Open your mind

To have musical influences is very important, because every other musician you listen, every other music style you discover enrich your own musical horizon and sound. You don’t have to take explicit a part/piece of that new source you’ve detected. Your subconscious remembers that part/piece later and brings it back in your current musical context. Often you don’t even realize that mechanism, but believe me, it happens every day! So open your mind and be tolerant with other sources and styles of music. Decide what do you take from that new potential musical source when it reappears, and what do you leave out.

I had (and still have) many and different influences, from various places. In this time my big faves are Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, doubtless. I like their unique sound and feeling they produce. Furthermore, I’m influenced by many Asian and Oriental musicians, from Japan, Turkey, India or Egypt (of course I’ve to name Egypt, because many lyrics  on our CD “Pharaoh’s Night“ tells stories about the ancient Egypt!). For instance, I like very much the Japanese string instruments, Turkey flutes, Indian sitar and sarod. That rich sources influence my ASIAN ORIENTAL METAL style a lot. I often don’t even know the names of these musicians, but I think that’s not so important. Just to call some names: Nusrath Fateh Ali Khan (Vocals), Ravi Shankar (Sitar), Jagdeep Singh Bedi (Sitar)

I had the chance to personally meet Ling Ling Yu, a professional female Pipa player from China. A pipa is a string instrument similar to the guitar, played with a pick. Ling is a real virtuoso!

And Ueli „Raga Khan“ Gasser, a Swiss musician, who was student of the famous Ali Akbar Khan, probably the most known sitar player. Ueli plays sarod, an instrument similar to sitar. From him I learned to play Indian ragas on the guitar. I play sitar too, check out the intro of the song "HAN".

"My Style"

It has taken many years until I could say „Yes, I’ve found the music style where I can express all my feeling, my emotion, my power!“. I learned a lot about styles, rhythms, scales, musical harmony etc, first in my early days with my Jazz-Funk-Rock bands, later when my wife - she’s a singer - started her studies in a professional school. But it needed a lot of time (years!) until I felt that ORIENTAL METAL is MY style. What does “MY style” mean? It means that I play that style, in my vein. Of course (unfortunately), I’m not the inventor of all that sound. My first contact with that kind of music were when I heart play Marty Friedman and Jason Becker, e.g. with Cacophony or on solo albums. I was delighted, I’ve found MY style!

When I’m touched from a song, a musician’s style or the sound of an instrument, I try to find out what’s essential to get that expression, that feeling or simply that sound. That can be the way a singer bends the notes, or how a sitar player slides on his instrument. Pick that style elements you like / you need for „your“ style, integrate it in your play, let it be part of your music. This way I found the style I play today, ORIENTAL METAL.

Furthermore: Every musician’s sound is a mixture from many other sounds and sources! So you’ll never find your OWN sound! Because you're not the owner.