The 50,000 Euro Mixing Desk That Recorded Next To Nothing

On my commercial songwriting adventures, and what they cost me. May & June 2026

Dear reader,
this month’s letter is about my experience in the field of commercial songwriting. All of this led me to where I am now: just trying to channel the words, melodies and ideas that naturally flow out of me. But let me take you back into the past …

It’s around 2015 and here I am: I just landed my first major songwriting placement, got a gold record award for it and received my first publishing advance. What a feeling of liberation and acceptance. Even though I always felt like an imposter, because I was not alone in this. One of my best friends, Peter, and I had formed a songwriter duo.

Coming out of this high, we quickly started what was asked of us by the major publisher: writing more songs, fulfilling the “artist’s” vision (based on a 5-row briefing, mentioning the phrase “a sense of unity” at least 10 times) and just making what we were supposed to make, groundbreaking hit songs.

Oh, how motivated we were … After meeting a worldwide and transgenerational known singer from the era of 80s and 90s hits, and placing another song in his catalog, we lost ourselves in dreaming of writing his comeback and artistic rebirth album. This singer, known to so many people in all countries of the world, would be able to liberate and enlighten the mindset of so many. He would be the “artist” transforming a sound, a generation, a vision of making the world a better place, once again.

Every newly born composition was meticulously presented to him, mainly on acoustic guitar, at times with two-voiced vocals. Bold, raw and authentic. For this, we of course visited him, and after a short bit of feedback, we set out to build a full production demo. Nothing was too much to ask: we went to a studio, hired a drummer, played real instruments, carefully micing everything and questioning every lyric being sung.

Peter and I poured our heart and soul into it. We pictured carefully selected, well-staged live shows, with tasteful arrangements, real instruments … I think you get the point: we really thought writing songs for this person would have the chance of changing the world, and our lives.

We proudly submitted the fully produced demos and were invited to witness several vocal recording sessions of the songs. And this was the first time I started to realize what I was doing …

During one vocal take, the producer in the room turned around to us sitting in the back and carefully explained how he set up his SSL console for recording one channel of vocals. When asked how he used the other 30(?) channels, his answer was as confusing and revealing as it could be: he wouldn’t really use them, but the look of the huge vintage 50,000 EUR SSL console was great when TV teams would pass by the studio to make a documentary or something. I held my breath and couldn’t believe what I heard, not explicitly judging the circumstance, but being left quite baffled. These people always treated us nice and kind when we visited them, but something felt off.

Weeks and months went by and we didn’t really hear what happened to our songs, when suddenly one day we received the final versions.

We pressed the play button and suddenly we heard what we never expected: sparse use of real instruments and static arrangements – a production of lifeless and generic digital elements. Our songs, the vision, all the work had been wiped away by a cold digital, but highly mainstream production. The idea of rich details and charming subtext, a little wink to the listener, was replaced by brutal copy-and-paste aesthetics. Where we thought about art, the theme of commercialization and products had been placed. And once I heard the finished songs, it hit me with full force: how naive and trusting I was. Why did I confuse the world of intrinsic and essential artistic work with the world of commercialized music productions? Why did I think that I would, or even could, make a change in perception and reroute those old, well-worn paths?

And thinking even further: why should this machinery of white-collar workers in the major label structures make room for non-risk-averse songwriting? Why risk losing audience when you could easily please the masses? Why should they prioritize message over money making?

My head was full of these thoughts and I was partly devastated to have made this step. But at the same time, I was optionless. We as a team had no plan B. I never made that much money with music and found myself in a classic dilemma. I reached what I wanted: making music with my best friends – but at the same time this felt like a bloodsucking capitalist office job. Even though I was free in all the decision making, the rules and framework set by the industry I was in, were absolutely limiting the music itself. The gatekeepers decided what was worth presenting. They copied already working concepts or relied on data or experience, on which song sold the most.

After this revelation, songwriting was never the same for me. It felt like I had tainted the one thing most holy to me, and I was somehow untrue to the one thing that happens to come to me most naturally.

This was the beginning of the end for my adventures in commercial songwriting. Nonetheless, I’m really thankful for the time. Many funny stories were born (if you’re curious, just ask me about them), and I’m glad I did it with this brilliant friend that Peter is.

Later, after writing about 180-200 songs (most of them getting no placement), we split up with our publisher, turned down all briefings, and this song flew out of me, initially called “Bad Tattoos” …

Brother Louie, who are you …
Seem wiser than me
Talking to me in weird tongues
Words I can’t read
And I try to follow through
Always asking myself
“What does your work say about you?”

Oh, you could’ve been louder
Than I’ll ever be
Using your voice to bring
Depth in the shallowing sea
Speak from your heart
Is this really your purpose
Do you want to confuse us
Trying to forget the news
Why do you want to draw the outlines of bad tattoos

Mr. Stellar, I have doubt
I’m trying to sing along with all these people
But the words won’t come out
I’m sure we all feel the ambivalence
Escape is luxury
And it seems like that what we want
Isn’t always what the world might need

Oh, we could’ve been louder
Than I’ll ever be
Using our voice to bring
Depth in the shallowing sea
Speak from your heart
Is this really your purpose
Do you want to confuse us
Trying to forget the news
Why do you want to draw the outlines of bad tattoos

It’s not like I’m not trying to dream myself away
But balance is queen
And the urge is to speak up and use the privileges we inhale
And you can write of escape
I hope it’s just a phase and know that people change
Oh, I’ve grown so tired of modern days

The Beginning Of Accepting All Ends

On the pandemic, an awakening, and the song that came with it. April 2026

Dear reader,

First of all, please let me thank everyone who already bought one of the limited vinyl of „Songs To Record Before I Die”. I’m touched by your interest and support. If you’d also like to get one of the 100 records, please visit https://floriansczesny.com

Now off to this month’s letter about „A Song About The Pandemic” …

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a kind of awakening, a moment that seems so full of clarity and revelation that it physically hurts.

For me, the first true glimpse into this kind of feeling was the 29th of December 2020. The pandemic had us locked in and rethink given concepts for about 8 months at this point. My wife and I desperately tried to come up with a nice idea to celebrate New Year, but somehow there was no joy at all. No cause for celebration. My plans of making music full-time had failed. I had failed. For me, while still knowing I’m somewhat lucky and privileged, this was a downer never felt before. In desperation I picked up my guitar and a song flew out of it – focused and clear. I suddenly felt all the real-world implications of my behavior, of the world’s behavior, as a heavy weight on my shoulders. There was no more childish dreaming, no more „But what if …”. Reality was with me in this very room and has never left me since.

31.12.2020:

And I was close
To making it
But you came and pulled the rug
I figured, now my time is up
I woke bathed in sweat
I felt I couldn’t be taking it
Knowing all my childish dreams
Will get washed away by plain

Reality
Hits you in the face when you don’t need it
Sends shivers down your spine
Stops all your dreaming
Whispers in your ear „Don’t start believing.“
In this year of drought
But you’ll make it out
Anyhow

Oh, I was at home
They said I shouldn’t be leaving it
And in this room without a view
I felt I‘d slowly fade into
The darkest void
And lost in sketchy old memories
It seemed that everyone I knew
Was not with me anymore

I did not know it then, but this newly unlocked clarity has helped me to manage my life and others’ lives in great crisis, starting with the Ahr valley flood only 7 months after. And while trying to live my life, and sometimes just survive, it is always present. Every song is a manifestation of my vanishing and the vanishing of the world around me. The beginning of accepting all ends.

A Song Is Not Finished Until You Can Hold It (Or: Why I Still Can't Stop Making Music)

On the essence of making music, infinite digital and the need for something that ends. March 2026

Dear reader,

This month, I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine about what he called “the essence”. It led me back to a question that never quite goes away: Why am I still making music? Why can’t I stop – even though I’m not what you’d call successful in today’s world?

Well, let me start here: How does time feel for you? I’ve always felt it ticking so heavily and sometimes wonder how anyone around me can spend just one second unworried. Decay seems to be all around me and I cannot unsee it. I’ve come to the point where I’ve accepted that generally life means suffering, and I’ve constructively implemented this into my day-to-day life.

In order to cope with all the constant changes it seems my subconsciousness has developed a simple trick: Writing songs. I vividly remember recording my first songs in the staircase of our small house, when my parents were away. Too shy to let anyone witness the process but with this inherent urge to capture something that miraculously arose in my mind and heart. A strange impulse. I just recorded and never thought about releasing any of these songs. It only became clear when some schoolmates sent around demos of mine that the outside world may have an interest in them as well. I was flattered and thought that this was maybe reason enough to keep going.

But only later I figured that the essence for me is something else entirely. Not to be heard. To preserve moments. To hold difficult feelings and slivers of time before they slip away. At their core, all the melodies and words I somehow come up with are the unsaid, the unheard, the unthought. Maybe the closest to what I’d call my essence.

And here is the problem: Preservation only works if you know where to find the thing you preserved and if you feel that it truly exists.

A file moves. It shifts into a folder I may never open again. It exists somewhere on a server I will never see, between one hundred million other songs, and it plays and then something else plays and nobody notices the difference. There is no fixed place. No before and after. No moment where it ends and you have to decide what comes next. Digital is infinite. And infinite means it never ends. But I need the opposite. I need a container with edges. I need weight. The weight I carry on my shoulders every day. Something that takes up space in a room and quietly insists on being noticed. So in a world where it seems like nothing is ever finished and I’m never complete: I need something to last and to end.

Thinking about this concept, I really tried to find material that would last through all tests of time, such as concrete, but right now it seems the only thing manageable and budgetable is something that has existed since the 1870s – vinyl. I avoided pressing vinyl for the last releases, because of the financial stress, the effort, the risk. I told myself a file was enough. And then the records arrived and I held one in my hands and understood something I had somehow forgotten: A song is not finished until it exists physically. To me the essence only becomes real when it has a physical place.

In the coming letters I will let you in on all the songs recorded for „Songs To Record Before I Die” and explain what they mean to me and what I think was preserved. For now I hope everything will be okay for you and if you like, please let me in on what you consider the essence. Thanks for listening. All the best, Florian

P.S. 100 copies, limited, numbered and signed – https://floriansczesny.com

The Gift Of Not Belonging (Or: I'm A Song)

On leaving the music community behind, the pain of solo production, and the need for my work to last.

Dear reader,

These months mark an inherent milestone for my self-perception & vision. I’m writing this because it will have direct implications for my future work. This is not meant as guidance, coaching, or in any means to inspire others. In a way, it’s a note to myself.

While wandering around a local bookstore my eyes randomly discovered a title called „The Gift of Not Belonging: How Outsiders Thrive in a World of Joiners“ by Rami Kaminski. I was instantly interested in the book, because it deeply resonated with this indistinct feeling that I have inside me ever since I was a child. I bought it, took it home and started to read it. Spot on it basically deciphered my behavior & all of my life until now.

In the book Rami Kaminski (who is a renowned psychiatrist and the founder and director of the Institute for Integrative Psychiatry in New York City) talks about „the distinct personality style of the otrovert – someone who lacks the communal impulse and does not fit in with any social group, regardless of its members – and reveals all the advantages of being an otrovert and how otroverts contribute to the world.“

This realization was the final nudge I needed to fully decouple my creativity from the machinery of the “music community.” I am moving away even further from all this social posturing, the groups, and the idea of constantly feeling the need to project that one is “something” within that world.

I simply make music in my room.

While I am dependent on the ears of others to survive as a songwriter & record maker, the creation itself happens for the sake of the act. These songs are my nature, they are not products, they are an extension of my being. I try to produce them as best as I can, consciously going through the pains of every single process of music production on my own (luckily sometimes with the supervision & work of my best friend David Maria Trapp).

I play to play. The act itself is the purpose. The existence of the term “otrovert” and it’s scientific discourse also gives me the confidence to say: I truly don’t want an (online) community. I was made to be on my own. I dedicate my time to songwriting, no matter what the outside does. But I am thankful for anyone perceiving and feeling my work and cannot express my endless gratitude for everyone supporting it.

I record not to feed an algorithm or to reach a target audience. And in a digital world that feels increasingly fleeting and disposable, I desperately need to create something I can actually hold. Rami Kaminski showed me that I’m built this way and that it probably is okay to just be with myself – generally not needing the outside world for peace of mind.

As another consequence – that derived from even more changes and insights concerning my being – my focus will shift to vinyl, other analogue outlets & a cultivated, self-controlled digital archive. I will produce limited and unique editions. Because all I can truly say is: I am a collection of songs. And I need them to last.

I have already started the process. The „Songs To Record Before I Die“ vinyl is currently in production and will be shipped around April. If you want to have one of only 100 copies (no re-pressing) together with the 32-page lyric book and personal signature – you can find them in the shop.

Here’s To Rules: The Importance Of A Manifesto

Dear reader, here’s to 2026.

I’m deeply thankful to everyone listening to my art and taking the time to read about my work and thoughts. Hopefully, 2026 will be a year full of music and creation.

The challenging times we’re facing, with cruel opportunists and so-called “leaders” everywhere, have reminded me how essential it is to have a solid inner compass. A clear set of principles to live by and to make decisions with.

That’s why I’ve recently taken a step back from my activities and returned to the manifesto I committed to five years ago. It shaped my work ethic back then and continues to guide my decision-making, especially at important crossroads. Taking it one step further, I’ve also begun structuring my daily workload around a strict set of rules. One clear framework for every process.

For now, I hope this might inspire you to explore the idea of a manifesto in your own life. To shape a vision that can serve as a lighthouse when decisions become difficult.

The philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca once said: „If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.“. I remember hearing this quote nearly 10 years ago and only now, for the first time, I feel like I can fully understand what it means. After many years of being partly directionless, trying out so many things, getting through personal crisis and following paths i didn’t know were mine, I now feel that I truly know who I want to be, from deep inside. And I want to work towards becoming the version of me I picture so clearly in my inner self. The very moment i came to realization, I felt the need to write down a guidance, verbalize my new found sense of direction, call it into existence. I came up of with nine guidelines which form the basis of my manifesto. These are my lighthouses. These words will enlighten the way to the harbor, both as an artist and as a human being. I will closely rely on these structures to keep me safe and sane.

Money or materialism shall never be a motive or motor in my life. It shall never define my being. Solely the force of artistic expression and the need to contribute to the world in order to change it for the better, shall guide me through my existence.

I will embrace imperfection. I will accept my art and myself with all inherent flaws and mistakes. They are a part of me and they are important. And what is perfection anyway?

I won’t waste time. I will focus and avoid distractions. whenever possible, I will finish what i’ve started.

And i will do it myself. I’ve the power to learn and accomplish everything I imagine. That does not mean I will neglect help or teamwork. But DIY is key.

And I need to stay healthy. Good food is crucial. Outdoor activities are important. I will avoid addiction. I will take care of myself.

And while taking care of myself I will always use my privileges for good and help others. Starting by helping children, they are the future.

I will cherish my family and friends and support artists and people who are meaningful to me.

And at last, I don’t try

Packing It Up

Dear reader, the month of November made me realize: I need a break from reality and need to truly explore my desire to create songs once again.

What happened:
After diving into recording new songs with a clear timeline and a “let’s get things done” attitude, I realized something important very quickly: I need to allow myself to play again.

Lately it feels like everything in my life needs to lead to some kind of result. And arranging and recording my songs slipped into that mindset as well. But while playing the first takes, something shifted. The simple joy of just playing my instruments and getting lost in my effect pedals came back. For the first time in a long while, I let myself disappear into music for hours. It felt incredibly good. I spent night after night just playing, exploring and writing into the arrangements.

With a few simple personal rules (like no edits on the main takes), something surprising happened: I finished the first song much faster than usual. Normally it takes me ages to find the right arrangement because I focus too much on the final outcome.

To put it simply: Being in the moment and enjoying the process led me to the result.

Outside the studio:
We also wrapped up the music business education program in Saarbrücken that I help organize. It was a beautiful time with young musicians, and I met some genuinely inspiring people. One of them was Jason, a successful musician and songwriter who is also a practicing psychotherapist. I loved that combination. It reminded me again that life doesn’t have to be defined by one single profession.

Where I’m at now:
Right now I’m honestly just excited to leave as much reality behind as possible and focus fully on the world of music. Below you’ll find a little demo of a new song.

Song Recommendation:
Hayley Williams – True Believer (Live at The Tonight Show)
Please take a moment to watch the live recording of this song. Look at the stage, the way everything is arranged, and allow yourself to step fully into that world. What you’re hearing and seeing is the sound and the manifestation of a cultural shift in motion.

Thought:
Watch the song recommendation.

If you’d like to chat, feel free to write me back.
Thanks for your time and all the best, Florian

Demo:
If you want to dive deeper into my music, I just uploaded a new demo called Packing It Up ...

For The Hopeless
Where I’ll go
Doesn’t really matter
Just away

I act slow
Pushing through the ether
That swallowed me whole

I’m packing it up
And will leave it all behind
I’ll find another life

All these ghost
follow me decades
I lay low
And the more I know
I’m questioning the essence
Of it all

That’s why I’m
Packing it up
And will leave it all behind
(What am I searching for?)
I’ll find another life

Down by the water
Where anything goes
We’ll be immortal

For The Hopeless

Hey! October was a month of preparation for new recordings and full of work.

What happened:
After releasing my album Songs To Record Before I Die in June 2025, I’ve already started working on new recordings. Once again, I want to produce everything myself, and I can feel that with every new song and recording, I’m getting closer to my true vision. This month, I found an old Beyerdynamic M260 microphone that finally captures the guitar sound I’ve been looking for. The first songs are already sketched out, and I’m beginning the initial recordings now.

Aside from that, I had (and got) to work a lot. With my small event agency, we’re already planning projects for 2026, and right now we’re working on a great educational program called Initiative Pop, which helps young talents navigate the music industry. It’s been a lot of fun communicating with students from four countries (DE, BE, LUX, FR) and supporting them as they find their way in the music world.

Other than a short trip to the Allgäu to clear my head, there’s mostly been sports. And it’s true: routine really makes the difference.

Song Recommendation:
Big Thief – Grandmother
So brave, clear, and for me one of the few bands right now that can truly distill things down to their essence. From a production standpoint, the constant ad-libs are just brilliantly clever.

Thought:
I believe reading competence, especially selective reading, will become so important in the future.

If you’d like to chat, feel free to write me back.
Thanks for your time and all the best, Florian

Demo:
If you want to dive deeper into my music, I just uploaded a new demo called For The Hopeless ...

For The Hopeless
When you can’t stop to feel the pain
When it all just goes to waste
And the rush of all fears
Leaves you left in your tears

The content below was originally paywalled.

Be sure
She’ll be there

When you have almost nothing left
And you surely did you best
When it all drifts apart
And leaves a hole in your heart

Be sure
She’ll be there

It doesn’t matter where you are
She will always be your guard
It doesn’t matter
What you think

Every drought will be endured
Of this you can be sure
All silence
Is a chance

When it comes
To the final take
And everything around us fades
The last you can do is
Show the love inside you
And say: I’ll be there

Bad Bad Men

Hey! Right now I’m trying to remember what September 2025 was all about, and what comes to mind first is: live music. I got to see so many great concerts and finally play one myself again …

What happened:
My first concert in 5 years was, thanks to you, absolutely wonderful! It was amazing to see so many familiar faces again, to make music in such a relaxed atmosphere, and also to share a lot about how songs come to life. Big thanks to everyone who came out! I’m now working on being able to play more shows. If you have ideas or know about support slots I could jump on, please reach out!

With my little agency I also got to put on an incredible concert with Plàsi. In an unused hall on the huge Areal Böhler, the Swedish artist played such a fantastic show that I left super inspired – especially by his fellow musician – and went straight out to buy a vintage snare and an old cymbal to bring even more drum sounds into my own music. Definitely check him out live if you get the chance, he’s on tour right now!

Then there was the Reeperbahn Festival, where I met so many old and new friends. It’s always buzzing there, and I was lucky enough to be invited to a couple of receptions where I finally met people in person I’d only known from emails before. One night I caught a super punky band at the Austrian Music Export showcase. I think the name was Sodl, and it totally threw me back to my first gigs with our high school band. They were all so fired up and still bold enough to turn the amps up to 11 ;). For me that was a great reminder of that raw first energy of live music.

Another concert that really blew me away this month was BEACHPEOPLE in Mainz. Malte has been kind of a Lake Cisco fan (my prog band) for ages – one of maybe five in the world – and I’ve always been a fan of his projects. What he’s created with this new album is just fantastic: amazing arrangements, sounds, and really exciting songwriting.

Oh and one more: I also got to visit my friends Charly and Simon at their show with Álvaro Soler. Normally that’s not the kind of music I listen to, but the show, the band, and the authenticity really surprised me in such a positive way. Honestly, a clear recommendation if you’re looking for something completely positive and family-friendly.

Song Recommendation:
BEACHPEOPLE – My Heart Breaks & Leaving The Band
Like I mentioned above, a really exciting album! Produced by Malte and Simon Friedhöfer (who I sadly haven’t met yet). Live, My Heart Breaks completely got me – that bassline literally shaped the whole room and created lots of moments of pleasant surprise. The second track has a killer hook and is a little less artsy 😉

Thought:
No corrections, just accept whatever comes out naturally. The whole AI mindset already smooths out way too much anyway.

If you’d like to chat, feel free to write me back.
Thanks for your time and all the best, Florian

Demo:
If you want to dive deeper into my music, I just uploaded a new demo called ...

Bad Bad Men
Bad bad men
With unholy plans
Have come to celebrate the ineffable
Sharpened teeth

The content below was originally paywalled.

Dig in weakened meat
Wishing peace
In times of betrayal

Everyone goes there
Nobody sees it
Everyone’s watching
Me, I’m stuck in a turnstile
Feeling masculinity rise
And so the tide

Bad bad men
With dirty hands
Lay their fingers on our land
Counting checks
While freedom goes to rack
Not collecting tears but eyes

Everyone goes there
Nobody sees it
Everyone’s watching
Me, I’m stuck in a turnstile
Feeling masculinity rise
And so the tide

Why would you lie to us?

To Fall Apart

Hey! I can’t really talk about August without admitting that a part of me feels like crying. But this little digital letter isn’t meant to dwell on private things, it’s just meant to stay personal. So here’s this much: tough times can last. Neither you nor I are alone in that, and for me, music is where I find a lot of healing and refuge. Every event in my life somehow gets its own song, as if it writes itself, without pressure, without forced inspiration. What often makes it both difficult and exciting for me is trying to decipher, write down, and document what came out of it.

What happened:
I had to practice. The last time I properly played my older songs was back in 2019, so this time it was really about remembering. All in preparation for my (so far only) concert in 2025: on September 6 in Mainz.

I had to work. As some of you know, I run a small event agency that brings pop culture into business. Right now, we are producing lots of small and bigger concert formats plus video sessions at the Böhler fairgrounds in Düsseldorf. In August, we even got to organize a festival, with artists like Lina Maly among the guests. It’s a lot of fun, it helps ease some of the financial pressure around my own music, and it keeps me close to what I love.

And somehow, during a walk, a poem (in German) came to me for the first time in my life. And strangely, it doesn’t even feel like it’s mine, which is why I’m letting it stay. You’ll find it written out below.

Song recommendation:
Jacob Jeffries – Worry
An incredible songwriter. Most of his music is recorded live in a small room. His lyrics go incredibly deep, while some storylines are even funny. He’s my absolute discovery and recommendation. His new album also comes out this Monday.

Thought (today, my very first poem in German):

In all dem Glück
Scheint es als ob das Pech an mir haften bliebe
Unmissverständlich ruft es: „Geh nicht weiter.“
Aber doch muss ich

Und jeden Tag aufs Neue lernen
In die richtige Richtung zu schauen
Als Zuschauer im Leben der Anderen

Uneinprägsam
Sich immer wieder neu vorstellend
Scheint es als ob das Pech an mir haften bliebe
In all dem Glück

If you’d like to chat, feel free to write me back.
Thanks for your time and all the best, Florian

Demo:
If you want to dive deeper into my music, I just uploaded a new demo called ...

To Fall Apart
No softly landing
Once I fell
Where I’ve stranded
Is so hard to tell

Cause there’s nothing to build on
Nothing that can hold a heart
And there’s no one to talk to
I can watch myself fall apart
Fall apart

Television
Guides a harsh release
I envision
I’m just a puzzle piece

Cause I see nothing to build on
Nothing that can form a start
And there’s no one to count on
I can feel myself fall apart
Fall apart

A Song For EMMA6

Hey! July 2025 was a month full of new music and small trips for me. Here are a few impressions of what happened and what moved me…

What happened:
After all these years, I’ve started organizing a small concert. Come by on September 6, 2025 in Mainz, I’ll play a few songs, talk a bit about how they came to be, and we’ll have coffee together.

My friend Simon offered to record some small video sessions for new songs together. We’re planning to head to Rügen, to the seaside resort of Binz (Simon’s idea because he has a photo of it hanging in his living room). For the first time in a while, I feel inspired to go out and experience something lighthearted. We’re still planning, so if you have ideas for cool locations or activities on the way from Münster to Rügen, let me know!

At the moment, I’m recording all live sessions myself and doing the complete post-production. This was also the case in July for “A Song About Commercial Songwriting” and you can see the result here:

There was also a bit of vacation time. We went to the Mosel (to visit a Metal Mosel winemaker) and to Bodrum in Turkey. By great luck, we know some very kind people there who showed us around Turkey. I brought home an incredible amount of music from there …

Song recommendation:
Flört – Biz – A wonderful song by a band I discovered in Bodrum. “Biz” translates to “We” and I believe it’s about unity. Definitely also check out the equally humorous and touching music video (rarely have I felt so little cringe from footage that would normally be quite cringy).

Thought:
Not everything on the internet, and maybe not in life in general, has to be a link or lead somewhere. Sometimes it’s okay if something just stops at a certain point.

If you’d like to chat, feel free to write me back.
Thanks for your time and all the best, Florian

Demo:
If you want to dive deeper into my music, I just uploaded a new demo called ...

A Song For EMMA6
One more drive
Through the night
One more playful hide
With all these friends of mine
We got so tired
Of fitting in
Oh, what’s the point
Of all these plastic things?

The content below was originally paywalled.

Holy water
Quickly dries

Goodbye to us
To the idea of never giving up
But I got older as you’ve grown taller
It’s true
That I can’t stay
But my songs will endure

No more changing
I got news
All expectations
I brought them right back to
The one who set up
This giant test
Of self-devotion
And that’s where we’ll find rest

The holy water
Will quickly dry

Goodbye to us
To the idea of never growing up
But I got older as you’ve grown taller
It’s true
That I can’t stay
But my songs will endure