Every heart is a house of stories.
Mine just happens to write songs.
I was born in Vienna, but I've never believed music belongs to a country.
It belongs to moments.
To the child discovering a guitar for the first time.
To the people who stay.
To the ones who leave.
To love, loss, hope, regret, silence and the thousand feelings we never quite find the right words for.
I've been writing songs for most of my life.
Sometimes with bands.
Sometimes alone.
Always searching for the same thing:
A song that tells the truth.
My musical home is somewhere between rock, pop and cinematic soundscapes, but I've never cared much about genres. Every song chooses the language it needs.
After many years on stage, Twelve Chambers of My Heart became my most personal work. Twelve songs connected by one story — a journey through memory, family, identity and the places inside us we rarely show anyone else.
I don't write to impress.
I write because music can sometimes say in four minutes what conversations cannot express in a lifetime.
If one of these songs reminds you of your own story...
...then it has already found its home.
— Gary
INTERVIEW (Summer 2024)
- When and why did you become a musician?
As soon as I could walk, I wanted to play in my brother's band. What the sandpit was for other children, the radio was for me. A place of dreams.
- How would you characterise yourself in a few words?
I don't really have a suitable answer to that. I would find it easier to answer the question: What determines your actions?
Love for my fellow human beings, anger at injustice, despair when it comes to blind stupidity.
- How would you describe your style? What is special about it and what are its unique selling points?
I don't have one style. Every idea, every theme demands its own sound. The fact that my musical home is rock doesn't stop me from borrowing from classical music, for example, and of course from pop. A pigeonhole is too narrow for me.
- Who and what inspires you for your compositions?
Before I find words or sounds, it is always an emotion that has been triggered by something. This can be a newspaper article, a memory, a word or an event. But sometimes it's just a rhythm or a sound that grabs me.
- What does music mean to you?
For me, music is the language of the soul. That's why music knows no borders, nations, genders or skin colours.
- Who are your most important role models and why?
This list would be endless. In every phase of my life there has been music that has influenced me. To single out one artist would feel strange. I would also change my mind every second and still not come to a conclusion.
- What do you want to trigger in your listeners with your pieces?
Does art have an influence on people's attitudes? There is a lot of literature and diametrically opposed opinions on this. I'm totally happy when someone tells me: That touched me.
- What role does social media play in your career?
The internet in general has changed a lot of things. I can present my music to the public without a record company, publisher or radio station on whose goodwill I depend. But to really win over listeners, you need social media. Access is not the problem, but the effort is. There are only 24 hours in a day.
- What are your short and long-term goals?
Do I have any? The short term is quite easy to answer: That's the song I'm working on at the moment.
In the long term? That's where it gets difficult.
Do I want to leave my comfort zone, look for other musicians and go on stage again? Or will ‘Jeremiah’ remain a so-called studio project?
The foundations for one decision or the other are somehow not yet tangible,
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I no longer think like that. Career, success, fame, or even the downsides. I just hope to be happy with my life in 5 years' time. I'll find out what that path looks like.
- How did you come up with the name Jeremia?
The origin lies in a film from 1957 by Ingmar Bergman - ‘The Seventh Seal’. The character of the knight who plays chess against death to gain time and his journey to his homeland, I experienced at the time as a strong link to the cradle of Europe and as an image of my cultural identity. The title in turn refers to the Bible (Revelation of John). This in turn appealed to my Christian background and at the same time I was fascinated by the dark mood - the path to the apocalypse. I decided to take the name of a prophet for my project. John would have been an obvious choice, but it didn't appeal to me. But Jeremia(h)'s Lamentations and even though this is not about music but about poetry, everything offered a foundation. More than just a name.
- Do you remember your first studio experience and what was it like for you?
It was very exciting. Borrowed instruments, lots of ideas but little idea, lots of lovely people who helped and a producer who really invested a lot of time in us.
- Which of your recordings are you most proud of?
I am grateful to have the opportunities and enough talent to be able to make music. Thanks to technical developments, I can now realise my ideas without the help of other people. My family gives me all the support I need. Pride would be an inappropriate word. Thank you is the only right one.