video
- Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
- Where Is My Mind? – Pixies
- Olympia – Hole feat. Courtney Love
- Malibu – Hole feat. Courtney Love
- Celebrity Skin – Hole feat. Courtney Love
- Hard to Handle – Otis Redding
- Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
- Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson
- Killing in the Name – Rage Against The Machine
- Gold on the Ceiling – The Black Keys
- Suck My Kiss – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
- Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters
W:M:C WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP
2017
The WACKEN:MUSIC:CAMP (W:M:C) is a music camp organized by the WACKEN Foundation where young teenagers between the ages of 13-19 come together for a week to write, compose, and record a song only to perform that song at the end of the week at a closing concert. Initially, I wanted to play the drums as it was my main instrument, and I felt more secure. However, when the bands were made, too many drummers were left (myself and two others). At that point, I had about half a year of experience in the bass, and another drummer played the guitar for roughly half a year. So to make the band, I switched to the bass guitar, with which I also had my first proper live performance with the band “HEAR MY DESTINY.”
See the video HERE.
2018
In 2018, I finally had the first live show where I played behind the drumkit. A friend of mine from my hometown went together with me that year and took over the guitar within the band. Before the camp officially started, we knew what we wanted to do for the music style. During the W:M:C, the band name “INTERNS of HELL” made its first appearance, and after the camp was over, I started working on an entire roster under which the band would adequately perform.
See the video HERE
2019
In 2019, it was the last W:M:C I was able to do before the lockdowns came. During this camp, I could play the drums again, and within the band, we had an exciting twist to what someone might consider classic metal/hard rock. Because the camp focuses on young teenagers experimenting with music, we incorporated a flute within the song. Not only that, but the flute player also beatboxed while playing the flute.
See the video HERE
My Bass Guitar Career
In 2012, I picked up the bass guitar for the first time for a school summer concert. However, in 2016 I started to take proper bass lessons. At first, I wanted to understand my main instrument (drums) better and therefore know how a bass player plays. I did this because in a band (especially in heavy metal), the drummer and bass players have to harmonize with each other more than any other instrument. However, I slowly developed my passion outside of understanding drums better, so I decided to learn the bass for what it was.
… ended up in the wolrd´s largest rock band ROCKIN1000 playing the football stadium in Florence, Italy.
Start of my drumming career
In 2008, I picked up drumsticks for the first time in my life, not knowing that it would become my passion, in which I would invest blood, sweat, and tears, only to one day be seen as one of the best drummers in the world ever to exist.