Under his Kryshe moniker, Germany’s Christian Grothe has produced some of the most beguiling and mesmerising experimental ambient music released in the last few years. His improvisational approach and incredibly delicate and atmospheric use of guitar, piano and digital manipulation is very much his own, married to an almost alchemical sense of composition. His most recent release, In Between, exemplifies this with its shimmering grandeur and wide, warm open spaces. One of the real highlights of Kryshe’s music is its undeniable emotional dimension – this is not music to help forget the world, but rather to soundtrack and mark your experiences within it.
So without further ado, we ask Christian to reach into the bag and pull out three questions…
What kind of activity is your music made for?
When I listen to music, I like to get lost in the world of sound. I try to make music that I can get lost in, so maybe that’s the activity it was made for. But you can also use the music to create a nice atmosphere, just like you might light a candle.
What song of yours is most important to you and why?
The Growing EP is very important to me and I see it as one song because it came out of one live session. Although my sound is now a bit different, the creation of that EP was part of the process of developing my live set, and therefore a very important step in exploring the way in which I make music.
Why make music?
I make music because I’ve never done anything else! Because I’m a quiet person, when I make music I feel like I can express my stillness. Ideally, the music I make in the moment feels like an extension of myself. And maybe that’s why we’re here: to experience ourself. I think music is a very good way to do that.