It’s good to see that there are still people out there that have a backbone and speak what they believe in. I hope this doesn’t turn into an ugly witch hunt for Mr. Hansen:

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him – New York Times

We almost finished mixing Siggis new album and I had such a great time at the Trillke Gut. They are a bunch of very lovely people and this time I had a great connection to my personal school history, not an old schoolmate, but people that went to the same kind of school… and three of them. I haven’t been in the same room with three more “soulbuddies” in quite a long time and it’s interesting how I feel a certain connection because of the similarities we went through.

Anyway, while we mixed, Armin decided to re-record all the drums using bigger sticks and drums so big you have to be on the inside, that’s why they can’t be seen:

But the most important thing that happened to me was that Siggi introduced me to the music of Tom Liwa. Tom Liwa is a German singer-songwriter so to most of you international people it’s quite different, but I can honestly say it’s one of the best things musically that came out of Germany in recent years. It is well worth to listen to the music and try to translate a little bit, strong pictures, very relatable and the way he sings the lyrics is just, well, he sings his songs spot on. A rare connection of lyrics and performance.

Enjoy
Hans

So, life is just weird sometimes. But sometimes I wonder why I always get those freaky projects? 🙂 On the other hand, I guess it’s much more intereseting than the usual stuff, so it’s actually quite OK.

But to get to the point. Most nights this week I sat on a frozen lake with a microphone to record the sounds that ice produces. It is a quite interesting and meditative way of spending a couple of hours: just sitting still in the middle of the cold night and listening to what’s happening below you. Very very cool I must say. And also it becomes ever more clear that I will have to take a trip someplace really cold and spend a couple of days or maybe even weeks outside, preferably with a dog sled. We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll get around to doing that!

Anyway, this is what it looks like:

If you look at all the pictures I took, you will find that on Monday it was a total dream night: clear, cold almost a full moon left. Quite breathtaking!

Oh yeah, and as you can see on the picture: the second night there was heavy snow fall and since I of course had to sit still, I got snowed in a little. Quite a nice feeling, actually only thanks to the massive arctic outdoor gear that I’ve been given. Without that it would be pretty dangerous and I’d probably be in the hospital with bronchitis by now. 🙂

So, this is what today feels like to me:

Hope you feel it too.

I got back from the little tour we had with the excellent reggae Silent Surface. We had a great time and about 1000 people listening! Nice… Thanks Freiburg, Rottweil and Weinheim.
Of course I took some pictures

I’m already looking forward to the next thing we’re doing together!

I’m happy to announce that I will be recording the new album of Acoustic Blue.

It’ll feature guitar talents Edgar Bühler and Jürgen Härtenstein on guitars as well as Harald Rapp on drums and Mark Gerster on bass.

The release date isn’t set for this album, but knowing the dedication of the musician involved it should realistically be early spring 2006.

First of all, I have to admit: I did not expect what was going to happen to me in Jordan! I was more than welcomed, everybody was extremely helpful and hospitable and basically Kirsten and me just had a wonderful time travelling. Although in the end it was a bit short!

Head over to the gallery to see a first selection of pictures of the trip to Jordan

If you ever go to Jordan be prepared to find good food, usually good weather although the winter can be unexpectedly cold in Jordan as well and a lot of different activities that are very different from what we can do here in Germany. Well… at least the camel ride was, although, next time I wont be going with teenagers as guides who have no interest and knowledge whatsoever apart from the fact that they’re making money.
In general, that is one of the biggest issues I’ve had with the people in the very touristy places: everyone is extremely helpful, but it’s never “just like that” but most of the time it was about giving a tourist a service or experience for some money. Well, seeing how there’s little other ways in making money down there this seems understandable, but nonetheless at some point you’re wondering if all the people see is this:

vs

There is also a gallery up with all the pictures that I took. Beware, there are close to 300 pictures.

Also, there are a couple of QuickTime VR pictures of some panomaras:
Petra – Tombs at sunset
Petra – View Point 360

The show at the Zapp Live Gallery was a success. We tried a totally new concept to control the shape and dynamic of the performance: draw shapes over time and give out specific functions to everyone in the group. I think combined with some actual songs this concept makes it feasable to play 4 hour sets without being too much pressure on the perfomer and still being interesting to the audience.

Unfortunately the battery on my camera bailed out on me after the first picture, so there’s no documentation from me for this show. Bummer, esp. since there were 3 really really cool paintings surrounding us. This is one of them:

The Performance at the Golden Gate went fine on Thursday, take a look at some pictures here.

The next two dates are:

Thursday, Dec. 8th, Zapp Live Galerie, Torstr. 159
Wednesday, Dec 14th, Bar in der Karl-Marx-Allee 36

Here’s a little video from the gig at the Golden Gate: