GEIST - Book of Light - INDOCTRINATION

It’s finally here! It has been a true labor of love and all the people that have inspired me and worked with me on this song, thank you! A special shout out goes to Patrick Abbate, who is literally shredding his guitar on this song.
Grazie, Patrick!

So, what is the song about?

To me, the song represents a musical and visual representation of all that is happening to us, as we consume more and more social media. A steady stream of meaningless content that assaults our brains, leaving us numb and feeling depressed. I’m very worried about the kids especially. STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA and play in the streets, in the garden, in the woods, at the beach!

For the older generation, it is a song that makes us think. It makes us appreciate more of what we have and the relationships we cherish with each other. But enough of psychoanalyzing everything, enjoy the music!

GEIST - Book of Light update

Hi there, so I wanted to updated everyone on the progress the album is making. Yesterday, I have put down final vocals on ‘PURE’ featuring Nick Black on Vocals and ‘Phenomenon’ which is a new track I had to include on the album. Both track are now ready for mixing. As with everything in life, it takes time to finish your vision of what it should sound and feel like when you work on music. Sometimes, the idea for a song comes out of thin air and you just have to go with what the universe tells you. You just have to listen closely. So, as for news this month, Halloween is upon us and the holidays are fast approaching. It’s always a good time for me to be creative and complete unfinished tracks and see the entirety of the Book of Light album. So, I wish everyone a good week ahead and remember, stay true to your inner self.

Concert For Peace II - Save the date!

GEIST is honored to be a part of this fantastic event! We will be represented with 2 songs: ‘ONE WORLD’ and ‘WE WON’T BREAK’. So save the date!

“Music is the language of the spirit.

It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”

• ― Kahlil Gibran

  FREE CONCERT - GLOBALY STREAMED

  Simply scan the QR code above OR click this link: http://knekt.liveto access the live stream on September 21st @ 10am PT!!!

  United Nations Association - Southern California Division | Rotary Action Group for Peace | Santa Monica, CA 90403 US

GEIST - ‘MonolithS’

‘We all live in the shadows of the monoliths…’
That’s how the lyrics begin…

I know I said summer break, but when the muse hits you, you just have to listen and follow your instincts. I have always been fascinated by the concept of Monoliths.
What do they stand for?
What do they represent?
Why are they here on earth?

Form the early days of ‘A Space Odyssey 2001’ from master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, I was intrigued as a kid watching that movie, to suddenly having monoliths show up all around the world in 2020 during the pandemic. I wanted to cover that topic musically. So, I have been working on a story about monoliths. At first, it started out as a ‘story song,’ something to play in the background while the GEIST story is being told. And then, well it happened to turn into a real song for the ‘Book of Light’ album.

I will post more updates about this as I go long…

Blasts from the Past - 'Ausgetrickst' ZDF Film from 1991

Recently, a few songs from my early musical career have surfaced online.

The first one was a ZDF Film production for the German movie: ‘Ausgetrickst’.

It originally aired in 1991 with end credit song called: ‘Into Paradise’, performed by myself and recored and produced by Michael Hofmann deBoer in Munich, Germany.

I don’t remember the exact date of the recording, but I think it was somewhere around 1987-88. There have been a lot of online forums that have been searching for the song for over 18 years and you can read about it in the comment section on Youtube. It was never published as a song itself, only in the movie version.

Blasts from the Past - 'Black Roses' BMW Roadster Z3 commercial

The song one was called: ‘Black Roses’ and was used for a BMW commercial showcasing the Roadster Z3.

It was performed by myself and recored and produced by Michael Hofmann deBoer in Munich, Germany.

The background vocals feature an artists named Hannah Grace.

This recoding was right around the same time as the ZDF movie above, so around 1987-88.

This song was never published as a single or album recording.

GEIST is on summer break!

Thanks for checking in with us. GEIST is currently on summer break. Much needed R&R for the creative personnel. We will be back in early September this year with new music, stories and videos. Thanks for stopping by. Lots of love, Martin Cole.

GEIST - 'Washed Ashore' gets fresh tracks from guitar maestro Markus Illko

Great session last night with recent Grammy winner Markus Illko recording acoustic guitar tracks for 'Washed Ashore' a new song for the 'Book of Light' album. Thanks again, Markus Illko for those wonderful guitar elements. Welcome to the GEIST family, Markus!

“Markus Illko can be defined in one single word: musician. ”

— VOYAGE LA, 2019

Many people attempt to make music, but few earn that illustrious title. Those in this business reserve that label for the rare individuals who constantly demonstrate a high level of talent, skill, taste, and sensitivity over a long period of time. To these people making music is not simply a diversion but is a matter of blood and guts. That a serious addiction to making music runs through ILLKO’s veins is made clear from a quick review of his career.

An Austrian native, Markus’ musical education began the moment he signed himself up for guitar lessons without permission from his parents. Just three years after his first lesson, at the age of 16, he passed the exam to the prestigious University of Music and Art in Graz (Austria) and became one of the youngest students in his class. He soon played in venues throughout the world, including Austria, Hungary, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Czechia, and Cyprus. Performances included TV appearances like Barcelona-TV (Spain) or live radio broadcasts such as “Let’s Spend A Night Together“. Winning several prizes proved his status as an extraordinarily skilled guitarist and in 2006 Markus received the Prize of Honor for his achievements from the University of Music and Arts Graz (Austria).

In recognition of Markus’ craft as a guitarist, he gets as well frequently invited to festivals and universities, such as Hollywood in Vienna Symposium (A), Music Festival Lassing (A), Guitar Festival Vienna (A), International Guitar Festival Kapfenberg (A), Guitar Festival Hersbruck (D), Music Festival Lassing (A), Guitar Festival Mikulov (CZE) and Music Festival Montserrat (ESP), just to name a few.

In addition to pursuing his solo career both in the U.S. and abroad, few musicians are able to work in such a great variety of music styles and genres that Markus has been fortunate enough to work in. Besides the frequent touring he composed music for advertising and films including the Signation for the Primetime Emmy Awards for Austrian biggest TV Station ORF, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Tyler Perrys “A Madea Christmas” and “Single Moms Club” as well as many more. “Writing for visual media has always been very rewarding for me and it ultimately made me come to Los Angeles” states Markus when talking about the reasons for moving into the City of Angels.