Biography

geboren in Basel, behütet aufgewachsen, polternd ausgebrochen und heute angekommen

Frühe Begegnung mit Klang. Ich spielte die elektrische Eisenbahn immer unter Mutter’s Klavier und hämmerte Harmonien und Töne in viele wertvolle Beulen. Mein Vater befand Musik „für Saltimbanques“ (Gaukler). So blieb Zusammenspiel für’s erste mal aussen vor. Man verausgabte sich bereits vergebens mit vier älteren Geschwistern.
Einmal – ich war vermutlich ca. 5 Jahre alt – nahm mich meine Mutter an eines ihrer Abonnement-Konzerte mit in’s Stadtcasino Basel (an der „Seyby“, dem Barfüsserplatz). Ein schwarzer Mann – Erroll Garner – spielte rasenden Jazz, wobei er nie auf seine Finger schaute, sondern immer nur freundlich abwesend umher nickte. Eine Melodie („Misty“) grub sich tief in die Schatzkiste meiner „geheimen Lieblinge“ ein.

Ein magisches Erlebnis der Aha-Klasse erhielt eine bekannte Posaunen Melodie vom Bachelor-PopMusic_Begründer – André Pop). In einem Stück mutierte diese Melodie auf erstaunliche Art.
Man hörte eine Posaune „rückwärts“!
Hier wurde offensichtlich verwegen getrickst: das Tonband mit der originalen Melodie wurde umgedreht, der Posaunist lernte die „verkehrte Melodie“ und spielte sie auf ein neues Band ein, bzw. dieses Band wurde dann wieder umgekehrt, und die originale Melodie erklang dann „rückwärts“!

Einen besonderer Event bescherte uns der Vater, als er ein Grammophon nach Hause brachte. Er schüttelte den Kopf ob der ebenfalls mitgebrachten Vinyl_Platte (André Pop’s «Délires en hifi-stéréo»), welche man  stereo hören musste, indem man den Kopf zwischen die zwei Lautsprecher steckte…
Ein anderes mal brachte der Silberrücken eines der ersten Diktaphone, ein „Ultravox“ nach Hause…

Ein erstaunliches Utensil! Da gab es eine Foli zum Einspannen auf eine Trommel, ein Mikrofon für’s Diktat und ein Fusspedal zum die Trommel einen kleinen Sprung rückwärts zu manövrieren, wenn die Sekretärin die Worte des Diktats nicht schnell genug packte. Ein Widerspruch zu meinem Verständnis, dass man Töne nicht festhalten konnte zum auf die Transportwagons meiner Güterzüge zu packen…
Das wollte genau untersucht werden. Aloso packte ich das Ultravox in die Küche und nahm damit Mutters blubbernden Kartoffelstock auf. Nach dem Essen stellte ich das Ultravox auf’s Klavier, drückte auf eine Taste und wiederholte den Ton mittels des erwähnten Fusspedals. Der Kiefer baumelte oft lange in der gleichen Schlaufe. Ein festgehaltetes Geräusch wird zu „Musik“?… Vielleicht war die Mutter etwas besorgt ob dem debilen Gesichtsausdruck des Sprösslings beim Zuhören unflätiger Musik. Auf alle Fälle erkundigte sie sich natürlich, warum ich denn Musiker werden wollte. Ich hätte ihr gesagt, weil man dabei eben immer spielt (vs arbeitet)… Worauf mich die Mutter in einen Kinderchor steckte! Sie war die beste Mutter in allen Tonarten, auch wenn sie mir manchmal mit Dalia-Stecken den Hintern versohlte… allerdings nie wirklich lange, weil ich sehr laut sang dazu, und was dachten dann auch die Nachbarn…

Das Chorsingen blieb irgendwann wegen Stimmbruch im Hals stecken.
Alles war zu pastell, zu wenig wild für Pubertät + Lust auf Abenteuer + Sucht nach neuen ungehörten Klängen…
Mein Bruder Philippe spielte mir Herbie Mann’s Version von „Comin‘ Home“ (eine Nummer von Ben Tucker), worauf  ich Flöten spielen lernen wollte.
1963 erhielt ich zu Weihnachten (von meiner Gotte) die Beatles LP „Please Please Me“.
JFK’s Ermordung war ein Schock und beeinflusste nachhaltig die Kurven eines weniger konventionellen Lebenslaufs.
1965 Bob Dylan’s „Subterranean Homesich Blues“  mutierte vom akustischen Idol zum e-dol und der Summer of Love 1967 schlug ein… ich las Hesse und Rilke…
1967 die Rolling Stones spielten im Hallenstadion in Zürich…
…aber die Frage blieb unbeantwortet, wie sich richtige Musik denn jetzt festhalten liess…
Eine Orgel musste her… und eine Band!
Mit der  Band liess sich zwar prima provokativer Protest plärren, allerdings blieb ein erweiterter Horizont auf der Strecke der Ansprüche an vielfältigem Sound und/oder Improvisation.

Beständig auf der Jagd nach neuer Musik und neuen Sounds, entdeckte ich eines Tage die seltsame Plattenhülle eines Georg Kreislers, ein Makaberist, ein verkannter Wortejongleur… …

…sein Opernboogie blieb ein unauslöschlicher Einfluss bis heute. Aber nie wieder sollte ich versuchen, eigene Texte zu schreiben. Viel mehr der instrumentalen Musik huldigen, auch wenn Lieder und Gedichte – gerade in Songform – grossen Stellenwert behalten sollten. Auf Grund folgender Anekdote klimperte ich 40 Jahre später ein paar dessen Lieder…
Gerne erinnere ich mich an die schöne Episode:
Als Sohn (Linus) in der Schule einen Rap lernen und aufführen sollte, bot ich ihm meine Hilfe an; er würde mit 8 Stunden Fleiss den von ihm ausgewählten Rap souverän vortragen können. Er wollte wissen, ob ich denn rappen könne… überraschenderweise kam mir augenblicklich Kreislers Opernboogie wieder (auswändi) in den Sinn… und überzeugte den Sohn, genug Fleiss in Kauf zu nehmen, bastelte ein rudimentäres Playbäck, worauf Linus seinen respektablen Rap vorlegte… 🙂

Lange vor der Einführung von Samplern, boten sich viele Gelegenheiten, jenste Sounds zu sammeln mit denen sich zwitschern und donnern liess von Baulärm über Wind und Wetter bis Studenten-Obszönitäten oder anderem mehr.

Dann entdeckte ich auf einem Blue Horizon Album:

Eddie Boyd (25. November 1914 – 13. Juli 1994)

Sänger und Pianist aus Chicago – gebürtig aus den Südstaaten – kam mit der „british blues invasion“ nach Europa und veröffentlichte Platten mit u.a. Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac und  John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers als Begleitband (!). Im Verlauf seiner Konzerte auf dem alten Kontinent gastierte er 10 Tage in (Klein)Basel in der „Chemihütte“. Diese kleinen Konzert lösten eine phantastische Geschichte aus: die Anziehungskraft war dergestalt stark, dass ich jeden Abend von zu Hause heimlich (über den Balkon) ausbüchste. Und eines Abends stand plötzlich meine Mutter in der Spelunke und legte einen grossen Blumenstrauss auf Eddie’s Klavier.  Sie meinte, es wäre doch nett, wenn er uns zu Hause einmal besuchen komme, damit ich nicht ständig ausbüchsen müsse und – während der Schulzeit – nicht solche Mühe zum Aufstehen hätte…  Eddie meinte, ja, doch, warum nicht, er würde sich melden… und eines Tages rief er an und sagte: „Can you come down to the train station and pick me up?“ Ich dachte zuerst, einer meiner Schulfreunde wolle mich veräppeln, aber fuhr trotzdem mit dem Tandem an den Bahnhof und strampelte mit ihm nach Hause zu meinen Eltern!

Eddie blieb letztendlich zu Gast während 3 Monaten. Irgendwann entdeckte er, dass ich eigentlich Querflöte spielte und bestand fortan darauf, mich eher auf Flöte zu trimmen, zeigte mir riffs, licks & tricks und schlug vor, ihn auf Tour zu begleiten. Die Eltern waren zu meiner grossen Überraschung und Freude einverstanden damit, also ging’s durch Norddeutschland von Hamburg bis Ostberlin!

1968 = Jimi Hendrix am Monsterkonzert in Zürich… die Schleusen waren nun gänzlich geöffnet. Der Bogen war gespannt von Folksongs und seine „Derivate“, Musik mit einer   B o t s c h a f t  + was aus dem Blues zu entstehen begann (die britisch blues explosion), hörte von Steve Winwood bis „Them“, den „The Kinks“ bis zur grossen Entdeckung von Brian Wilson’s „Pet Sounds“, obwohl dessen kitschige Beach Boys Eskapaden überhaupt nicht meinem Orbit entsprachen und und und…

1969 durfte ich mit meinem Bruder (Philippe) und Esther auf deren Hochzeitsreise. Auf die Orkney Inseln, zurück über Schottland nach London, carnaby street und portobello road, rauchte Schuhputzcrème und weckte den Lockruf, ein Jahr später nochmals nach London zu gehen, „auf eigene Faust“, mit Jugendfreund Andreas (R.I.P.) mit seinem Uher 4400.

Wir besuchten Ronnie Scott’s und das Marquee, machten Aufnahmen von phantastischen Konzerten… Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, King Krimson, Graham Bond, Keith Tippett’s Centipede, Nucleus, Gary Burton und viele anderen bleiben unvergessliche Erlebnisse…
…ich sparte lange Ziet für meine erste Stereo-Anlage, 2 grosse Lautsprecher, getrennter Verstärker + Plattenspieler… verbarrikadierte mich stundenlang mit all den Rafinessen von Zeitgeists mit Kopfhörern, modifizierte das erste portable Kassetten-Gerät

…nähte es in meine Ski-Kluft und terrorisierte die Ski-Pisten mit dem vermutlich ersten Walk-Man… ass Bücher (Hesse, Camus, Po, Dostojewski, Bierce u.v.a.m…).

Um nicht noch mehr „handvoll“ zu werden, wurde ich nach Neuenburg „outgesourced“, um doch noch so etwas wie Ausbildung zu erfahren, z.B. mit Abschluss sowohl der Handelsschule als auch dem Konservatorium (bei Meister André Pépin aus Genf).

In weiteren 20 Jahren Aufenthalt in Neuenburg schürte ich das Feuer der eigenen Realität, entdeckte meine „wirkliche“ Familie, den Bruder- und Schwester_Clan der Musiker. Von 1973 – 74 besetzte ich eine Stelle bei Musik Hug in der Schallplattenabteilung. Man schickte mich nach Amerika, um Lagerbestände (‚cut outs‘) für alle Filialen aufzustocken – grossteils Jazz.

Ein eklektisches Bouquet von Versuchen verschiedenster Manufaktur (und Stilen) mündeten schliesslich in eine private Veröffentlichung, die erste eigene Langspielplatte: die LP Kulu Hatha Mamnua (1982). Ein Sammelsurium aus purer Freude am Machen, Suchen, Finden und Aufnehmen von Fragmenten verschiedenster Art mit – oft – heterokliten Klängen. Vieles mit dem langjährigen Weggefährten Gilles «Dizzi» Rieder (Perkussionist von „Débile Menthol“, einem Wirrkopf_Ensemble aus Neuenburg.
Musik als Abfallprodukt vorangegangener „Zünder“ (Experimente). Logos als Initiation von „allem“.

1971 I went to the french part of Switzerland. Besides finishing the conservatory in Neuchâtel, I wanted a bread-providing paper, too, so I graduaded 1973 with a diploma of both school of commerce and the conservatory of Neuchâtel.

I got my first job at „Musik Hug“ in the record’s department. Pop music starting to lose its fascination and having discovered jazz and the avantgarde of Miles Davis and his off-springs, I started playing guitar and sax and bought a Fender Rhodes.

In 1974 I was sent to New York to purchase a container of cut-out albums (for Hug Musik). I took advantage to take 3 months off and done a motorbike-trip driving from New York via Toronto all the way to Vancouver and then south down the westcoast to ‘kill my american dream’, visiting all those hippie-sites I used to think I was fond of. To pay the trip back (I couldn’t sell my BMW-bike like I planned), I busked in Vancouver’s gastown playing guitar and harmonica, singing Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Boris Vian and other topical songs.

In 1975 – the petrolcrisis striking – I was made redundant at „Hug Musik“ and in a whim of anger, I figured I could well open my own record-store.
In 1976, I joined forces with the late jazzdrummer Denis Progin to open the jazzclub „Jazzland“. Instead of setting up flippers and condom-machines in a spareroom, I put up a little record store. In the evenings, I’d ingeneer and record the concerts. Since we weren’t allowed to sell alcohol (making the only real money) if no band was playing, we’d set up the club-stage as rehearsing platform for my various bands („Arthur“, „Clever Bastards“ and others). The lose constellations of the ‘bands’ enabled the club to always have live music (and sell boose).
However, another aspiration was to organise concerts, hence I launched Neuchâtel’s first rock-gig with „Van der Graf Generater“ in the newly restaured „Temple du Bas“ down town . And for the winefestival, I did promote and organize „Gentle Giant“. The concert was a smashing success. More gigs followed like  until I flopped with „The Stars of Faith“. However, at that gig I became aquanted with organist Jerome Van Jones and yet more jazz.

By 1978, I grew tired to just spread news, i.e. be the record-guru that sells good taste; I prefered to get news, learn more…
So I decided to get rid of my debts before I was 30 and enrolled the bow-tie-eight-to-five at „Metaux Precieux“. Speaking fluently english, german & french, I was sent around the world by the company (e.g. Hong Kong, New Delhi and others).

In 1980, Métaux Précieux wanted to ‘buy me out’ by offering me a steep carreer; hence I quit (became confident enough to make it on my own). I ran into an oportunity to work as independant sales-rep for advertising space (selling blue sky…). This and being independant musically made me travel an incredible lot and given me more oportunity to discover places like SaudiArabia, Columbia, Ecuador, Spain, Yougoslawia, Tunesia and many other corners of the world. From these trips I always brought back instruments, records, scents and sounds (tones & shades!). Because of „globetrotting while earning“ I had  the priviledge of ‘not having to’, not to make any concessions, that is, to accept only work I liked to do and and „capture the ultimate SOUND“…

1981 I was offered to do some music for a local film. I rented a mixing desk and an 8-track half-inch recorder, yet another seminal experience. I was close to most of the members of the anvantgarde-band „Débile Menthol“, the Swiss exponent of the ‘Rock in Oposition’ movement. The band was to record the first album for Chris Cutler’s indie label RecRec. Often working with drummer Gilles „Dizzi“ Rieder,

we recorded many ambiances requested for little commissioned jobs (movies, jingles). We designed many instruments ourselves or took to sounding objects to obtain genuine sounds, making tracks with kitchen utensils, canalisation tubes, drills and more. The age of sampling was not yet born, so we worked with splicing tapes and loop them.

1982, I joined a band from Geneva („Code“)

as keyboarder and got me one of those ‘wonder-synths’ (Sequential Circuits‘ „Prophet 10“). The band was built around a genuine actor/poet/singer as frontman (Dominique Stehlé) and a gifted guitar-virtuoso/tunesmith (Yves Roth). After 3 weeks of rehearsals, we received some offers and toured 80 gigs in less than 3 months. Sadly enough, Dominique decided not to continue the band and it was out of question to replace the man. A pity, there’s only very little footage of this rocking unit, e.g.
„L’ennemi de l’intérieur“
„Night Train“
„Les derniers 10 balles“
„Au coeur du drame“
„Les rendez-vous manqués“

1983 was a year of lots of work as sales-rep in order to stock up the financial belt. I was considering my own studio… On august 1st, Dominique committed suicide. Enough reason to force the barn-studio-issue… Dominique’s departure saddened me to an extent never to play live again (I picked it up only a decade later by playing  Hammond with/for Rico).

1984, after returning from Colombia, I accompanied  „Débile Menthol“ behind the iron curtain for several weeks in the context of a ‘culture exchange’. What a great misunderstanding!: some cultural offices of Hungary and Switzerland wanted to ‘swap’ bands. Hungary settled for their most popular hard-rock-copy-cat band („Pandora’s Box“) to visit Switzerland and Switzerland put its choice in the hands of RecRec who sent the most weirdest avantgarde band „Débile“ to Hungary. It was agreed that the Swiss band would first support Pandora’s Box on a Hungarian tour and then Pandora’s Box would do the same in Switzerland. What a great time! It felt like a scene in the Blues Brother movie: hard to ‘bypass’ all those beercans and -bottles… The crowd (infatuous followers of Pandora’s Box and hard-rock-fans) thought we were putting them on… We had a great time!

1985, I continued to experiment laying down tracks, ‘building’ instruments, play sessions, program synths and/or produce friends while preparing the start of a more sophisticated studio.

1986, the studio was ready (a 16 track one inch tape machine, mixing board and some humble peripherie – all genuinly analog…). I released my first LP with a choice of work from the past 5 years and founded the „Mensch Records“ label at the same time.

1987 I released the second LP „Manoeuvres d’Automne“.
MDA was  unfortunately only short-lived as a live unit (here with Dizzi, Mick Hobbs, Laurent „Bu“ Bürki, me and the late Pascal Cuche (R.I.P.).

Often working as live-engineer, I done the stage monitoring for a little local reggae-band. I invited them to come and record with me and release a maxi single. I had no prior encounter with reggae and I didn’t know the who’s who at all in that domain. The only reggae experience I ever witnessed was back in ‘81: LKJ performing a capella with a revox and three dancers (in Leysin), so I decided to check things out and took the next possible flight to Jamdown. The second day after my arrival in Ocho Rios I met the late producer W. „Jack Ruby“ Lindo. One day, we went for a rehearsal of three guys (the „Revealers“) somewhere behind Port Maria up in the hills. Another time Ruby took me to Kingston’s Dynamics Studio to witness the recording of a session with Sly & Robbie. In short: I dived deeply into the pulsating reggae-heart in Jamaica and met a lot of incredible musicians, buying loads of records and learning the intricate who’s who in reggae (if ever that’s possible…).

One evening in Oracabessa outside Ocho Rios, I witnessed that extraordinary phenomenom of thousands and thousands of fireflies blinking about. I was mesmerized. In particular when I started to inquire, i.e. what these scarabaes meant to people.
I got the ignition to launch a concept for an extraordinary journey into differences within cultures. My fascination for the bugs came like ‚heritage‘ since my father was an enthomologist and I already knew quite a bit about butterflies and bugs.

Eventually I met this great man from Wareika: Rico (right).

Bucking up with him and finding a mutual liking, Rico was to become yet another seminal encounter as much as Eddie Boyd was 20 years earlier. I told Rico that he’d be welcome in Switzerland… and after 2 months, we went back to Switzerland, finishing a.m. reggae band’s recording (now fronted by Rico), and recorded a couple of naïve little riddims and scetches about the experiences and fascination of Jamaica and its firefly, the Peeni Waali.

1988, early in the year, I flew back to Jamaica again. I recorded more music and overdubbed the riddims I had prepared. Amongst the friends Rico recommended to me where percussion player Leon „Scully“ Simms and Robbie Shakespeare. While shaping a tune at Music Works down Slipe Road 56, Dean „Big D“ Frazer was just finishing a session there and hung around a bit after. He joined the party and blew us all away with his trademark sax playing: a song was born from out of everybody, free like an impro, original like nothing was premeditated, hence the title „A no nottn’“… The dice was cast, I took the bait and was hooked ever since to this wonderful world of people, country, idiom, paradigm, rythm-carrier that is reggae. I was amazed of the parallels with blues and often wondered how come I was never turned on way earlier to reggae as much as I was to blues. But this time I enjoyed the experience even more because I was more mature and active enough to meet so many musicians that invented it. Blues had a kind of ‘legacy feel’, something ‘old’ whereas reggae appeared fresh. Amongst the players I met was Leroy „Horsemouth“ Wallace who’d become a dear friend in the future and prevented me from a lot of trouble by making me dig even deeper into Jamaica. Rico also introduced me to an old friend of his, Felix „Deadly Headly“ Bennet. After 2 months I returned from Jamaica to CH with plenty new music on tape and moved location from Neuchâtel to settle in the eastern part of Switzerland, in Jenins. At the same time, I enrolled for two years at the office of the advertising company I was working for as a freelance. Travelling became tiring…
Rico still being in Switzerland, he came over frequently to record for me and one evening (at his birthday), he’d come in with long time buddy from back the Jazzland-days, Jerome Van Jones. It was a very old dream of mine to record Duke Ellington’s „Satin Doll“ with Jerome. Now with my ‘new’ discovery of reggae plus my apetite of experiment and new ventures, it seemed apropriate to do „Satin Doll“ in reggae. We took advantage to do „Blue Moon“ the same night, too.

1989. Knowing that Rico had played on most of Linton K. Johnson’s albums – I’ve sent Linton a cassette with some tracks we were working on, asking if he would come to Jenins and join in. Linton answered that doors might be arranged to open… At the same time, Swiss TV approached me for a „Legalize It“-show where they wanted to include some Swiss-Jamaican-music-connection. Question was of Rico with that little amateur-reggae-band but Rico was tired to shoe-lace of that amateur band and went back to Jamaica, so we arranged for LKJ and the Dub Band to fit in this open door… Eventually, after meeting with Linton, „Beacon of Hope“ clicked into place…
In august I met Lee „Scratch“ Perry who lived in Switzerland and was eager to find a ‘weirdo’ open enough for all kinds of experiments. Obviously he found his way to Jenins. Even met Linton who was there for demoing his new album „Tings an Times“.

The encounter was as fun as Scratch’s stay for some 3 weeks. We experimented a lot, and plenty fun resulted in lose 10 recordings (but none was fit for release). As ‚exchange of energy“, Scratch offered to voice one of my riddims, so I reshaped a track from „Manoeuvres d’Automne“, i.e. Jenins being close to Liechtenstein, Scratch rapped about „Liecht (light) & Stein“…
The album „Peeni Waali“ took shape now. Some tunes date back as far as 1981 from when I was in Jeddah („Scarab“) and making that filmmusic „Paper Mensch“ – an ‘elegy’ to office jobs. Eventually, enough tunes were together to prepare for the album release of „Peeni Waali“.

1990 and 1991 where busy times of that release with licences in the USA, France and Germany. All three were sad screw-ups (one Randall Grass at Shanachie’s, coke-thug Jean Cotton in France and handfull EFA in Germany).
Instead of plunging in lawsuits and beaurocracy, I decided to simply continue to worship the ‘old contacts’, building up a ‘second serve’, „The Return of Peeni Waali“.

1992 I went back to Jamaica yet again over new year’s. Although the stay was musically fruitful, I experienced the darker side of Jamaica, got robbed 2 grand! To have been deprived of all existential means I became something like „one of them“, having no money, discovering the „real“ Jamaica on eye-sight with the people: what a warmth from all a dem! I was „fed through“, feeding on pineaple and sometime Jack Ruby’s brother who ran the „people’s restaurant“ in Ocho Rios, a successful fish-barbeque, would offer me a fish. What an incredible journey! People encouraged me to stay and accomplish my mission: finishing the recordings I had planned. Eventually I made my way back sound and safe with a lot of good music in the can.

1993 I moved to Weite where I live today. Selling became more and more irrelevant, while the genuine making/creating/inventing/producing new music for the sake of „looking inside“ grew to a predominant occupation. Recording sessions became the order of the day…

1994 Getting to know LKJ better through the years, naturally I met the players from the band, e.g. Steve Gregory and the fantastic (well underrated) guitarist John Kpiaye, one of my favourite guitarists.
Shortly after the reeds sessions with Steve, brass-woman-extraordinaire Shirley A. Hofmann clicked into the picture and many a tune ‘bellied up’ the ever present trombone of Rico.
On an ill-fated project, I had to cast a set of skilled accompanying musicians which I found in the trio L’Art de Passage from Berlin who backed Swiss troubadour Linard Bardill. The meeting and working with Rainer Rohloff (guitar), Stefan Kling (piano) and Tobias Morgenstern (acordion) was a revelation for all! We „grew together“ enjoying the making of Music, i.e. the musicians were only too happy to make music for kicks while they were here and thus added their talents to the ongoing project.
In this run, violinist Helmut Lipsky from Montreal, Canada clicked into place, too. Highly skilled, classically trained (a pupil of Izaak Perlman), Lipsky liked the vibe here and was happy to do violin stunts extraordinare…(e.g. on „Elemental“)!
Getting to use accordion extensively, I finally ‚casted‘ a local hackbrett player to enlarge the spectrum of productions further in an „exchange of energy“ (you play on mine, I’ll play on yours). Eventually, from those first steps a musical relation developed (first producing Roland Schiltknecht’s solo effort „Tunsch“ and then combine our efforts on „Sha“).

1995 I married Astrid. I was in the making of a blues rendering, a tribute to my musical mentor and brother Eddie Boyd. However, Eddie passed away just before I finished the tune. While I was recording the bass with Dennis Bovell, I told him the original plan and mentioned on the side, that I’d have to abandon the idea, because the only voice that I could imagine ‘substituting’ Eddie – if ever – would be someone like Taj Mahal. Now Dennis knew Taj, count two and two: next time, Taj toured in Switzerland he came over and „Blues for Eddie Boyd“ was in the can…
The same year our son Linus-Linton-Maurice was born on july 25th.

1996 I released the CD „Kulu Hatha Mamnua“, a re-release of my first two LP’s (1986 and 1987).
Steve Gregory recommended his old friend Georgie Fame to do some hammond licks in some of my tunes. I knew Georgie works with Van Morrison as much as Steve did. And Georgie was the first British bloke to play with Rico as far back as 1962…
Listening back to the organ takes of Georgie Fame, I thought, the stake could be put even higher, so I called Barbara Dennerlein. We’d set the logistics and a few days later, Barbara came over and sure sank in that organ solo!
When I mixed the Sudanese/Egyptian band ‘Sharkiat’, I’ve got to know this fantastic qanun player Hossam Shaker. He took to it immediately, improvised to it for fun and of course, I miked him up and he joined the party with yet another touch.
While recording an album for Bolot & Nohon from Altai, a similar situation ocured. I suggested they’d bring in their throat vocals on the one harmony riddim („Sleep Dub“) to accentuate even more the ‚monotony‘ but enhance a trance. „Strekosa’s (Peeni Waali in Altai language) Chant“ was also a welcome change to all the complicated scoring and intricate musical structures of many of the other tunes.
I did an awful lot of work that year. Much of it for others. 6 CD’s were to be released from that work. Consequence didn’t wait too long: I fell severely ill with a spooky vertigo that struck me down into a state of vegetable for a good 2 months (couldn’t walk anymore, hospital and all). Tobias came all the way from Berlin just to kick my ass and tell me: get up, man, and walk – while Linton phoned once a week to the house and cheered up my wife and the kid – bless, mate, still – 25 years after!
Time to slow down, then. I decided to focus much more on the creative, productive side than to hustle for a little sale, leaving more freedom to get to the essence of music making: what’s there to be achieved (rather then what’s there to gain…).

1997 my father died (R.I.P.), leaving me half-orphan… his passing in another form of being was ok with me, even it was the start of something like a „rose-war“ until 2010, when the tribe was finally able to untangle and everybody went his way…
I’m a house-man now, leaving me even more freedom to work in the studio (besides focusing to solve the a.m. rose-war).
I recorded the first solo-album of acordion-maestro Morgenstern. Lee Perry came again, too, and wanted me to produce some tracks for him in exchange of voicing another track for me („Nice Time in Swiss“).

I released the ‘second serve’ of Peeni Waali („The Return of…“) on september 4th. In autumn I was honoured by hosting and recording LKJ and his band recording the album „More Time“.

1998 more work for yet another Peeni Waali sequel…
…amongst which I invited Albert Marcoeur (a french musician/poet from Dijon) for a small contribution on a little piece in our 4 national languages: german, french, italian and romansch.
This first encounter started on an unusual forward note: instead of petty cash for the session he’d ask, if I wouldn’t rather help him „computerise“ his own studio which he ran with his brother Claude. So, Claude eventually done the carride of 6 hours, and with the help of neighbour Hubert („my“ guitarist and musical companion to this present day), I started to vamp up Marcoeur’s studio in Burgundy. After a while, Albert asked if I’d fancy to relaunch his ensemble along with Hubert.
It appeared rational that Hubert and I would drive all the way to northern France to rehearse, starting somtime in the 2000 (if my memory serves me well).
The whole „Marcoeur episode“ ended rather sadly…

1999 I went shortly to London to do a session there with Eddie „TanTan“ Thornton, Johnny T., Rico, John Kpiaye and Steve Gregory, finishing a few more tunes for the next venture, the closing act of a twelve-year scetch-book / composition cycle… to finish off with a ‚trilogy of Peeni Waali’…
In august, our second son Andri-Dennis-Rico was born.

The new century started with the release of „The Eve of Peeni Waali“ and I joined the local band („Gumbo“),

enjoying the simpler life of rythm’n’blues, romp and stomp live & direct just for kicks.

Besides a sad story lasting until mid 2005, I pursued many other activities, e.g. seizing a bait from Portland to ‚portrait‘ some inside mumbo-jumbo of what’s driving Mensch Music, which resulted in a pleasant video and an essay…

In 2002, recordings „Gumbo“ took place… some ‚alimentary‘ work like a project for a language-school in Liechtenstein popped up… speaking telephone-horoskopes while preparing  the upgrade to harddisk-recording bid the time.

2003 was a „standby-year“, i.e.we were rudely kicked out of the house we lived in for 10 years and relocated only in december to the current premises where I finished building the studio in the barn for the most part of 2004.

In early 2005, I was invited by Lars Hollmer to play accordion with him for a gig in the village of Weite.
Boeves Psalm
PortalEtyde
InteQuanta

Next thing happening was the recording of Khan Bogd, a 10 piece ensemble from Mongolia (2 CD’s). I always enjoy to see a band play and record ’straight forward‘ (no oberdubs). In particular, when the music is fresh and the band is ready to rock…
…always continuing work on the „Sha“_project…
At the end of the year, I started to record short stories and little poems written by Astrid Schröder, the mother of our two sons.

2006 sees the release of „Sha“ and „Besinnungslose Zeiten“, the album with Assi’s words…
There was also a great recording session of rootsical music from Uganda (two CD’s for the Face Music label), and some more mixing/producing work.

2007 was an intense time of enlarging the barn and the atelier with a comfortable guest-room. Besides some sessions with Betty Legler and Hubert Osterwalder, and some work for a local band, there was this neat remake of White Noise’s „Hidden Dreams“ with Heinz Vetsch. The keyboards on „Hidden Dreams“ where brilliantly harboured out by Hybrid Kid (…) Morgan Fisher.

A „Most excentric production“_award from Spectrasonics may give a hint, what kind of productions we cherish… (t’was very sweet to have been directly adressed by Spectrasonics director and creative mastermind Eric Persing…).

2008 I made the music for two films, one of which was for the non-violent communication centre „Metapuls“.
Then I had the pleasure to record and mix two CDs with/for the Mongolian ensemble Khan Bogd again. This time as a quintet.
For our birthdays (…) Steve Gregory came for a creative stay and blew his genuine trademark on six pieces I’m working on for fun:
– In summer, my elder son had to do some housework in music and I helped him working out a rap (a cool cover of Fanta Vier’s „Die da“).
For fun I recited him the final stanza of an austrian cabaretist’s rap („Opern-Boogie“) which I still knew by heart since my early teens… it left the boy puzzled and triggered  an ambitious „tribute to Georg Kreisler„. Sadly enough on Christmas Lars Hollmer passed away. R.I.P.

2009 Due to lack of people that would participate in that Kreisler-venture, I abandoned the plan and focused rather on having a joyful noise with Alan Kushan, with whom we laid down the foundations for an incredible „buffet“ of scents, flavours, tones and shades for me to dwell in for the next humpty weeks/months/years, to „build up“ another journey of just joyful noise (Alan’s secret wish probably being to see a sequel to „SHA“… – but I wasn’t ready to go for another CD ever again…). In any case, Alan conveniently klicked in the place for some extraordinary solos on some isolated works, amongst which a „just for fun“ cover (in reggae) of Simon Dupree & the Big Sounds‘ „Kites“ or the Amsterdam Klezmer Band’s wonderful „Son“ piece. Just before my old buddy Heinz Vetsch left us in summer (R.I.P.), there was yet another cover left unfinished on the workbench, this time a piece of political activist Robert Wyatt (with fantastic contributions again from Morgan Fisher).
Record sales going down the drain since several years now, it strengthens my position/conviction (since 1997), that making music here means much more than vile commerce, so I announced „officially going out of business“. Of course, I will continue all the more and all the more unfestered by expectations, speculations/gamblings, mercantile considerations. It is very pleasant to realise this potential totally „in the shade“. What comes, comes when it’s good enough.
So I continue to make that film music for the movie that’s not been made yet… – of which I put together a private edition/release CD AGR 016: „Music for the blind – with booklet for the deaf“…

Alan Kushan came back again and stayed for 3 months, subrepting me to get going again! I tailored a body to some of Alan’s scetches/demos and clearly a new challenge triggered my enthousiasm: to make a CD with a main vocalist for once. The pieces grew and grew and the vocal became more and more „just“ one more instrument. The „extra-content“ it carries are abrasive lyrics in farsi against the shit-stem. Still under the log of the firefly, „Shab Tab“.
In autumn I underwent a private quantum-leap in personal consciousness that turned out to be incredibly forward for the music:
…I discovered that I wasn’t interested in music!
…suffice it to say,  I could explain it for you, but I cannot understand it for you…

…it’s been a challenging gift, and I found out, that it’s the   s o u n d    I’m was after! I been fooled into studying music only to find out that music is just a kind of „waste product“ of this huge ‚thing‘ which is sound….
Many musicians (e.g. raga musicians, jazzers, rockers, classickers etc.) take for granted, that only ‚their‘ music is the „only good“ music… Yet, all these musics are always and only a tiny tip of the block, the block of sound we can never see in its entity.
It’s probably more like a dimension. Like „space“ vs. „time“… (music vs. rythm?)…
We make music out of sound and we make present and past out of time. We know „it“ affect us. Like reality, like „truth“?
More likely out of non-comprehension what these complex idioms really are.
Anyway… it leads me to a much more deep comprehension of the little I know and of the zillion possibilities there making a joyful noise.
I can perfectly relate why I was never „successful“; always liked most any kind of music (never had a band or played in a constellation with one single „style“).
And if so, only very briefly (it became boring quickly); moving on to different styles; always in quest of… unable to repeat an achievement.
Finding interest in any kind of music, my own stuff won’t fit the drawer of ‚one audience’…
…whatever element apeals, is at hand, pleases, intrigues… each day a new sound… each period (e.g. each recorded „data-sheet“ of such momentary infatuation) being just a  glimpse of vague presence… meeting new musicians… passing through… sense a sound…
And the next „data-sheet“ might baffle the previous… no „followers“ possible… e.g. any „dedicated“ afficionado doubting  everything outside „their“ drawer…
And each recorded „data-period“ was only and ever just a comma… just a joyful noise…
…tending to leave the „safety belt“ of structured, arranged, controlled „output“… accept whatever sound is given in a single circumstance… no need to „control“, „shape“ or „blue-note-ify“ anything…
Music cannot be canned. It’s a moment of present, made past with a forthcoming sound. I enoy more and more the loose making music, hooking off „secure paths“, hooking off power (and its plugs), hooking off the craving to reproduce a plan to get exposure, recognition etc.

2010 was also the releaving year that ended a 13-year-long rose war untangling my brothers and sister to „walk free“ from the sinister sides of heritage…
…another clear and bright sign of letting go!, hence an unexpected invitation came to play piccolo within a little marching band in Basel, which was to end sometime in 2013 due to lack of rehearsing…

2011
Reading a superb fantasy-novel by Walter Moers („The City of the dreaming Books“, i.e. „Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher“) triggered the idea to make a film-music to it (one of those films that are yet to be made…). When Alan revisited, I started to build up some videos with him, based on – or rather tailored to – the story of Moers‘ novel. I contacted Moers and we stayed in touch ever since. The film of the book altogether was shelved, but I continued to make music „on that inspiration“ anyway which triggered another fantastic encounter.
In the meantime I abandoned completition of the related videos, too, although there were some fun moments:
ZamonArie
Shama Ninja Pan
Mother of Life
From Mahab to St-Saens
Shab Tab (original)

2012  CD AGR 017, No. 17 of my „recording catalogue“ was released: „Shab Tab“ for my 60st birthday – basically only the 17th page of my guest-book, of who’s been passing here to leave a semiquaver or two.

2013 in february, I discovered the great trio „Hadouk“ and went to see them in Paris, to invite french wind-instrument-maestro Didier Malherbe. While – just for kicks – orchestrating more pieces for „Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher“, Didier visited us here
and let me film a little „for fun“-solo on Shab Tab, which then became the Shab-Tab 2013 edit…

The fun of making videos also led me into another adventure: practicing as usual in the morning, I was playing a piccolo piece called „Lumpesammler“ (by one Beery Batschelet, R.I.P.) and at some point, LKJ would step in from his guest-room and said, he liked the piece, too, and could well imagine to do (and play) a bass-line to it…

This then would wind up into another fun video, but most people from Basel’s „carnaval diaspora“ advised me not to pursue with this „wacky“ idea, because maybe the composer of the piece wouldn’t like it at all, and there was some reservations about the musical ‚correctness‘, which revealed to be pure bollocks and sheer resentment… I still pursued the undertaking and contacted the drummer Ivan Kym, to write a dedicated drum-score for my „adaptation“. What I didn’t know at the time, was, that Ivan was best friends with Beery, and – of course – would immediately communicate this to the originator, hence, in

2014, at the „Morgestraich“ (the opening act of the carnaval in Basel) Beery leaped at me in the streets, all geared up with mask an all: „don’t change a thing on that arrangement, it’s flabbergasting, we must get in touch“… and off he was…
Soon after the carnaval, I met this extraordinary person (an incredible flute maestro) and we started to crank the video up with more wackyness…
Lumpi’s nei Goschdym
…even ventured a dub-version of it:
„Rasta Lumpi“

In summer, I disbanded „Gumbo“ within a last „goodbye concert“:
Unfinished (dedicated to Pascal Cuche) & Forgotten
Game
Altfrangg

Passing a coupla of medical upheavals (…), I still missed not to be part of a band anymore, i.e. play at Basel’s carnaval. Hence, Lumpesammler’s maestro/friend ventured, I should write my own „march“ (he helped me with invaluable instructions, scoring, lay-out etc.) and see what happens then.

2015 I went to the carnaval just to check out the scene. Meeting plenty new people and great players, it all seems to pick up momentum in a mellow steady flow. Kartharsis! Period… Eventually, the hype of a „new guy“ coming up with a „new tone“ (i.e. a new piccolo piece written for the wonderful new bass-piccolo) circulated. Another seminal person entered this new idiom: Gérald Prétôt and his family. The mouth to ear „propaganda“ catapulted me into a new band „the yellow teckels“, with whom I would pick up momentum and learn 28 pieces of traditional carnaval music…
In may, Beery and I went to Sauve (close to Puechredon!) to buy some Bansuri flutes…
In november my first piccolo piece had it’s premiere in Basel…
It was mostly Gérald’s wit and talent that lured that first piece into the circuit, reaching a 1st rank in some national competition (in Bulle/FR).
The saddest moment in some ways this year, was to learn that my friend and mentor Rico had passed after a year’s struggle to cope with health problems. He made so many thousands of people happy with his great sound. R.I.P.

Here (in the atelier with Linus and Andri)…

Rico died on my birthday, he was born on oct. 17th, the day my mother died, while my mother was born on july 13th which is the day my other mentor – Eddie Boyd  – was born…

2016
I started to write a (piccolo)_follow-up to last year’s „enfant terrible“_Track and launched a virtual instructor page, where you can rehearse with music-minus one_like tracks for each piccolo, i.e. playbacks…
The target is to release more cool piccolo music (not necessarily only my own creations) and expand the musical horizon (if there is such a thing at all).
Particularily with the arrival of the Bass Piccolo, tm Tom Aebi, the piccolo music of Basel receives a new „twang“ to its music with that mellow sound, much less shrieky than the traditional ear-buster-piccolos.
However (sadly enough), the „Teig“ (= milieu) of Basel’s piccolo players is – for the majority – more dedicated to the event (of the carneval) itself than interested in musical innovation (since progress means more rehearsal/work…)…

2017 I was given the privilege to enter the writer’s guilde: Archie Patterson of Eurock, (an on-going good relation since over 30 years), published some thoughts (namely about sound) in his book of avant-garde musics…

2018 A full length feature was planned where Eurock commissioned a 6 minutes clip, which unfortunately was never finished (so far?)…

2019

reaching the „third age“, severe changes propelled „recycling“ or better necessitated a reassessment of several themes. Health, relations, licking wounds, finding peace, surrender, yet all the while creating, the inner flame to provide joy, the sole „reason“ to live…
Of which

PEENI WAALI being chosen as animal of the YEAR 2019!

was another pleasant booster…

…and worth revamping the music atelier once more or less „from scratch“ from „fixed“ desktop daw (mac) to „mobile“ laptop (PC). With son Andri an advanced training course (for electronic music) staged a new venture: blend the „old“ way of making music (analog recording sessions) with electronic computing. A new concept started to dawn…