The song one was called: ‘Black Roses’ and was used for a BMW commercial showcasing the Roadster Z3.
It was performed by myself and recored and produced by Michael Hofmann deBoer in Munich, Germany.
The background vocals feature an artists named Hannah Grace.
This recoding was right around the same time as the ZDF movie above, so around 1987-88.
This song was never published as a single or album recording.
Thanks for checking in with us. GEIST is currently on summer break. Much needed R&R for the creative personnel. We will be back in early September this year with new music, stories and videos. Thanks for stopping by. Lots of love, Martin Cole.
Great session last night with recent Grammy winner Markus Illko recording acoustic guitar tracks for 'Washed Ashore' a new song for the 'Book of Light' album. Thanks again, Markus Illko for those wonderful guitar elements. Welcome to the GEIST family, Markus!
“Markus Illko can be defined in one single word: musician. ”
— VOYAGE LA, 2019
Many people attempt to make music, but few earn that illustrious title. Those in this business reserve that label for the rare individuals who constantly demonstrate a high level of talent, skill, taste, and sensitivity over a long period of time. To these people making music is not simply a diversion but is a matter of blood and guts. That a serious addiction to making music runs through ILLKO’s veins is made clear from a quick review of his career.
An Austrian native, Markus’ musical education began the moment he signed himself up for guitar lessons without permission from his parents. Just three years after his first lesson, at the age of 16, he passed the exam to the prestigious University of Music and Art in Graz (Austria) and became one of the youngest students in his class. He soon played in venues throughout the world, including Austria, Hungary, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Czechia, and Cyprus. Performances included TV appearances like Barcelona-TV (Spain) or live radio broadcasts such as “Let’s Spend A Night Together“. Winning several prizes proved his status as an extraordinarily skilled guitarist and in 2006 Markus received the Prize of Honor for his achievements from the University of Music and Arts Graz (Austria).
In recognition of Markus’ craft as a guitarist, he gets as well frequently invited to festivals and universities, such as Hollywood in Vienna Symposium (A), Music Festival Lassing (A), Guitar Festival Vienna (A), International Guitar Festival Kapfenberg (A), Guitar Festival Hersbruck (D), Music Festival Lassing (A), Guitar Festival Mikulov (CZE) and Music Festival Montserrat (ESP), just to name a few.
In addition to pursuing his solo career both in the U.S. and abroad, few musicians are able to work in such a great variety of music styles and genres that Markus has been fortunate enough to work in. Besides the frequent touring he composed music for advertising and films including the Signation for the Primetime Emmy Awards for Austrian biggest TV Station ORF, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Tyler Perrys “A Madea Christmas” and “Single Moms Club” as well as many more. “Writing for visual media has always been very rewarding for me and it ultimately made me come to Los Angeles” states Markus when talking about the reasons for moving into the City of Angels.
P.U.R.E. = (People United Reviving Energy)
"Pure" describes something untainted, uncontaminated, or free from impurities, embodying a state of clarity, simplicity, and genuine essence.
A state of purity suggests an absence of mixed elements, representing clarity of character, sincerity, or the unaltered form of a substance or concept. It often conveys a sense of pristine and uncompromised nature.
Currently we are putting finishing touches on P.U.R.E. a new song from GEIST.
We are still working on the final lyrics, but the song structure, the instruments, melodies and background vocals have all been finished.
The responsibility of writing the first song of the new album, can weigh heavy.
The interesting thing vocally, is that they are three distinct melody lines that can be used on the song.
It’s tempting to use all 3!
Combining lyrics with vocal melodies is always a challenge.
When we are putting ourselves into the realm of the P.U.R.E., the untainted, it is very difficult to make sense of lyrics that are hard to express vocally and emotionally.
I’m doing my very best to finish this first song, or the first impression of listener gets when they listen to the album. ‘Being in the light’, is not always easy because we are human and are constantly tempted and distracted.
Day to day life for an artist can be very challenging.
So please bear with us as we are embarking on this new journey for and with you.
Thank you for your patience and ever loving support.
Sincerely, Martin Cole.
Good news, folks!
The first chapter of the ‘Book of Light’ saga is firmly in the works. Having written the last 25 chapters of the “Book of Shadows,’ it feels good to be back in the environment that is the Story of Martin Cole. Experience this new path of the story, setting the stage of what’s to come in the next chapters. The transition from the abyss to the heavens above, this chapter explains the new developments of our hero.
Having been on panels about Artificial Intelligence, it occurred to me that, when we look further out into the future, this situation might happen, when AI takes control of new worlds and expanding its reach into the depths of the galaxy.
Leaving us humans in…?
A New Era Has Begun
Welcome to 2024. The new era of the Book of Light.
We are working feverishly on the new album this year and hopefully having it completed sometime by the end of the year.
When you work on the structure of a new concept, the melding of composition, lyrics and stories takes a ton of time to complete. We have decided that we are going to release the Book of Light in various forms and bits and pieces. Fragments of songs, fragments of lyrics, visions of stories are all being compiled into something new and exciting. Since the pandemic, we have all come to terms with our new reality and have to relearn our social behavior, our interaction with people. It seems we have all been in a deep slumber and are now ready to rock again!
And so it will be.
Stay tuned to the GEIST project.
Martin Cole is embarking on a new spiritual quest and the outcome might surprise you.
More to come. For now, have a great start to the New Year and may all your dreams and wishes come true.
In the meantime, enjoy the kick off of the new season by watching ‘The Phantom,’ a recap of what happened in the Book of Shadows.
Sincerely,
Martin Cole.
So many of you have asked me: ‘When’s the new album coming?’
Well, I decided to take account of all the recordings so far and here’s the list (spreadsheet") that I’m working from. As you can see, there’s still a lot of work to do, but as the schedule of releasing new music changes all the time, especially today, I will be putting out songs as they become ready, mixed and mastered. It started with ‘We Won’t Break’ because of the Lahaina fires and destruction and needed to be released before the entire album of ‘Book of Light’ is finished.
Welcome to my World!
Here’s the schedule…(the ones in green are ready to go)
I often get asked, what is GEIST?
Everyone in the inner circle knows of course that it is my musical trilogy. But how do you explain that to the rest of the world that doesn’t speak English? Good question. I decided to make a collection of video trailers to bring the message of the project to people all around the world.
Sincerely, Martin Cole.
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