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About me

  • Published: 2023-03-29 10:47

I create, therefore I am.

Do you know this sense of ownership, paired with genuine accomplishment about ‘just having made a thing’? A sudden kick which isn’t pride; more like a blend of surprise and authentic joy about surprising yourself? A bit like having farted, but with your 🧠?

So far, I’ve been:

  • Musician, sound- and level-designer for Games
  • Supportive developer, sound-designer… for music software (AudioRealism, Native Instruments, Ableton, Bitwig)
  • UX-designer with a knack for processes at Axel Springer SE

By 💖, I am:

  • Demoscener, ⅓ founding member of the demogroup Farbrausch
  • Musician, DJ, educator, founder and host of the VAULT community
  • Trying to develop and share a more healthy understanding of the human experience, with the
    • Ambitious goal of updating societies relationship with creativity to a more healthy foundation 🤷
      • How? No idea.Yet. For sure: one step at a time.

Becoming a frameworker

I love the process of building, and contributing to frameworks for collaboration. As creative spaces that enable its members to grow. And, as team, to excel. In case of doubt, I intervene with humorous irritation and chaos. With the ultimate goal of doing impossible things.

Sticking to “It takes a village to raise a child”, I’m very aware of being part of a bigger puzzle. Here’s mine:

  • 1976: “Hello world!”—born north of Hamburg
  • 1979: Attend a music-focused Kindergarten, develop passionate and categorical aversion for flutes and acoustic instruments
  • 1981: Realize an oddly soothing effect of recording radio static on cassette
  • 1982: Parents buy C64 computer, I teach them how to use it
  • 1983: Write first BASIC programs; rebell against eating fish, start biting fingernails (hindsight realisation)1
  • 1984: Share music mixtape with classmates on 1st school-trip
  • 1985: Become consciously aware of crack intros before games
  • 1986: Develop a passion for ‘computer music’ and TV Themes
  • 1987: First attempts with C64 trackers fail; Italo > 🤯
  • 1988: S-Express and Acid-House blow my mind—the energy!
  • 1989: Buy an Amiga 500 computer
  • 1990: Discover the Demoscene through this demo—MUST. MAKE. TOO.
  • 1991: Listen to my Detroit Techno DJ mixtape by this dude, get hold of Protracker, start making music, buying vinyl and DJing
  • 1992: Enter the realm of BBS, join the group Alpha Flight as musician
  • 1993: Give up learning Assembler, discover the early netlabel scene
  • 1996: Start the Techno netlabel .schleudertrauma., distribute releases exclusively via FTP-servers, exploit the mystery bias to raise awareness, go viral in 24 hours
  • 1997
  • 1999: Co-Founded the demogroup Farbrausch, with the personal goal of challenging a Demoscene trope (“The scene is dead”), by the means of an absurd ‘brand strategy’, and a framework inviting others to create whatever they want.
  • 1999: Following my Demoscene connections, I become musician, sound- and level-designer for video games at VCC Entertainment
  • 2000: .schleudertrauma. put me in a position to mentor Sebastian Redenz and Thomas Jaldemark through the conception of their soon to be relaunched Dub Techno netlabel Thinner.
  • 2000: Farbrausch exploits the Ambience Demoparties’ voting system, unexpectedly wins all major competition. Including the main one. With a production that wasn’t shown. (Yes, we gave the price to the 2nd place. And left in a hurry.)
  • 2000: Farbrausch releases its proof of concept for procedural content generation: FR-08:the.product wins the 64kb intro competition at The Party 2000 in Denmark.
  • 2001: Thinner relaunches, becomes the first netlabel to be regularly reviewed by the music press. I'm releasing my first album under the rktic-moniker.
  • 2002: Believing that a software emulation of Rolands TB-303 must be possible (despite common opinion), I meet Mike Janney/AudioRealism on IRC. Who’s developing one, and needs a second set of Acid-House loving ears (mine).
  • 2002: Following the success of Thinner, the netlabel culture is overrun by new Dub Techno netlabels, sparking a second wave of the genre. Inviting a lot of todays re-known artists to the map of music production.
  • 2003: Farbrauschs 64kb intro FR-019:poem.to.a.horse is the first Demoscene release shown at ACM Siggraph
  • 2003: I’m compiling netlabel releases and create the mix shipping with Native Instruments Traktor DJ Studio 2.
  • 2003: AudioRealism releases its TB-303 emulation to the praise of Aphex Twin, Richie Hawtin, Rob Acid, KiNK…
  • 2003: The Demosceners at VCC Entertainment produce a demo for MSH AND MORE as integral part of their Afri Cola website relaunch. Wins:
    • red dot design award
    • International Emma winner
    • London International Advertising award
  • 2004: I start as freelance sound-, and level-designer for games
  • 2007: Become UX-designer at computerbild.de/Axel Springer SE …tbc…

What I’m up to now

Check my now page.

About my perspective

I perceive everything as system, or system of systems. And believe that all systems alike—from microbes to humans to the universe at scale—share the same set of inner principles.

Through this lens, I ponder about what it means to be human, the purpose and value of creativity, biases, fallacies, assumptions, and the beauty of emerging patterns/behavior from within.

  1. Did you know the Omega-3 fatty acids of seafood have a significant impact on impulse regulation? And is related to the development of ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions? ↩