Busking the Hippie Trail
Above perhaps any other instrument, the guitar symbolises the carefree lifestyle of freedom, adventure and joie de vivre, and travelling the legendary routes of the Hippie Trail represents in this respect probably the most colourful and ultimate fulfilment of all dropout yearnings.
With my guitar as an ever-faithful companion, I already set out early in my youth, unwavering and light-hearted in the pursuit of my dreams, on countless expeditions through far-off lands and foreign cultures.
Unbound years of wandering without a fixed abode, shaped by a lust for adventure, a hunger for experience, and the search for dimensions of meaning beyond society’s demands for mere functioning and productivity, eventually led me to encounters with the most diverse, fascinating and exotic forms of music and ways of life, and to an immersion in the artistic and philosophical worlds of Asia.
What originally began as a harmless busking trip through Southern Europe in a rickety VW camper soon evolved into a multi-year, mind-expanding journey to the East.
Reality checks around the Globe
Comparing the contrasting realities of simple fishermen on the deserted dream beaches of southern India with those of Tibetan yak herders on the mystical forested slopes of the Himalayas was not only incredibly exciting, but also profoundly enlightening.
Or the worldviews of holy monks in Thailand’s monkey temples with those of hurried businesspeople in the skyscraper jungles of Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.
During late-night deep talks with the shamans on the volcanic islands of Indonesia, one’s own sense of self is put into perspective, just as it is when toasting to brotherhood with the Last Headhunters in the remote mountain regions of the Philippines.
One World
One of the most enriching side effects of these voyages of discovery through the universes of alien thought-worlds, patterns of living, and reality tunnels is that they offer the opportunity to view one’s own instilled canon of values in a quasi-comparative light.
Each new destination surprises with its own cultural identity, an individual reality that is best understood when one opens up and sets aside one's own subjective values and norms - recognising them as just one of many possibilities. Gradually, a worldview takes shape that is characterised by empathetic openness and a fundamentally tolerant outlook.
Discovering the beauty within diversity is perhaps the most profound and lasting perception of those years.
One Music
Those years as a globetrotter and street musician broadened not only my personal horizons but also my musical ones - a souvenir that would leave an indelible mark on my artistic work to this day.
In my countless encounters with musicians from all over the world, it soon became an equally illuminating and seminal certainty that in this field, too, there is a multitude of equally valid, coexisting realities and perspectives. Whether dealing with guitarists from the worlds of jazz, rock, blues, or classical music - or with traditional musicians from Nepal, Sri Lanka, or Bali: on closer inspection, every style and musical tradition reveals its own unique approach, with entirely individual points of emphasis and priorities.
For instance, the demanding approach of fidelity to the score in Western classical music stands in diametric opposition to the concept of spontaneous improvisation in jazz. While classical music focuses on the precise realisation of the composer’s intentions, jazz is all about developing individual forms of expression and the free articulation of musical ideas.
Here, too, the respective key to deeper understanding lies in casting aside one's own musical lens and opening up to the new and the unexplored. The realisation that authentic playing within different genres is only possible when one’s own subjective musical mindset does not obscure the vision - thus avoiding the unconscious distortion of one style through the stylistic devices or expressive means of another - was a source of great enrichment in this musical context as well.
Ultimately, one is rewarded with the ability to approach every genre and every musician with an unbiased, respectful, and open mind, bringing to each the unique understanding it demands.
Whether one ultimately commits to a stylistically faithful interpretation or, in the spirit of a deliberate fusion, breaks free from the tight constraints of stylistic convention to harmoniously blend genres - music offers us the creative freedom for both, with both approaches once again standing side by side in peaceful coexistence.
When making music together with an Indian sitar master in the deserts of Rajasthan or a bamboo flute virtuoso in the rainforests of Sumatra, the boundaries of differing musical origins can, if the stars align, dissolve just as rapidly as during an exuberant, cross-genre, transcultural flamenco improvisation with the Andalusian Gitanos in the backyards of Cádiz.
No less enchanting was my romance with the Brazilian nonchalance and lightness of Bossa Nova, with its characteristic chord progressions and syncopated rhythms, or the unforgettable evening blues sessions with the rebellious street musicians in the harbour pubs of Sydney.
Music, as a universal language, seems to possess the wonderful ability to unite people of all stripes and the most diverse stylistic worldviews. It has the power to build bridges, to transcend linguistic and cultural barriers, and to open up a space for a meeting of minds that lies beyond words.
And so, in those early years, my guitar became not only the symbol of my freedom, but also a resonant instrument for intercultural understanding and, ultimately, the embodiment of my pluralistic worldview.
From Studying to Lecturing:
An Academic Journey
Full Circle:
Guitar Zen and the Art of Teaching
From then on, my liaison with the classical guitar remained a deeply intimate one and, in the period after I graduated, it defined my creative work for several fulfilling years.
I soon discovered that I always had a natural knack for conveying complex subjects in an accessible and simple manner and, beyond this, found immense joy in guiding people of all ages and backgrounds on their individual journeys into the world of music, supporting and inspiring them along the way.
It therefore felt only natural to place the teaching activities I had already begun alongside my studies at the very heart of my work from then on, pooling the wide-ranging and unique experiences I had been fortunate enough to gather throughout my life as a musician and sharing them with guitar students from around the globe.
With gratitude, I look back today on what has become thirty-five enriching years of educational work as a lecturer at various Viennese conservatories and music institutes, during which I have had the pleasure of accompanying countless students from their very first steps to the successful completion of their diplomas.
In search of further musical development and ever newer, more comprehensive perspectives, my path eventually led me back home to the musical city of Vienna.
What followed was nine years of classical guitar studies under Professor Jorgos Panetsos at the “Prayner Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Arts”. Devoted yet disciplined years of striving for the refinement of my playing, which not only brought an unexpectedly radical expansion of musical consciousness and a completely new understanding of artistic matters, but also formed one of the most exciting, instructive, and unforgettable chapters of my life up to that point.
Parallel to this, delving into the extensive universe of fundamental harmonic research was another fascinating discovery and proved immensely helpful in sharpening my understanding of music-theoretical interconnections.
Attending to the uniqueness and individual personality of each and every student remains the core foundation of my teaching, whereby the conscious avoidance of just mechanically working through rigid and dusty pedagogical routines opens the space for a varied, enriching, and joyful learning experience, and ultimately ensures steady progress and long-term success.
Thus, even after all these years, I continue to look forward to every new student and to all the musical journeys yet to be explored together.
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Chicken Curry
A crossover project where the most contrasting musical flavours collide. A free-floating collective of ever-shifting musicians from various corners of the globe, blending their wide-ranging influences into one spicy, expansive dish of sound, experimenting freely and playfully across a kaleidoscope of diverse genres and styles.
A sonic multiverse in which an encounter between Hindu bhajans and songs by 60s icons such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix or the Beatles has just as much place as the archaic sound of a traditional Filipino kusyapi, which contrasts cheekily with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Indian tablas, unusual accompaniment arrangements on the classical guitar, vocals, cleverly used Asian soundscapes and psychedelic sound collages from the PC guide the listener through the multiple eargasms of a guaranteed zero-gravity hippie salad joyride.
Source of Inspiration
My little family over the years
