Hi everyone,
Okay - wow. It’s been about six weeks since my last update. Time really does that thing where it quietly disappears, and then suddenly it’s February and you realize you haven’t said hello properly.
A lot has happened since my last post, so I’ll keep this structured and human.
I was very sick in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and I stayed sick through Christmas and New Year’s. It forced me into rest - not the restorative, luxurious kind, but the kind where your body simply says: no more output for now. Actually, I'm still coughing a little even now.
The first week of January I taught a Touch Guitar seminar, followed by a two-day retreat as an extension of the seminar. It was genuinely wonderful - focused, warm, and full of those moments where you remember why teaching matters.
It felt like a good beginning to the year: grounded, musical, and connected.
Right after that came two recording sessions - demanding, creative, and with a lot of travel involved. I only returned to Berlin around January 20th, and had about a week to reset and prepare for the next session: my new album, Bella Musica.
My friend Erik came down from Denmark, and we had three full days to record all the guitar parts. It was intense and stressful in the way a deadline always is - but we got everything done.
And it feels good to be one step further with this record.
As always, I swing between two states:
• complete self-doubt (is any of this actually good?) and
• a kind of ecstatic certainty (this speaks to me, and I love what it’s becoming.)
That oscillation seems to be part of the job description.
I’ll say something plainly, because I know many of you feel it too:
I’m increasingly frustrated with the episodic nature of music releases today - how a project can feel “relevant” for a few weeks around release time, and then the world moves on as if nothing happened. It can be soul-crushing. Not because I need attention, but because the effort and care that go into a record deserve a longer life.
Some days, it becomes a real internal struggle: Is this worth it? Will I ever make the energy back? Will I even make any money back?
But despite those thoughts, I’m still here - still moving forward - still making the work.
Right now I’m waiting for feedback from the other musicians involved in Bella Musica. Once I have that, I can prepare the pieces for mixing.
I’ve chosen a mix engineer, but he won’t be able to start before March - which is actually perfect. It gives me time to prepare everything properly instead of rushing it.
A few updates ago I mentioned that people are welcome to contact me for collaborations. Many of you did - and I’m happy to report that the first project has already come to fruition.
There is now a full finished album in the can - music completed, and even early cover ideas in motion.
This collaboration was initiated by Dave (David Bessell) in the UK, and it’s truly uncompromising music: his orchestrations, and my experimental guitar work - and it came out great.
I’ve been thinking about why this worked so well, and I believe the answer is simple: Dave had something to say. He brought real substance to the table. And it reminded me how valuable it is when someone else carries part of the creative responsibility - not as a “helper,” but as a true artistic partner.
We’re still working on the album title, but we’ll release it ourselves soon and I’ll keep you posted.
I don’t have huge recording plans for this year - but several things are already in progress and moving nicely:
• the new Stick Men album (coming together well)
• a TU-NER live album, which I genuinely consider the best live record I’ve ever put together
There are a few things I’m offering this year - some are not public yet, but they’re available if you want to work with me more closely. If that’s you, simply contact me and I’ll send details.
One offering that is public is my improvisation course. It’s presented as a Touch Guitar course, but it’s absolutely open to anyone interested in improvisation as a practice - regardless of instrument.
It includes:
• monthly Zoom meetings
• bi-weekly classes (sent as text and/or video)
You can find it on my website.
One more thing I’m proud of: the 20th Anniversary Touch Guitar edition is in the making, and the instruments will be finished very soon.
This hasn’t helped me financially - not in any direct way - but that’s not why I did it. I’m proud because this instrument exists in the world because of music, not because of ownership, preciousness, or “being the inventor.”
I’ll post a link to the ten guitars again so you can see them. Some of you already saw my recent post about it, but I wanted to mention it here as well.
Touring is also coming up - and I’ll be away from home for long stretches this year.
Even before it begins, it leaves a slight bad taste in my mouth. It’s complicated. I’ll talk about this more when my thoughts are clearer.
Thank you so much for reading, and for being here - seriously.
I’ll try to post another update sooner this time, and I want to approach certain topics more deliberately instead of only discovering them while dictating.
I’m also thinking about bringing back the Living the Dream series - and I may do that very soon.
Until then: thank you for everything.
Much love,
Markus