Craig Armstrong

Craig Armstrong - his name stands for string and orchestra arrangements, and many people do know him - even if they don´t know it. His music often accompanies TV shows like Galileo or Welt der Wunder.
Even I only accidentially became acquainted with him: a friend of mine gave me a CD. It was the soundtrack to: "Cruel Intension" ("Eiskalte Engel"). It wasn´t until track 9 that my breath caught. I was totally blown away! The song was "These Love" by Craig Armstrong & Elisabeth Frazer. I was totally hooked from that moment on. It was something inexplicable, something in the way he used the strings in the arrangements. Up until now he has published two solo albums, entitled "Spaces between us" and "As if to nothing". Besides that he has, beseides others, composed the scores for "Kiss of the Dragon", "Der Knochenjäger" and "Romeo & Julia". What I try to do is be inspired by the way he uses the strings and incorporate that in my own style. Craig Armstrong is one of the few composers that combine orchestra and modern rhythms, and this is definitely something I really dig! Hopefully there will be many more solo albums and film scores to come! Thank you Craig! craigarmstrong.com
craigarmstrongonline.com

David Foster

I like to refer to David Foster as "master of Melody". He´s got such an ability to write music that really touches you, and combines musical claim with commercial accessability. I highly recommend to really take a closer look to who has written a certain song or has produced the CD. Many times you will find the name of David Foster. He is more know for his songs than for being an artist himself: many of his songs were interpreted by famous artists like Earth Wind & Fire, Peter Cetera, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Ritchie, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston or Toni Braxton. He also was the keyboarder and pianist for Barbara Streisand, John Lennon and Rod Stewart. David Foster is a big influence for me, especially as he was the one that revealed to me that the key for every song is the melody. This allows you to incorporate more complex things in a song, be it a solo or a more sophisticated harmony. He also influenced my way of playing the piano. Thank you David! Official David Foster Site

Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel is often referred to as the "Pope of Pop" - rightly so! He is well known for being a founding member of the band "Genesis". After leaving them, he received many awards and fame for his studio albums, his live shows and video clips. He was always leading the pack when it came to new sounds. His recently published album "Up" is a great album too. Despite the fact that he´s been around quite a while now, he never stopped to develop and is always looking for new sonical ways of expression. He combines traditional instruments with modern elements. But take a listen for yourself! Peter Gabriel is also working in many projects: he wrote the music for the movies "Birdy" and "Long Walk Home", not to mention the "OVO" project. What I learnes from peter Gabriel is that you shouldn´t always use rhythmic parts in a song, but also not to use only sweeping parts - arrangers will know what I say! If you don´t, well, send me an email! Thank you Peter! Official Peter Gabriel Site