New single release
September 2021
Karianne Kvalen, a singer/songwriter from Norway, is now taking her career to a new level with a song that we wrote together with Carroll Kiphen and Lars E. Carlsson: “Giving Love a Try”. Wow! For songwriters like me, this is kind of like a dream come true. She even created an official video clip.
I recorded all the instruments on my own. Well, almost all of them. My son Leon contributed some additional strings that sound really awesome and he mixed everything down. Special thanks to Linda Beringmeier for her contributions on the first demo of this song which was later used as a guideline. I’m very proud of this achievement because it shows just how far my work as a songwriter and producer can go. If you like the song and want to support Karianne you can buy or stream it on almost every platform. Mega-thanks to Karianne for the time and effort she invested in this project and I wish her loads of success with the song and all the best for her new beginnings.
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Eurovision Song Contest 2021
In 2021 I’m giving the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) another try. Currently I’m involved in two song entries, one in Norway and one in Finland. It will be interesting to see how things go this time around. The songs and the artist are really promising. Stay tuned for more.
Eurovision Song Contest 2018
July 2017
I’m going after another Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) participation. This time I’m teaming up with the songwriters Lars E. Carlsson and Sören Skarback, both from Sweden. Together with them I wrote a song called “Gone With The Wind”. The song contains multiple references to the corresponding 1939 epic historical romance movie. Consequently it was produced as a pop / soundtrack crossover. The awesome backing music was produced by my son Leon. This is the first time he and I are collaborated on one of my compositions. It will be exciting to see if we are successful in finding a country / artist for the ESC 2018 with this song. If you want to hear the song, you can find it here.
Pennsylvania Heritage Songwriting Contest 2017
“Kissing Bridges” came in second!
June 2017
My country song “Kissing Bridges” came in second in the 2017 Pennsylvania Heritage Songwriting Contest. The goal of this annual contest is to celebrate the State of Pennsylvania, its people, places, and history in a song. Therefore the song required a Pennsylvania namesake, theme or reference. Mike Blottenberger contributed the lyrics.
Hello Heartbreak
March 2017
“Hello Heartbreak” is yet another international collaboration project I was recently involved in. I found the lyrics of this song at a songwriter forum and when I first saw them I pictured a lonely, broken-hearted piano player in a bar getting drunk and singing this song. The lyrics were written by Carroll Kiphen from Texas, a talented guy I’ve worked with on several occasions in the past. I composed and recorded a Billy Joel style piano playback and Ian Jenkins, a singer/songwriter/actor from Manchester contributed the vocals.
“Christmas With You” is my first Christmas song
December 2016
I’ve always wanted to write a Christmas song. With “Christmas With You” I’ve finally achieved that goal. I started with the line “the closest thing to perfect is celebrating Christmas with you”. Gary E. Andrews helped me put the final touches to the lyrics. Elisa Müller did a sensational job on the vocals and my son Leon contributed a nice guitar solo. Many thanks to everyone involved in this project.
I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2017!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY
September 2016
I always wanted to write a universal birthday song. The song “Happy Birthday” evolved out of a draft recording that fellow singer/songwriter Martin Götz from Austria sent me. The beautiful lead and backing vocals were contributed by Chantal Schramm, a talented vocalist that I’ve been working with for some 7 years. “Happy Birthday” is a catchy, fun, sing-along song.
Songwriter Connect names me as their TOP 6 Winner
May 2016
I feel honored to be selected as the March/April 2016 TOP 6 Winner of Songwriter Connect. Songwriter Connect is an internet platform that enables talented songwriters and composers to gain access to high quality placement opportunities. Their members go through a strict application process. They selected me as their elite songwriter for the March/April 2016 timeframe and they are currently highlighting my song “Did You Get What You Want” on their website.
My first country rock song: Cowboy Law
December 2015
For “Cowboy Law” I teamed up with lyricist Ray Bertram from Arkansas, songwriter and producer Bernd Oettinger from Munich, Germany and vocalist Tara-Lynn Sharrock from Australia. This is one of my first country rock songs and probably one of the best songs I’ve written in quite a while. We are now jointly checking how we can market this song appropriately.
Album release of “Day One” from E-Motion-L
July 2015
E-Motion-L just released his debut album “Day One”. The pop rap album contains a track that I co-wrote with Julian Bromm and Silke-Bromm-Krieger called “Save The Nature”. The song deals with the wasteful use of the natural resources of our planet. What makes the album so unique and interesting is that all the songs have English lyrics beautifully sung by John Michael combined with rap parts in German language which were performed by Julian Bromm himself. The album is available at the well-known online retailers like iTunes, Amazon, etc. Here’s the video clip of “Save The Nature”.
First German Schlager produced
March/April 2015
I just finished the production of my first German Schlager songs. Erdmann Lange is contributing the lyrics for all the German songs I’m currently working on. The first track is called „Sommersonnenland“ performed by the very talented Chantal Schramm. This song is a remix of „Ordinary Man“, a track I produced in 2010 together with Ray Bertram and Donovan Plant.
Another song is called „Alles Brennt“. I composed the music for a lyric that Erdmann had previously written. This upbeat track is beautifully sung by Alina Potthoff.
We are now looking for suitible artists from the German Schlager scene for both of these songs.
Next up: Deutsche Schlager
January 2015
I’m writing my first German songs together with Erdmann Lange, a very talented German lyricist and songwriter from the Mannheim area of Germany. Together we are going after the “Deutsche Schlager” market. The first three songs are produced and a couple of others are in the pipeline. Stay tuned. There should be something to listen to soon.
Collaboration with Tara-Lynn Sharrock
July - August 2014
Wow, I got the chance to write a song for Tara-Lynn Sharrock, an extremly talented female vocalist from Australia. The title of the song is "How I Know". Gary E. Andrews from Ohio contributed the lyrics. The track was professionally produced and mixed by Bastian Knochel for logischdenker Records. Here is a sample of what Tara-Lynn sounds like:
You can listen to Tara-Lynn singing my song here: How I Know
Number 1 video clip for 7 straight weeks!
February -April 2014
The music video clip of my song "I Cry" spent 7 consecutive weeks at the number one spot in the video charts of C-Tube.de, a popular German music clip portal. It was in the top 10 for over 3 months. Awesome! The clip was produced by Marwin Gansauge.
Eurovision 2014 here we come!!!
January/February 2014
Yes, this is like a dream come true! Mircea Cioclei from Romania and Krystal Mills from Wales will be entering a song I co-wrote in the Romanian ESC 2014 pre-selection. If the judges select the song Mircea and Krystal get to sing live on March 1st on TV in the Romanian finals. The song is called "Every Time I See You". I co-wrote the song with Paul Brookes and Mircea. Bastian Knochel from logischdenker Records recorded and produced the music and Chantal Schramm and Alina Potthoff sang background vocals. On February 20 we'll find out if they are qualified or not. Marwin Gansauge produced this awesome teaser:
A very special thanks to all the talented people involved in this project!
This was a close call
September 2013
A swedish publishing company contacted me, looking for a ballad for a female artist. I sent them "I Cry" and shortly afterwards they said that they liked it and that it was what they were looking for. I was asked if it had been released yet. Of course that song is available at iTunes and Amazon. They then told me that the song they were looking for was for a Eurovision 2014 contestant from an eastern European country. Released songs are not allowed to compete in that song contest. "I Cry" at the Eurovision song contest…that would have been like a dream come true for me and the rest of the team. That would have been awesome!
Elisa wins band contest 3-times in a row
May / June 2013
Elisa participated in a band contest hosted by WDR2, one of Germany's biggest radio stations. They played her song "You're No Good" which I co-wrote with Fabian Goerg. The track was produced by Markus Lammarsch. Afterwards the audience could vote for their favorite song. Elisa won the contest 3 weeks in a row. According to the rules, the song was not allowed to compete more than 3 times. That shows that the song is good and Elisa has a huge fan base. Thanks to everybody for their support.
Semi-Finalist in the Song Of The Year Songwriting Contest 2012
April 2013
A lot of judges of songwriting contests seem to like my song song "Let Me Run". It was a semi-finalist song at the Song Of The Year songwriting contest in the U.S. Once again many thanks to Elisa for the vocals and to Bastian Knochel for the production work.
Elisa is qualified for the WDR2 band contest Musikszene NRW
March 2013
On May 15, 2013 Elisa's song "You're No Good" will be played on one of the biggest radio stations in Germany: WDR 2. She will compete against 3 other bands from NRW. After the show everybody can vote for the best song. I'll let you all know how you can support her as by casting your votes. The song was written by Fabian Goerg and myself and produced by Markus Lammarsch.
First public performance of one of my songs
January 2013
Wow, January was a busy month. Elisa performed "Let Me Run" in the sold-out Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld. This was the first time one of my songs was performed in public. Thanks Elisa! You were absolutely great!
Semi-Finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest 2012
January 2013
My song "Let Me Run" just barely missed the finals of the UK Songwriting Contest 2013. Making it to the semi-finals proves that this song is pretty good. Many thanks to Elisa for the vocals and to Bastian Knochel for the production work.
New album out now!
January 2013
YEAH! An EP is now available with 5 great songs, all written or co-written by me. The whole team is very excited.
New song: "I Cry"
November 2012
After the very successful release of "Let Me Run" Elisa now released a follow-up song called "I Cry" which is an emotional piano ballad. The track was produced by Bastian Wagner. I wrote the music and the lyrics.
Oh, by the way…Elisa will be performing "Let Me Run" live in the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld on January 5, 2013. The concert is called "Classic Meets Pop".
Let Me Run (official release)
September 2012
“Let Me Run” is available now! At iTunes or here:
Since finishing second in the „Sing A Song“ vocal contest hosted by Radio Guetersloh in the summer of 2012, the 17-year old Elisa from Stukenbrock-Senne in Germany is deemed to be one of the region’s hottest newcomers. It was her first real studio work and she had her own perception of how the song was supposed to be sung. In my opinion she is the perfect vocalist for this song. Elisa’s voice is very versatile – she can easily handle both light and louder rock vocals. A few of her friends helped her produce her first music video clip, which is drawing a lot of attention (many thanks to Marwin Gansauge for the video).
Singing is not the only thing Elisa is good at. She can also play various instruments like the trumpet, piano and guitar. The vocal talents of the soon-to-be high school graduate were discovered by her music teacher. After a public performance at school she sang at a local festivity and participated in smaller gigs with a band called “Senne Duo & Friends” before her big “Sing A Song” performance which was broadcasted live on the radio.
After finishing high-school Elisa wants to study pop/rock vocals and continue to drive her career forwards, either as a solo singer or in a band. I sure hope we can record a few more songs together.
Let Me Run
August 2012
"Let Me Run" is probably one of the most professional sounding productions I've ever been involved in so far. I composed the music and wrote the lyrics of the song late 2011. The track is being produced by Bastian Wagner. Markus Lammarsch contributed some awesome guitars. I'm currently recoding the vocal tracks with Elisa Mueller, a very talented 17-year old female vocalist. This song is what I would call a rock anthem. I love it. I'll keep you posted.
The "Book of Love" CD is now avalable!
June 2012
"Book of Love" is a music charity project that I was involved in during the first months of 2012. Eleven really cool songs are on this CD. Many thanks to the wonderful people who participated. I made many new friends in the process.
All proceeds go to an organisation of the German Childhooh Cancer Foundation called "Waldpiraten". Please help us collect money for this organisation by buying this CD. It is availble at many of the well-known internet stores (iTunes, Amazon, Musicload, Spotify, etc.) and at our website: www.book-of-love.org
Six new songs signed at Niteflite Music
February 2012
I just signed a publishing contract at Niteflite Music for six songs that I jointly wrote together with Fabian Goerg.
I will be participating in the "Book of Love" CD project
January 2012
"Book of Love" is a music charity project. Episodes of a story were written as songs and then produced. The CD will go on sale mid 2012. All proceeds will go to the "Deutsche Kinderkrebsstiftung". My son Leon wrote two tracks for the album and I helped him produce the demos. I'm is also helping Chantal Schramm record the vocals for three of the album tracks. On the album I will also be highlighted as a keyboarder. The album consists of 11 excellent tracks by some of the best semi-professional songwriters, producers, musicians and vocalists from Germany. For more information please visit their website: www.book-of-love.org
Winner of the WDR2 band contest
November 2011
My song "Now That You're Gone" performed by Lotti Epp was highlighted in the program "Musikszene NRW" of the big German radio station WDR2. My "Rob B. Project" competed against 3 other bands and the public selected the best of the 4 songs, which luckily was my song.
Winner of the international Song of the Year songwriting contest
August 1st, 2011
The judges of the international songwriting contest "Song of the Year" announced that my song "Tonight Tonight" was the best Dance Song of 2011. I wrote the song together with Fabian Goerg, the head of Niteflite Music & Entertainment. We won even though the version of the song that we entered in the contest was not completely produced.
