1990
I was born. I have no memory of it. Thankfully.
1994
went to a costume party at my kindergarten dressed as a cleaning lady.
1997
had my first lasagne. The world became a brighter, warmer place as a result.
I became obsessed with the works of Georges Simenon, whom I was too young to read, really. His view and portrayals of humanity shaped me. I also become fascinated by movies and spent more time in front of the television than outside.
2000
2002-2010
I attended the Ratsgymnasium in Goslar, where I did my A-levels. I have recurring nightmares about it. Will they ever stop?
2007-2011
editor of the print magazine Cinema Musica. My first articles were so horrid they often had to be rewritten from scratch. Have me improvend?
2008
composition classes with Wolfgang Knuth, who taught me to disregard rules. As if I needed telling.
2010
my class voted for me to give our graduation speech. The headmaster quickly vetoed it. I have had a problem with authority ever since.
2011-2016
editor-in-chief of Cinema Musica. The only time in my life I ever received a promotion. Nobody else wanted the job. Still, I was rather good at it.
2012
I started reading Moby Dick and have yet to finish it.
2012-2025
writer and critic for the print magazine ray
2012-2022
composer for the audio play series Sherlock Holmes - Die neuen Fälle. Left to my own devices, I was allowed to experiment with musical colors, instrumentation, orchestration, themes, and techniques.
2013
nervous breakdown
co-founded Caldera Records, a label dedicated solely to film music. Obviously, an idea born out of a nervous breakdown. Other people quit their jobs and go skydiving.
2013
2015
moved to London and immediately felt at home
2016
visiting lecturer at HKU University of Arts, Utrecht, for a class on music in film
2016-2020
private assistant to Sylvia Budd, widow of composer and pianist Roy Budd. Sylvia was the most complex person I ever met, and I loved her dearly.
2017
visiting lecturer for class given on film music at Media Sound Hamburg
2017
programme organiser for the world premiere of Roy Budd’s The Phantom of the Opera, London Coliseum
visiting lecturer for classes on film music at Media Sound Hamburg and at ACCES – Music in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. I never particularly enjoyed traveling. It’s always a kerfuffle.
2018
busy year. Bear with me. Programme organiser for a performance of Roy Budd’s The Phantom of the Opera, Barbican, London; visiting lecturer for classes on film music at Media Sound Hamburg and at ACCES – Music in Africa, Accra, Ghana. Publication of first book, The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack, McFarland, USA. A smashing success, personally.
2019
hither and thither.
2020
visiting lecturer for masterclasses Nobody Needs Music by IFFMA and How a Business Frustrates Its Minors, by Film Festival Ghent. Lovely city. I remember buying a gorgeous sweater there.
2021
publication of second book, The Unfilmable Confederacy of Dunces, McFarland, USA. It landed with a thud, but I’m still pleased with it. Visiting lecturer for class given on film music at ACCES – Music in Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. TV editor for WELT TV, N24 and BildTV, Berlin. Awful right-wing organisation but the loveliest and most competent team I ever worked with, and I was rather good at localising documentaries and directing voice actors.
2022
2023
radicalisation into a committed socialist.
publication of third book, A Dream Come True – The Collaboration of David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, Bloomsbury. My works remain sales-challenged. Also met the love of my life. Who would’a thunk?
2025
2026
my therapist points out how much I enjoy to constantly get upset at something or somebody.