First and foremost: I’m an artist, just like you. I know exactly how hard it is to finish songs, get them to sound as good as your reference tracks, and have the guts to release them. Let me tell you why I’m doing what I’m doing today and how I became a mixing and mastering engineer.

As a teenager, I fell in love with punkrock and melodic hardcore music. I started a band with friends when I was 17 and we’ve spent the next ten years touring Europe and releasing records. I’ve slept on hundreds of floors and played shows in front of 10 people as well as thousands of people (that were coming for the main act, not for us ;-)). 

My first professional studio experience was an absolute nightmare (and became the reason why I’ve started Copilco Productions).

For our first album, we’ve hired a local studio that was within our price range and promised us everything we could dream of. Needless to say, it turned out quite differently. The engineers had tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment in the room, but didn’t even hear that something was out of tune. Moreover, they charged way more than what was originally discussed. But the worst part of it was this: The final product didn’t sound like we had envisioned it. Not at all.

This frustrating and painful experience has led me to one of the most important decisions in my life. I’ve told myself:

“Never again do I want to be dependent on people like these grumpy and arrogant sound engineer guys.”

So I started to teach myself how to use recording equipment, practiced mixing and mastering, and stayed up endless nights because I couldn’t stop reading all these nerdy audio engineer books. Yeah, I can be pretty obsessive.

From this point on, I’ve produced all the records my band did. And because they sounded quite good, other bands in the area started to ask me if I could help them as well. So I did a bunch of records, got better and better, and finally decided to start a studio business - as a complete autodidact. At the time, I was still studying communication science and working as a creative strategist in a marketing agency.

Moving to Berlin, going all-in on Electronic Music

After ten solid years, my band decided to call it quits. I was quite heartbroken, to be honest (it almost felt like a marriage with these guys), but on the other hand this breaking point made me free. I was already very interested in electronic music and producing some Techno tracks on the side, so I decided to make a big move - to Berlin. I had been to the city very often and I quickly became a part of the local electronic music community. My tracks got signed on a small label and I started mixing and mastering songs for other artists.

At this point, I quit my job (I was still working 50% in the marketing agency) and founded Copilco Productions in Berlin. I knew that I wanted to do this full-time and I also felt that I could offer electronic music artists and labels something unique:

A studio that deeply cares about what they want to achieve and fully aligns with their goals and vision.

When I say that this studio is a purpose-driven business, I really mean it. Coming from the punkrock scene, I knew how important it was to give back to your tribe of people and help each other without asking for anything in return. I’m a big fan of the DIY-attitude in underground music, so I’m doing everything I can do empower small artists and labels.

In 2019, I’ve started a podcast and blog called Pick Yourself, which is a 100% free resource that helps upcoming artists build a meaningful electronic music career. Besides that, I’m speaking at conferences and music industry events and giving masterclasses in music production schools like e.g. Catalyst.

Last but not least: I’m really excited about the projects I’m working on and the people I collaborate with. My clients mean the world to me and needless to say: I’d love to get to know you, too. Feel free to reach out and tell me about your plans, I’d be thrilled to help you!