Hello, how are you?

Good one day, worried the next. In flux.

Where are you right now?

Either at home or in my studio in Vienna.

Which sounds surround you?

The sound of a city running on safe mode.

Have you been productive so far? What are you working on?

Not for the first month or so – but also didn’t feel the urge to be.
A self-employed friend of mine said that in the beginning this whole thing felt like compulsory leave.
It’s unusual for creatives to just “stop”.

What inspires you right now?

The break from societal life as we’ve known it to be.
And I don’t mean this in a “go-running and meditate” self-optimizing kind of way.
Moreso I just feel like I’m trying to realign my priorities and had time to think about what’s really important to me.

Reading material you can recommend?

Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much.
Buy or Die! The Residents, Ralph Records.

Listening material?

I would say just listen anything that’s been released in the last two months.
I really feel for artists that have had to put out music in midst of all this and we’re drowned out by corona news.

To watch?

Color Out Of Space

What’s your opinion on live-streams? You see any alternative ways to support the music community?

I understand, that musicians want to bridge the gap between themselves and their audience. But I personally just can’t get excited about it – both from a performer and a consumer side.
Depending on how long all this is going to last, I might have to be more enthusiastic about streaming – but for now it just feels like a band-aid on and open wound.
It’s a question of value and I feel like that’s something we’re going to have to talk about a lot in the future.

What are you missing most? What are you afraid of?

I miss going to venues/festivals/shows/museums/cinema – or just being culturally engaged outside of my home.
I’m afraid of the future like everyone else.

What will change you think?

This is a huge question and I won’t dare to give this an answer yet as I think we have to really wait and see. I believe the magnitude of it is definitely going to surprise us tho. Another friend of mine said this quite well: “Many people will change the way they do things – some because they have to and others because they want to”.

What is the gig or occasion you were most looking for, that was cancelled in this period?

The “Klangforum-Wien” would’ve played a 40-minute piece I wrote for them at the Konzerthaus in April.

Are you still able to pay your rent?

For now I am lucky yes.
But not for ever if things don’t change.