Volker Bertelmann Quotes

My music is also one part of my inner process, and people also seem to connect with me on that - especially the ones who have the same questions for their own lives. I get a lot of emails where people are writing me their experiences, how they discovered my music, what they feel... they motivate me to carry on with what I am doing. I really like stories, so in a way it doesn't matter for me if they are real or fiction. I can't really say that film music inspired me; it is more the films themselves, in connection with the music. I think there is a big question in how much music a film needs - a lot of films are overloaded for my taste, so that the story can't carry its own weight. In a way, I pick out the films that have a same attitude as music that I like. Even films without music are inspiring, as I think a good story is full of changes, different paces, and ideas. When I read a script, I am already in the movie with my music, and I can dive into a world that I haven't seen before. I like the influence of pictures on music and the other way around. I am a big fan of the Coen Brothers; I like their kind of absurd, dark approach. I am inspired by the films of Pedro Almodóvar, as they are funny, sad, and extremely weird. I was always interested in finding the elegance of each style and understanding why it influences so many people. The opportunity to use a computer is great when it is used as one component, or when someone is working on his or her own sounds and approaches. I think it actually has the same restrictions as using the piano or any other instrument in [a traditional] way. I can't say that electronic gear is restrictive. I think it is a challenge to play with electronic gear, and I regularly [perform] concerts with guys who are processing sound. I was actually very surprised after using some plastic necklaces on the strings, as the sound was very bright. Sometimes I just put something inside that lies next to me... I am surprising myself [at] each show, and the delivered piano often surprises me. Sometimes the piano is so old that I don't have to prepare it, and sometimes I have a concert grand! I was bored to death and thinking more about the minibar and the after-show party than the performance. I had a record deal with Sony in the beginning of the 90s, and I was rapping and singing in my band. During Christmas time, on German television they show films with three or four episodes, and I quite like the feeling of waiting for the next episode. I always liked stories that carry on and have a different format from the normal music video. I like to express true emotions under the cover of melancholy: It includes fulfilment and pain, which describes human existence. I also remember riding home from a wonderful day with only my bathing shorts, losing the chain of my bicycle, having no hand breaks, and slipping high speed on a street covered with stones. I had to go to the hospital. When I'm walking with my father through the woods, and we reach a place where you see so far that your ego suddenly shrinks because you are so touched by the dimension of your surroundings. I still visit my village quite often, as my parents and one of my sisters live there, but also I feel the village is more of an isolated, unreal part of me. Memories were in my mind during nearly all the concerts I've done, and I realized the deep connection to my childhood, when I went out in the morning and the only thing my mom said was, 'Come back before dark.' What trust and what freedom! I am still happy to be close to the city, [to be] connected to the intellectual source in Ferndorf. In this area, [I feel] connected with nature and unimportant in a postitive way. I always felt strongly connected to the region where I was born. But after leaving school, the only clear thought I had about my life was to leave this provincial area and go to places where real life was happening.

Page 1 of 1, showing 1 to 27 of 27 results