News

Dear readers, there is many fine new things coming up. On December 14th at 2 p.m. there is the premiere of “six seasons”part two in Radio Ö1 – with the radio play “Die Rückkehr der Yamaboushi oder Shifting Baselines” written by Ann Cotten. I was invited to create music to the same painting Ann choose and created her story for. Philip Scheiner put music and text and actors together for this one. You can stream it here, and it will be online for a few weeks on the Ö1 Podacast. We are also starting to gather exiting ideas for a new radio play, writer Alexandra Pazgu and actor Roman Blumenschein. I am also very happy to be researching and thinking about a new play with Barbara Gassner and Ed Hauswirth after touring extensively with our piece ” Die andere Hälfte des Himmels”.

We are very happy to be choosen by the fabulous audience of Ö1 with our Radioplay LEXIT. We made the second price right after Superstar Felix Mitterer, who’s fan I have been ever since the launch of the Piefke Saga. Thanks to the fabulous Team of this production. It was a very uplifting experience and lots of fun !

Links to Ö1 and Lexit:
announcement broadcast Premiere
and with short audio trailer
APA newsfeed: Den zweiten Platz bei der Publikumswahl zum „Hörspiel des Jahres“ vergaben die Hörerinnen und Hörer an „Lexit“ von Caroline Hofer. Katharina Knap (Lena), Claudia Kottal (mehrere Freundinnen), Valerie Pachner (Freundin) und Roman Blumenschein (Freund) erzählen in „Lexit“ Lenas Reise, die sie antritt, um ein paar Tage ohne Mann und Kind zu verbringen: Lena steht für eine junge Generation, die zwischen Lebensträumen und Zukunftswünschen ihre eigene Realität und Freiheit sucht. Die Musik dazu stammt von dem in Wien lebenden Sänger, Komponisten und Performer KMET.
link to the whole article

2018  has been a very colour and eventful one. I did compose music for a radio play for Ö1 called „LEXIT“ by Caroline Hofer, played multiple solo shows and showings of the theater play „Die andere Hälfte des Himmels“. The renowned German Magazin “Akustik Gitarre“ feature me in their fall edition in an article called „Neues vom Hexer“. It spans from childhood to my latest release, and is well written. Enjoy :-) !

“Just in time” is a short film and the summer project of my friends from 86/60 teaming up with programmer Stefan Grassberger. I could contribute original music to it.  So far the film has made it to different festivals and competitions. Now there is a series of showings -maybe also near you.

BSL Kurzfilm Festival, Wien

16. Juni 2018, 14 Uhr: Kurzfilmfestival von Robert Auer mit Wettbewerbs-Charakter samt Vergabe eines Jury- und Publikumspreises im ältesten bespielten Kino Wiens. Infos & Tickets

zeitimpuls shortfilm festival, Wien

22. Juni 2018, 20 Uhr: Als Teil der Vorführung internationaler Kurzfilme (Mobile Films International) im METRO Kinokulturhaus. Infos & Tickets

Vögele Kulturzentrum, Schweiz

27. Mai bis 29. September 2018: Unser Film ist der Teil der aktuellen Ausstellung »Ist gut nicht gut genug? – Warum fordern wir so viel von uns?« des Vögele Kulturzentrums in Pfäffikon. Einige Einstellungen sowie die Musik von KMET werden ebenfalls in einem art-tv-Beitrag gezeigt. Infos & Tickets

Sunlight International Film Festival, Berlin

1. Oktober 2018: „Just in Time“ ist in der Official Selection des Festivals und wird auch dort gezeigt werden. Mehr Infos

I am very happy how the release and all other shows went since march. There was a splendid sold out release show at the RKH and a lot more followed. In between I was blessed with a sold out show in Paris at the foundation Jerome seydoux pathe with the silent film.

Also our theater piece “Die andere Hälfte des Himmels” was played again at the Volkskundemuseum in Vienna, plus we went to the University of agriculture to perform it there, which was really fun! We will also appear at a new festival in Litschau on August 17 +18th with it.

Last week I played a release show in my hometown innbsruck which was a blast too. The ORF produced a nice little announcement for the show.

So I feel very blessed to be able to reach so many people, make news friends and fans. Thanks so much to everyone who came to see a show.

I already started working on new material, and I am loving the process already.

I am thrilled and honored – my favorite Radiostation Ö1 has dedicated a whole “Spielräume”  Radio broadcast to my upcoming album “smiling eye”. Michael Neuhauser, one of my favorite radio journalists, has produced a very personal and intimate piece of Radio. Please take a few minutes and listen to his and my work.
Spielräume “Die Dinge, die Augen, Die Stille”

It´s done ! We released SILENCE – a video to the first pre release single. And I really love it – done by my favorite web and photo designer 86/60 ! You can watch it here.  Also till the release there is a free download of the song at m labels band camp side – for free ! A new years starter gift. Get it here
The response has been really great so far, I am really happy.

So the next step will be the release of the second single, which is the song after which the album is named – “smiling eye” – So please don’t get confused…the single comes out on February 12th, the whole album on March 2nd with a live show at Radiokulturhaus Vienna.

New release shows are added frequently – so please be sure to either sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of each page on my website  connect to me on my facebook site

We have been spinning many ideas about the Album cover for KMET “smiling eye”. My friends Michael Holzer and Oliver Schöndorfer from 8660 have produced a number of great options. We are in the process of finding the look of the new Album together. We have done a fun shooting outside of the atelier, where i also tried on the wearability and the looks of my new live outfit for this release – I like it !   At the same time we are working on a new live Video for a song of the upcoming Album. It will be shot live in December already, so I am rehearsing it in my studio every day, refining all aspects of it.
There was a short reflection as to change the title of the album – and Oliver walked with the idea for a few days :-)

„Unschuld, die kleine Veronika“ at filmfestival cinema ritrovato

This wonderful and very highly decorated festival has a history of inviting the best piano players and orchesters wordlwide to play with the shown silent films. So it was a special honor being the first guitarist and singer, using also preparations on my guitar to accompany this last silent film that was shot in austria in 1930. I was invited by Karl Wratschko to break the ice for experimental music and silent film on the wonderful Piazetta Pasolini.  The film was shown for the first time on the newly restored 35 mm version. The protector was a machine built in the 1920´s working with old carbon lamps. So it was a smoking and hissing „machine performance“ with wonderful warm light in the projection. Open air with about 500 people watching and listening.

picture from the evening of the projection:

This project was also made possible by the clutural forum Milano and the BKA. Many thanks !

the piazetta during the projection

the wonderful projector from the 1920´2

I am very happy to announce my invitation to the great festival “Cinema Ritrovato” in Bologna ! This is a festival with a great reputation and history. Most of the live music is done by piano players. So this will be a fine experiment to take this into an experimental direction as well. I will play live to the silent movie “Unschuld die kleine Veronika”(1930) by Robert Land. This will take place in a beautiful outdoor plaza – Piazzetta Pasolini. There is seats for 400 people, its open air, and I am loving it already. So if you are close by any means, please stop by !

it looks like this:

Also I wanna mention that we had a very fine and touching premiere of out new piece “Die andere Hälfte des Himmels at Kunsthaus Nexus in Saalfeld. The audience was very attentive,  the crew of the nexus very supportive to our work.   We will now start a little touring with it. fixed are the 9th and the 10th of June in salzburg – please check out the live section. For the fall there a re a few different locations in planning, around Salzburg, but also at the Völkerkundemuseum Wien, in Graz at Theater am Bahnhof and a few others.

We got a great preview in the Salzburger Nachrichten and now the ORF national Television wants to make a broadcast around the piece, and Barbaras Grandfather´s story.

Here is a glimpse of the premiere:

After working with this very funny and inspiring team on INVIDIA der böse Blick for 8 weeks, our premiere went very well. The audience was very responive, and we had lots of fun performing our new work. The media has covered it also in a numerous ways – please check out those articles(in german)

One of the reasons to do a piece without words was to tour with it internationally. So please stay tune for more dates to come.

I am I am very happy to announce the launch of my project „Silent Films with live music“ on my homepage. I have been enjoying playing to silent movies for over ten years now. I always play 100% live, with my live loops, prepared guitars, voice and different simple effects I use. Only at the performance of „Woman in the moon“ – because of its duration 2 hours an 50 minutes – I used some playback tracks that I could fade in and out if wanted.  These events took play in the Czech Republic in a summer school of film festival in Uherske Radice, Viennale Filmfestival in Vienna, the Theatermuseum, Metro Kino and other fine places. I mostly do these films as a soloist but also teamed up with Martin Brandlmayr on drums for „Die Puppe“ by Ernst Lubitsch.
Again and again I am stunned how beautiful and with how much care some of those great silent films are done. Especially the handcolourated versions look amazing if projected with the right machines. The colours glow in a totally magic and unseen way.

Also new in the Work section under „Theater“ is „Out there is a Field“ w. Barbara Kraus, and the „Opera of Entropy“. This project might be seen again in a different kind of performance at the Donaufestival or Wien Modern. Please stay tuned for more.

I wanted to share with you a beautiful new but really old instrument I had the luck to meet with and engange in a permanent relationship for now. A 120 year old viennese Kontraguitar. It is a very rare one with 12 chromatic basses. That´s very unusual and I have to see if it is possible to make it work in real life – since 12 basses are really a lot to get organized with. Mr. Witzmann restored the few fine cracks it had beautifully, and his wife restrung the whole thing ! I am waiting for a custom made bag, so I can take it with me to rehearsals and concerts. Jorge Sanchez-Chiong who I worked with on the “Opera of Entropy” already showed his interest to make a new piece of music together, and I am exited to start. So stay tuned :-) !

Frau im Mond / Florian Horath Ensemble Gut Oggau/Opera of Entropy/Wortstadtnächte
The life music to the silent movie(2h 50 min.!) „Woman in the moon“ in Uhersce Radice was really a highlight for me. If you are around next year I recommend you visit this great festival in July 2017! Very nice people, great cinemas and films.
Gut Oggau with florian horwath was also very special. They make this great demeter organic wine, that is sold only in selected places around the world. The reinvited the enselbe for the next years “10 years of Gut Oggau” celebration – so please stay tuned for that. The fall keeps me busy as well with more exiting projects. The „opera of entropy“ had it´s premiere on Tuesday August 30th. Please check ou the live section for more infos about that. Also the „Wiener Wortstätten“ a very special writers room, asked me to join them for their festival at the end of september. It´s called „Wortstattnächte“. Those will be five „one time events“. One is called „Dramas for sleeping“ where you meet at midnight, and every visitor gehts a bed and a personal reader, who wispers some of the greatest dramaturgic writings in your ear until you fall asleep, all acompanied by acoustik KMET Music:-)  You can find more infos to these events in the live or project section of my website.

In the beginning of this year, especially after I was asked to create music for “Unterwerfung” only a week before the premiere,  I formed the wish that projects would spread out a little more. Two month later, there is dates and projects lined up until may 2017. About the others I wrote in the last post, and after that I will cooperate again with the wonderful OFF theater. Create something new for Grischka Voss´s newest peices that will evolve around the topic of “enviousness”. And after that there will be a new cooperation a Duo, one Performer, one muisician only, with the topic “Heimat/Home” that is so viral right now. So I am very exited by this new situation, and I will write again about this and see If I really like it better to plan ahead so far.

I am very exited to announce two new collaborations.

Barbara Kraus, with whom I worked with in “shared spaces” invited me to develop a musical score to her new piece “Das Denken zum Tanzen bringen”. This will be an advancement of her work “philosophy onstage”. We will perform this at Tanzquartier Wien on june 2nd, 3rd and 4th !

Furthermore Jorge Sánchez-Chiong asked me to develope a part in “ENTROPY” which he launched together with Thomas Jelinek. This is a fantastic pool of scientists, videoartists, musicans, mathematicians who are developing an opera around this exiting and infinite topic. This will be part of “Musiktheatertage Wien 2016”, the premier around August 27th 2016. More Infos to come soon.

There is four performances of KZ.IMAGINAIRE left – I want to post a few reviews.
The majority of our audience seemed to really like the piece. I enjoyed working with the Bernhard Ensemble a lot !

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The Bernhard Ensemble and myself are in the final stage of putting together their latest piece KZ.IMAGINAIRE. Rehearsals are lots of fun, and scene after scene comes along. The music is a wild mixture of live played and live looped songs, structures, prepared guitars and snare drum. For the first time I also use prepared arrangements for some of the songs and scenes. So my studio and the rehearsal room is full of different devices I borrowed from friends and I am still pondering which ones i will use. Please check out the “concerts” section for the upcoming shows of this piece. The premiere will be on October 28th.