Michael Crüger
Biography
Born in Berlin, after 10 years as a practising lawyer Michael set out on his spiritual quest, travelling through India and America for 3 years. It was whilst in America that he met and married his wife Joy, a fashion designer and rock singer from Los Angeles. After a blissful honeymoon in Ibiza, where the couple were drawn to the simplistic beauty and creative spirit of the Balaeric Isle, they decided to stay there forever and to call the island their home.
Soon after arriving Michael and Joy opened a boutique, selling one-off wearable art pieces. They also founded what was to become a well-known local rock band, playing at clubs and parties throughout Ibiza. This eventually led to a tour of Thailand.
After discovering Asia the pair moved their clothing production to Bali, whose sounds and culture left a deep impression on Michael's musical style, helping to shift his ideas in a new direction. Carrying and sustaining the moods soaked up from his travels, Michael began to compose some of the evocative pieces that you can hear on 'The Finca Tapes', mixing both Eastern and Western harmonies to create individual and hypnotic signatures.
Paying homage to the power of nature, some of the recordings within the CD, for example 'Celebration of Joy' and 'Pilgrimage' were composed especially for the changing seasons, which hold a special significance for the Ibizian community where they are richly celebrated.
Written for a group of friends with the traditional Maypole dance in mind, 'Celebration of Joy' was arranged to honour the Spring rites, whilst 'Pilgrimage' was penned for a large moonlight procession called Waltz, which follows September's harvest celebrations.
A seasoned live player, some of the album's movements have been performed in one of the island's most beautiful churches as part of it's special Full Moon program. Accompanied by poetry specially written and performed by Michael's wife Joy, the music has had a deeply moving effect on the congregation, helping to open the church up to different kinds of musical prayer.
Balancing the spiritual side of Michael's compositions lies a sensual thread, which runs through both his music and life. Balancing the church performances is The Tantric Temple, a New World striptease club called The Blue Rose, where tattooed divas dance naked to Michael's Celestial Rhythms before a very mixed audience.
Paying homage to the diversity and beauty of nature, the Celestial Rhythms of 'The Finca Tapes' mirrors the tranquil, spiritual and sensual moods of Northern Ibiza itself, transposing the island's visual splendour into 10 equally blissful and reflective aural moods.
