From Beethoven and Free Jazz to Electronic Pop Music

Blogpost

December 14, 2020

Horst Grabosch - The Inner Child

At the age of 15, I earned my first money as a musician in a cover band that played tunes by “Earth Wind and Fire” and “Chicago”. At the age of 19, I began a 20-year career as a free jazz musician with the FMP label in Berlin. Due to various irritations stemming from a confusing childhood of the post-war generation, I could not find confidence in my inner, emotional voice, and completed token studies in German and musicology on the side. When the music jobs got out of hand, I decided to actually make music my profession and start studying at the Folkwang Academy of Music. A classical degree in orchestral trumpet seemed like the best option.

However, working in various symphony orchestras could not warm me up for this job. Pop, Jazz and New Music suited my curiosity more. As a well-trained and very variable trumpeter, I became a sought-after freelancer in the international music scene. The distrust in the inner voice and the creative path, made me become more and more a performing trumpet player, until the passion completely gave way to the materialistic thinking of success.

In the last 5 years of this first musical career, I did about 300 gigs a year with well-known ensembles such as „Musique Vivante“, „Ensemble Modern“, „Starlight Express“, „Schauspielhaus Bochum,“ „Theatre Chaillot“ and many others. Then I collapsed due to overwork, and after a rehab I retrained as an information technologist because I couldn’t and didn’t want to listen to music any more.

Impending retirement gave me cause to recapitulate a professional life, and I didn’t like what I saw at all. Where had the dreams and emotions gone? Professional life seemed like a shell without value. So I went back to the beginning, and recognized the opportunity that was offered to a highly trained musician and information technologist in the new world of music with electronic music production. And I seized it.

No more compromises, no more servitude, but the living out of emotions that had been suppressed for years. Surprisingly, the probing doubt of the past years also disappeared, because for the first time in my life I liked my work comprehensively. It was a happy return of the inner child. What a miraculous coincidence at an advanced age!

RESPECT

I am no idealist, and love is sometimes too much of a good thing for me. I think that respect which excludes racism and nationalism per se is enough. Respect also allows a personal retreat when other attitudes to life conflict too much with one’s own.

PROSPERITY

Wealth is always relative. But I would grant everyone the right to enough food, a solid roof over their heads and the opportunity to develop their talents. If some people think they need to keep the current prosperity gap, they should buy a few more luxury cars – what the hell – I’m not a communist.

SERENITY

The first two demands are a prerequisite for making serenity possible for the poor at all. It is likely to be a great challenge for all the half-rich, because in my opinion the hunt for the WORK-LIFE-BALANCE is nothing else but the fight against the constantly threatening poverty in the existing social system.

The Founder

My name is Horst Grabosch and I am the mastermind of all projects presented on this website.

I was born in the largest coal mining area in Germany, known as the “Ruhrgebiet”. After school I worked as a professional musician until I was 40 years old. This time is well documented on WIKIPEDIA

After a burnout I had to give up my job, moved to the south of Germany, to the Munich region, and did an apprenticeship as an information technologist.

Another burnout forced me to rebuild my existence again, which collapsed just because of the corona crisis. In expectation of poverty at retirement age, I began to build a second career as a musician in 2019.

Newest Music

Die Geschichte von Oberförster Karl-Heinz Flinte - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Oberförster Karl-Heinz Flinte

A new story by Horst Grabosch from the “Heroes of Work” series. This time the focus is on the profession of forester. Of course, Karl-Heinz Flinte does not fit the stereotype of a forester. On the cover, he looks more like a climate activist. But that is exactly Grabosch’s twist. The three episodes reveal the diversity of the activity. Flinte also occasionally shoots a boar when necessary, but he also suffers with the weakened trees and cares for the forest’s human visitors – after all, that’s what he’s paid to do. Just as with his music, he sits between all chairs, but the chairs always represent only a limited view. Grabosch always chooses individual themes and musical genres for a song, but in the process they form a whole picture over time. This picture is irritatingly diverse in terms of pattern formation. Perhaps this is precisely how Grabosch demonstrates our general lack of acceptance of the complexity of the world. But he always keeps his humorous wink.

Die Geschichte von Bademeister Adelwart - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Bademeister Adelwart

With the story of pool attendant Adelwart, Horst Grabosch presents the second release from the series “Heroes of Work”. With three episodes in this maxi-single he pays tribute to people who daily make their peaceful contribution to the functioning of our world. All three contributions of German poetry and musical eclecticism have the same jazzy base and vary in the small poems in German that form the song lyrics and in the soloistic elements. We are once again surprised by the variety of styles in Grabosch’s songs. There is jazz in this song and the jazz trumpeter, who was internationally successful many years ago, shows how to integrate styles when you have practiced them yourself.

Die Geschichte von Krankenschwester Hildegard - Horst Grabosch

Die Geschichte von Krankenschwester Hildegard

With the story of Nurse Hildegard, Horst Grabosch opens a new box of his imagination. With three episodes in this maxi-single, he pays tribute not only to professions that are socially important, but even more to the people who daily make their peaceful contribution to the functioning of our world. All three musical pieces have the same musical base and vary in the small poems in German that make up the lyrics of the song and in the solo elements. Other tributes to other professions have been announced. The series is entitled Heroes of Work. We are looking forward to more humorous episodes with new musical styles, as we are used to from the eclectic Grabosch.

Der Preis des Wollens - Horst Grabosch

Der Preis des Wollens

This downtempo track sets to music the poem of the same name, which deals with peace of mind. The academically trained musician speaks the text himself over a charming chord progression and poetic electronic sounds. Sophisticated but pleasing “Deutsche Poesie”.

LUST - Horst Grabosch

LUST

Quite a thick one! Horst Grabosch doesn’t leave it at a music album, but writes a book to it – unfortunately in German. But we have to accept that, because it is his native language. We already know the music from the singles, but it is so catchy and profound that you can listen to it more often. The book should increase the pleasure even more, because it describes thoughts and feelings about each title. Therefore, we think the title “LUST” is quite appropriate.

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Mother Tongue and Discrimination

Quote: No German-language title in the Top 100 of the Official German Airplay Charts 2022.
BVMI Chairman Dr. Florian DrĂĽcke criticizes the fact that not a single German-language title can be found in the Top 100 of the Official German Airplay Charts 2022, thus setting a new negative record for a trend that the industry has been pointing out for years. At the same time, the study shows that the variety of genres listened to, including German-language music, continues to be great. In the music offer of the radio stations this is not reflected however. The fact that songs in German don’t play a particularly big role on the radio is not a new phenomenon, and the industry has addressed and criticized it many times over the years.

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Eclectic Electronic Music

After a long search for a suitable genre or term for my recent musical productions, I have found in “eclectic” the appropriate adjective.

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