MY LIFE STORY
I’ve been making music since 1993. I started as a punk drummer in local punkrock group called Not The Same. We’ve been very popular in local community and we did some very extreme sports / drugs / trips in and out till 2001.
Here are few tracks from our first, best and only proper recorded CD named Hate.
After that, few comebacks but nothing seriously.
Around 1995 we bought 4-track cassette recorder.
I became obsessed with sound recording from day one. In my basement I started to experiment a lot with recording techniques, acoustics, and different instruments in next few years.
Here is a pic of my 1995-2000 basement studio.
By the end of 2000 I already composed more than 30 weird projects in my basement, perfected Ableton, switched to digital 8-track, and learned keyboards, percussions, and guitar in DIY style.
I never cared about perfection of my playing, what I cared was that my soul is happy when doing it.
Songs that came out were based on improvisation with different instruments, plugins, loops, fx.
After I moved out from my home town, I built 2 more bedroom / garage studios.
One was very small as I didn’t have extra room in my house, so I used utility.
Here is a pic.
My dream from always was to have at one point a studio space, where I can do things that I like.
Art, photography, film, music, soundtracks, commercials, etc.
So at the end of 2010, I finished my dream in a wooden cottage near my house.
At that time I already had 50 or more project behind my belt, and all sorts of collaborations.
My interest at that time was very involved with electronic music and improvisation with piano, keyboards, and ethnic instruments.
When I was building a studio, I spent a lot of time thinking about the design and sound.
I didn’t care about equipment (as I aslo didn’t have much money working as freelance videographer and sound engineer), my main mission was free multi-media space for experiementation.
Most of the stuff I build by myslef and in DIY way. Budget was around $3k and it took me about a year to finish it.
In studio I have several rooms, that I also use for office and recording/storage/relax area.
After studio was built, I started to record different projects. I became very obsessed with binaural technique, surround, on-location ASMR, healing sounds, etc.
When I bought on local market this head and carried it with me for next 5 years, friends already knew that I went crazy.
But, this head was a replica for an expensive dummy head, which can record most perfect binarual sound.
My version was a DIY, so I had to drill a hole in their ears to make a place for my mics. (no blood came out, so all good)
But, after few changes, Sondra (that’s how I named it) started to produce amazing recordings.
I used it in my weird films, headphone sound installation, live performances, and also for recording inside and outside of my studio.
I worked as a sound engineer and videographer for famous local dance group EnKnap at that time, so we’ve been touring a lot all over the world.
Many times my backpack couldn’t be filled with necessary stuff, because I always had to have room for my Sondra.
In around 2011 I stopped working for that dance group as I wanted to focus more on my music and audiovisual art.
One year before my girlfriend become pregnant, so my music, films and art got a different twist.
Also my music works were not so electronic anymore, because I became more and more interested in accoustic insturments and improvisation.
I started building DIY instruments and recycle some classical ones.
In 2014 (2 years after my second kid came out), I decided to completely move out from laptop music production, and focus on live sound improvisation.
At that time I also got interested in online jobs, as the city I moved in was 1h drive from the capital where I was working before. After few trials I got several gigs in that space.
In next several year there was a drastic change in my life, because I started several online businesses. I went deep into the ocean of online media buying and ecommerce.
At the same time I started to heavily play electric guitar as it became efficient tool to relax myself after 12+ hours of watching into 4 screens.
From 2015-2018 my family suffered, my kids suffered, and I suffered because some investments of my time and money weren’t on point. I earned a lot of money (1MM+revenue in 2018) and most of it were costs as I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. I did lots of mistakes as business owner and when I sum all up at the end, not much profit for me.
But… I learned the advertising game heavily and I started to join A-list of global performance media buyers.
My ecom stores had a lot of traffic and I mastered Facebook ads to the point, where I could get $3 back if I put $1 in.
2019 I killed my stores as the ecom scene (dropshipping) and media buying changed a lot, so I went to work for a local ecom startup that was doing heavy shit all over EU. I again learned a lot about scaling new businesses fast, but most importantly – I rewarded myself with original Jazzmaster I’ve wanted for years.
My ‘after work’ mediations with guitars and loopers (oh, I forgot to mention that in 2015 I started to use loopers and different guitar speakers to put myself in a perfect guitar-type-surround space), so my mind could easily de-stress after the work and go into a music ‘alpha’ state.
Till 2020 I recorded more than 200 sessions with my guitar loopers, and mastered the ‘surround 2-9 CH looping.
Big change came when I switched my employer at the end of 2019 and joined one of the best ad performance agenices in the world. We are a very boutique agency, spending 3MM+ per month for our clients, and my job is to help our clients to grow via FB ads and also other ad networks.
But don’t worry. I won’t talk about biz here. What I want talk here, is music and sound only.
I got one crazy idea in summer 2020 when I was hiking in the morning and listening to my music with headphones like always.
At that time I already mastered my loop-surrond-guitar playing and adjusted sessions to my morning or afternoon body activities.
As I didn’t want always to fill my phone with recent sessions, I got this idea – Wouldn’t be cool if I open a WEIRD RADIO STATION that will play my guitar sessions non-stop 24/7/365?
What? Radio station?
Yes, that’s how I wouldn’t have to upload my sessions all the time on my phone, and I could adopt my sport activities in random style.
At one point in my life I decided that I’m gonna do jogging/hiking everyday.
Why? Because my health was bad and my mind not sharp anymore.
So after several starts and fails of doing this before, I promised myself (in mid 2018 I belive), that I will go out everyday no matter what day or what weather.
Before I wasn’t much active in sports. My body was getting fat, I got several health issues (back hurting, eczema, headaches), and my body was addicted to beer. Beer? I won’t say I was alcoholic, by I could easily swipe 4 or more beers per day if needed. Specially in the summer. I liked to open a pin just to cool my head off at the end of the day. And somedays few more if out with my friends. Also at the evening before I went to sleep, I could easily do one more just for a ‘good’ sleep. Beer helped me also to connect ‘more’ with my music and latest recording sessions. But these sessions became many times more blurred than vivid, if recorded under influence of beer.
At one point I realized that addiction to beer affects my music, my mind and my life. So I decide that I will try to walk daily for at least one hour and drink beer in Jing-jang style.
Not too often, with controled attitute, and not for ‘creativity’ purposes. I will not say NO to a good craft beer at party or family reunion, but I will say NO to my usual daily ‘de-stress beer retreat’ at the end of the day.
I can find other more healthy ways for that. For example: I can play music for that. Or go out walking. Or I can listen to my music. Or, I could watch fishes in my pond.
After a while, I started walking heavily. But most importantly, I started walking based on music loops I was creating at that time.
I can say now that walking with headphones became my main addiction!
So after my work is done, I grab my headphones and mini recorder (yes, I record all my guitar sessions on this recorder), put water in my backpack, press play on my latest session and hit the trail.
I have several trails behind my house and I can’t get enought of them. I do the intensive Nordic walk where my whole body is heavily working.
In 2020 I did probably more then 200 walks on my main trail ( i called it a sound peak trail) and I still like it as it is my first.
The only difference why I like it so much, is because my music become much better. I started to pay attention in my music sessions to my walking needs, so BPM and angles of sessions are made to fit my tempo or experience. I even started to play with feelings, memories and mind shifts during my ‘session angles’.I can say that my guitar loop music became my spouse partner in these hikes.
But that is not all!
I found out that my walking session needs several parts – warm up, progress section, down time section. And sometimes also observe, go deep, make fun, dance, etc. chapters.
For me my walking sessions are like treadmill where you have different programs and intensive levels. So same is with my sessions. I try to record different situations to go well with my walking desires.
I know it’s werid to say that my guitar music was made for hiking, but it is.
Wasn’t planned to be from the start, but after several years of griding my guitars, it became an efficient tool for my daily exercise.
And there is more. If I don’t want to go out, my last sessions forces me to go. Because I never listen to my sessions after I record them. They are saved on my recorder and waiting for my afternoon hike.
And sometimes I switch and do running. Or sit on my bike I go road or cross-country.
So the reuslts I’m gettting with my combination of guitar looping and hiking, made me stonger, happier and more stress free.
And because of all my music sessions that are saved on my discs (and always hard to find when needed), I got this weird idea last summer when I was doing my morning 5am hiking session in Croatia, where I spend most of my summer holidays.
And the idea was – I WILL OPEN HIKING/WALKING/CYCLING RADIO FOR ALTERNATIVE/INDY MUSIC LOVERS.
Any of them out there??
Not sure, but I don’t care.
What I care is ME and how it helped me to change my life. So if I helped myself, maybe I can help or inspire also someone else.
I’m sure there are not many people out there who will like to listen my music while they hike, but main idea of this RADIO is to inspire HIKERS who like MUSIC, to produce their own ‘hiking’ music. Or to inspire MUSICIANS to start HIKING more, and to COMPOSE music that is made specialy for their sport ACTIVITIES.
My music is definitely different. But it helped me in many areas of my life. It’s like meditation or Yoga for me.
Music that I do, helps me to grow. It comes out of my heart, connects with speakers around me, and comes back.
It is a perfect loop that helps me to go more deep into my desires and feelings.
When I put headphones on and start walking, I forget about everything. So for one hour I am with body activity and the sound that comes out.
And this combination helped me to grow personaly and business wise. My concentration is on point, head more clear, tasks done on time, warm feeling in me all day long. I also loosed weight and feel much more stronger.
And one more thing – I have a Fender JazzMaster now, I record on AKG 414s, and I preamp with Heritage Audio – Elite series.
So 2020 was a big shift for me. Not just in my life/biz/family stuff, but also in my sound quality.
As you’ll go through different sessions broadcasted on my radio, you’ll see (and hear) what I mean.
