The Musicpainter Peter Piek presents his new album „Cut Out The Dying Stuff“ at Horns Eben tonight By Katrin Haase He is one meter taller and sings one octave higher than the others. The glaring colours and the squeaky voice first seem alarming, but they soon fascinate the beholder and the listener. Peter Piek, alias Peter Piechaczyk, is a painter and a musician at the same time. For him, music and art are inseparable, as you can guess from pictures like „Song About Ari“ and songs like „I Paint It On A Wall“. During his concerts Peter Piek shows pictures that were created while listening to music; during his exhibitions he offers ear-phones to let visitors listen to the songs that are linked to the paintings. For Peter, the elementary difference between painting and music is time: while music is unimaginable without a lapse of time, paintings exist with a timeless scope. Since 2010 Peter tries to keep hold of the rhythm of life by creating circular music-paintings („Musikbilder“) that can be seen from every direction. Peter Piek started to be interested in painting when he was a child. With his grandmother he visited an exhibition in his hometown Chemnitz, there he saw paintings of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Soon he wanted to try the wild strokes of the brush and the vivid colours on his own. At the age of 12 music came along: he played the guitar, piano and drums and toured with several bands, among others „The Colours“ – not surprisingly-, and wrote his own songs. He studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig but he stopped after finishing the pre-degree as a protest against art as an institution. Today he lives as a freelance painter and musician in Leipzig and… all over the world. He is always on tour, he has already played more than 500 concerts in Europe, the US and China. As if this wasn’t enough, he wrote three books with Michael Goller, and founded the initiative Malfront and the arts centre PPZK (Peter Piek Zentrum für Kultur). Since early 2013 he has been on tour with drummer Christian Schönholzer in Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and Germany to present his new album „Cut Out The Dying Stuff“. The official record release party is tonight 12 June 2013 at Horns Erben (8pm) After „Say Hello To Peter Piek“ (2006) and „I Paint It On A Wall“ (2010), „Cut Out The Dying Stuff“ is Peter Piek´s third studio album. It is more diverse than its forerunners, there are minimalistic pieces as well as rock numbers in English, German and Chinese, and a lovesong for the Spanish town Girona. Peter Piek´s music is not as abstract as its paintings, it goes straight to the heart of the listener. It might be because of the catchy song structure and the anthem-like refrains or because he is again and again singing about falling in love. The Leipziger on 12/06/2013 "Restless and hungry for whatever may concern art, Peter Piek lives for and makes a living with it. Peter is a real craftsman, capable of dealing so naturally with music, painting and writing. He catches eyes and ears with the deafening abstract bursts of his canvases and a colourful music sung with vocal grace. His songs are effervescent anthems of love. Peter is ready to be inspired and to inspire." Interview with Peter Piek for 06live.it 2012 You’re very young as an artist, nevertheless you’re resourceful and full of interests…Tell us more about yourself. i was born in east germany in a city called Karl-Marx-Stadt april 3rd in 1981. i consider myself as an artist allthough i don’t like the word artist very much.. for me art is everything that is alive. so usually paintings and music have a hard time becoming art. and everything that lives is just art naturally. Every word is a compromise.. but yeah i have to admit that the word artist fits the most. I write songs, i paint. Who led you to your artistical path? No one really. when i was young i was not able to speak. i was stumbling and stuttering like hell. i was afraid to speak. that made me be very much in my own world of thoughts. when i look back on this time now i feel it very romantic. i was daydreaming all the time. but this lack of communication made me feel that i have to create another dialog. It became an artistical dialog between me and the painting – the song. i wanted to talk in other ways. To write a song and to paint for me is a dialog. Its still only in me i guess but it feels that i talk to the painting. and when we both are speechless, then i know that the painting / song is finished. Is Peter mainly a painter and then a musician… or viceversa? Dunno.. sometimes i think i’m a musician who felt in love with color so much that he can’t help and paint all the time.. but to say that would be very unfair. then i think maybe i’m just a painter who loves to play guitar and to write songs about himself being a painter..) but you know all these words are just categories. I’m still alive and the reason why i don’t want to settle it is because i wanna be able to move on. I’m stil in that river and who knows whats going to happen. maybe i’ll start doing movies one day or maybe i’ll do installations. Many things are possible it really depends an what opportunities i’ll have in the future. You know these days money buys freedom. the problem is that i just can’t carry out most of the ideas i have. i hope to change that in the future. The only thing i know is that i’m Peter Piek. And i’m not even sure about that one. Who’s your main inspiration? Who are your favourite painters? i truely love many painters. starting from the german expressionists with whome i grew up. following by all the modern colorful artists. abstract and informel painters. i especially love Ernst Wilhelm Nay. He’s very musically! And his way of rhythmycally structuring is really adorable. also my painter friend Michael Goller is great. you should check him out: www.michaelgoller.com. I basically like all which is more color and more painting then story. Many might think its easy to paint unrealistic. but i tell you its not easy at all. I mean its easy for those who can do it. how comes you really see a big difference. there are good and yes there are bad paintings. I sort of dislike storytelling when it comes to painting. Because for my point of view – if you wanna tell a story. Why don’t write a book? Or a song? I love stories. But. Painting should only be painting. Whatever that means. Real. You know. Pure. And your favourite musicians? i grew up with Neil Young, Hendrix, all the 60ties stuff. later then Brit-Pop. Oasis, Verve, Blur. Also i’m a big Smashing Pumpkins Fan. i don’t have a favorite artist anymore. many things i like. all my great musician friends. i love listening to their music! its cool when you know those artists. John Elliot, Danny Malone, Ladycop, Jolanda, all great just to name a very few. Is rock linked to social impressionism? What do you think about? Dunno. äh. i mean yes. i think everything is linked. music is an important part of society. and society is an important part of music. But nowadays. especially with commercial music and the industry focused on products it seems like Rock and Pop Music is blind for whats going on in the world. You know millions of problems and all what Rock has to offer is the next cheap song about being a rockstar and taking drugs and all that sh*t. i don’t wanna hear that anymore. its anoying. Thats sad. Rock is not dead. but its suffering. Sometimes i wish that the whole music industry collapses tomorrow or better today. and that we would be free of this bullshit that they wanna sell us. I mean there are tons of great bands. bands who play and write music for the music. and not just to serve the market with cheap stuff that was born in an office of some manager who thinks to know what pop should sound like. it freaks me out. did you know that in big magazines everything is a product. you can even buy the front page. if you have money you can be a star tomorrow and can have good articles. its all fake. Nevertheless Pop and Rock is Art! but again, we really should find another word for it. You started the PPZK art community. Can you tell us something about it? thank you. yes the PPZK is a very open project for artists from artists. It can be whatever you need. The main idea is that we as artists can work together. and hand in hand we can achieve greater things then we could on our own. its to connect artworks to people. to be extremely honest. it all started with arcitecture. i love arcitecture. and it is my hobby to walk in the city and to create buildings with my mind.. And then when i have set it up i think. what is it for? And this is the point where the PPZK was born. An important idea is that the PPZK wants to be a plattform to connect things. you know like i try to connect Music and Painting with each other. i think there’s a need to connect things and people. honestly i think that there’s a lot of unseen things between the arts. for example you have music and you have acting. and sometime ago. i think in Italy someone invented the Opera. its both music and painting but at the same time its something totally unique. This is just an example. but really i expect there are tons of unseen things between the arts. and we are here to create and to reveal them. And maybe the PPZK itself becomes something like a new melting pot thing. everything is open and you who reads this. feel free to join the network. www.ppzk.de I read that you’re a multi-instrumentalist! What do you play? I play piano, guitar, drums and bass. i love them all. all great instruments. there was a time when wanted to start playing saxophon. but actually i’m quite happy that i didn’t have done that jet. Otherwise my music would be full of saxophon solos.. that would really suck..) Paint it on the wall is the title of your last album… What do you want to communicate with the songs of that record? Hm. I think that all my songs are love songs. Even though they aren’t about love manytimes. Even if they might be about the wish to die (Underwater Death Song). Even though they might be sort or political. Or about time. And the lack of it. Its a lot about mortal things. But that belongs to live. And its one very good reason why people create. You just see everything dying. the seasons. flowers. everything ages. it makes me wanna create something that might be able to live longer then i can. I’m working against time. Art might be able to live in other places. a different live. So the record is about creating very much. The fact that you’re creating means you love live. Thats what my music and this record is about. Tree is the second single. The tree is a very important symbol, both artistical and anthropological… and the song? Tree is about many things. me as a child lost in my own world. How things changes when you grow older. Its full of pictures. not to specific. its about destroying things. about money and capitalism. that we’re lost sometimes and don’t know really what to do. A tree is something very beautiful. Live so different to ours.. Only changes within the seasons.. no hastle.. no rush.. the wind in the leaves. the last words of the song: “Its life that makes us confused. And the fear of death. live in the name of love.” what else is there to say? Do you have a tour plan? In Italy? Yes i’m really happy about it. I’ll do my biggest Italy tour so far in April, and it will even lead me to Naples. I’ve never been more south then Rome. Really exited about the tour! My musician friend Jolanda from Broken Toys Torino organised everything. The tour is a part of the Artist for Artist programm. What message do you want to communicate to your old and new listeners? Let’s say hello and… Good luck with your job! I think i just wanna say that live is great if you want it. Love is all we got. And if you will. I would be happy if our paths would cross. Please check out my music and if you like it. Spread the word. help independent music to stay alive. Independent art is in the hands of independent people. You are the center of your world and always will be. Its always up to you. There used to be several Peters but since the reunification of Peter Piek in 2006 from the remaining partial personalities, the german artist (painter, songwriter, author and multi-instrument player) born in Karl-Marx-City (former East Germany) tries to meld Painting and Music to a new identity. He was studying Fine Art and Painting at the prestigious Leipzig Art Acadamy, when founded the artist group Malfront, wrote 3 books about his vision of painting. His quintessence: Painting just starts primarily with painting! He plays shows in wide parts of Europe and has been on tour in the United States twice, playing South by South West Festival in Austin as well as Pygmalien Musicfestival in Illinois. He played shows with Art Brut, Moneybrother, Robocop Kraus, Saalschutz and was supporting John Watts at Paradiso in Amsterdam. Noisedeluxe Records released Peter's self produced record "I Paint It On A Wall" 2010 in Germany, which was vowed in German music press. Peter Piek's paintings has been seen in exhibitions in Germany and Eastern Europe. The Leipziger book publishing house just released his 1st and 2nd Art-Fiction book. Peter Piek is the consummate artist. His work remains bold and distinct across a broad range of media. He's interested in what he calls "the moment of creating". His lyrics owe a touching melancholy, without abdicating great euphoria. In many songs he copes personal experiences, posivite experiences and defeats. His music shows great songwriter potential. Peter Piek is rock, is guitar, is indie. Following the motion of 60s art -from Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan or painters like Ernst Wilhelm Nay or de Kooning - his work states in music and painting also something sketchy, an unclouded & fresh move that unites rock, beat & art in an inspiring way. Critics get rather complicated when they talk about Peter Piek as painter, using words like 'Being', the 'Physically compound consistency of the canvas' and 'the rhythmic breathing' which is 'synthesised' 'into an interwoven interaction'. One stereotype is not enough. If you try describe Peter Piek's music, you might classify it as Independent Rock, although it would hardly fit as this is not quite correct. The term Pop would not come close to his ambition for art, as his Songs are too ecclectic and complex. Peter Piek's voice is unusual. He sings in a high pitch, but not in head voice. It sounds similiar to Neil Young and Sigur Ros. The shows are always intensive. Eveyone who ever saw Peter Piek live knows the endorphin soaring flights which undilated an evening with Peter Piek brings. The beat of the drums animate head, feets and hands. The funky bass lines create a pleasant oscillate feel in the stomach region. The virtuostic guitar riffs make a proffesional air guitar player out of every normal listener and the voice bewitches the senses. A mixture from Pop, Rock and Funk with catchy melodies and a dash of critical melancholie. German Art Scientist Ina Gille describes it like that: "Colour patterns and structures that are music statements which express the love of life. "Damn great paintings" as he points out. You see a garden designed by drawings and paintings with rhythmic and melodious patterns. As if someone were dancing across the screens. A new perspective and get an impression of what opposes each form of power: the free expression of life."