INTERVIEW: Composing4you – “Music is my passion and destiny…”

Wolfgang Steinwidder started playing flute at the age of six years, but always felt, that he was not the kind of musician to play the songs of others. He heard melodies in his head, so beautiful, that he often started crying. At the age of ten he got his first guitar and started taking lessons. At the age of 14 he started songwriting (1987). In 1992 he started studying at the conservatory of singing and piano. In 1995 he recorded his first songs in Vienna. Then, due love and private troubles he stopped for several years. In 2001 he started writing songs again. In 2003 he founded a band and wrote ten songs for that project. In 2006 he wrote a classical mass that got never released. Then he built his own house and studio and stopped again for some years. In 2013 he started again, and recorded another unreleased song for a sports event. Since 2014, he built up his studio, and wrote several songs. In 2017, he founded Composing4you, and finally started finding his route in a professional way. Until today 9 songs have been released. An album and tour is planned for 2021.

Tell us something about how you got started making music?

Composing4you: When I was a kid, I heard melodies in my head, so beautiful, that I often started crying. I knew from the beginning, that I was no musician to play the song of other composers. I wanted to write my own ones. But I was unable to play what I heard, and so I started learning instruments and so on. But basically I am still small as a sand corn in the universe of music, happy to have the ability to catch a bit of its beauty.

Who were your first and strongest musical influences that you can remember?

Composing4you: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I don`t say that, to get a bit of the glamour of this awesome man, no, I really feel very close to his music. Related somehow. I heard the requiem first time as kid, and still cannot stop listening to it, when already started. It`s like an addiction. That men wrote his own requiem, and made it sound like that. A song for leaving this planet to eternity…and the best piece of music ever made I think. Often got played too fast. The best version to me was directed by Karajan in Vienna in 1986.

If I was to turn on your media player right now, which five artists/songs would I see on your recently played list?

Composing4you: Mmmmhh…let me think…I would choose for Composing4you….and something else…ah yes…composing4you (smiles), No seriously, you would see Europe, Boston, Van Halen, Michael Jackson, and The Pretenders.

What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners?

Composing4you: There are two key elements. First is, that there is nothing fixed, no rhythm, no bassline, and nothing even successful can make me do the same all the time. That`s something I promised, not to do the same things again and again. That is a huge risk sometimes, because I never know if people will like it, and if there will be an audience. Second is, there will be always a mix of guitar and synthesizer in different variations. That`s a basic thing in my feel of music. Maybe because I learned classical organ and guitar.

What do you think mainly separates you from the massive crowd of artists emerging right now on platforms all over the web?

Composing4you: I am composing my music in keys, in the old fashioned, classical way. And I take time. As Michelangelo said “It`s done when it`s done”. The result is everything, the rest unimportant. And I am a passionate. I live it. I am crying, fighting, biting and shouting when doing music in my studio. And I can`t sleep when my baby is calling me, I jump out of bed at 3am morning. Always. Because I love it. I would die for my music. It`s my task and destiny. It`s pure emotion, simply me…made with all my heart and soul.

Do you ever write a song with current trends or pure listener satisfaction in mind, or do you only compose what comes from within your natural emotions and mindset?

Composing4you: To each song I got a vision. One day it hits me….and then I see and hear the song, like finished. And then all I have to do is to follow the way. That’s all. To change that idea would be kind of betrayal for me. That’s why I cannot write for others. My songs are my kids and family. Nobody sells his family, right?

What is your process when writing, recording and producing your music? Do you collaborate with others or outsource any of these tasks?

Composing4you: I do it all by myself. I write the song best in Los Angeles…because there I have the best ideas. Then I go to my studio and record all instruments by myself. And then I record my voice plus backing tracks. It`s all me. Just the mastering is made by Mike, a wonderful friend in Hollywood. Because he is the best to get the best sound out of my songs. In “HOLLYWOOD ROCK” I was working with many other artists for the video, the images, and so on. But the music is always made by me. And that will never change.

If someone has never heard your music, which keywords would you personally use to describe your overall sound and style?

Composing4you: I would call it Melodic Synthie Rock

What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your career or life so far, and how did you overcome the event?

Composing4you: Music is my only love and destiny. I am an absolute passionate. But I am also a passionate in love. And it was a hard experience for me to learn, that I had to choose. And I did, although it was hard. One heart, one soul, one vision.

What would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your career so far?

Composing4you: Just happened. Radio New York is playing my song on Airplay every three hours. That makes me crazy happy, and is the biggest success in my career so far. Another will be my upcoming shows, planned for 2021!

Is there anything you would change one thing about how the music business works right now, or you completely happy with the current situation?

Composing4you: The music business is no person or nothing we can catch. The business are we all. When the business is changing, then because of the fact that technologies and lifestyle is changing. Like smartphones. Media of music can change. But one thing will never ever change. Our hearts. The beauty of the moment will always have listeners. Always. That`s the way we are…human.

How do you handle criticism and/or haters in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

Composing4you: I never ignore anybody. My music is made for all people, and I am just the servant of my audience. If some people don’t like me, then I still love them. And I hope, that I can convince them to keep listening to my songs. And I love their comments. We musicians are like birds. No problem when many birds are in a swarm with different colors. But when alone in the desert without any other bird around we gonna die. We need the audience. Yes.

Which aspects of being an independent artist excites you most and which aspects discourages you most?

Composing4you: Big record companies are having lots of know how about Music marketing, and they have the experience and the contacts to the main Broadcasting stations. That is something very difficult to get for an Indie artist. But it is not impossible. Personally I prefer to be free from contracts. As an Indie I am absolutely free.

What is your relationship with visual media? Do you think videos are important for your music, and do have a video clip you would like to recommend that fans watch?

Composing4you: I think that videos are essential to visualize your idea of the song. With a video you can show your audience what you felt when writing that song… Or even better…show them your vision. In “HOLLYWOOD ROCK” I crated a video from a special kind. It is animated. You can watch it on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxk3ibPxR2E

In general, do you consider Internet and all the social media platforms as fundamental in building a career in music today, and what is your personal relationship with the new technology at hand?

Composing4you: I think, today we have to use many different ways to reach our audiences. Social media is one of them. Also the website. But still I don`t think that it is the most important part. I still think that the music is the most important thing. My personal feel is, that my audience on social media is different from the audience on Youtube for example. That shows, that we are able to reach different people with different tools, and that`s an ability we didn`t have in earlier times.

What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of artistry and entertainment?

Composing4you: I cannot talk about in this in general. But I got a very strong vision. I am dreaming about a world united in love. A world for all of us, no matter Where we come from, or which religion we belong to, because we are all from the same kind, we are all looking for love. Only together we will be able to solve the upcoming tasks. I think that musicians have the ability to make people think about things they would probably ignore otherwise. So we have got a very very important role as the speakers for love and human rights, against war, and for a united world. John Lennon said once “You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one. One day you will join, and the world will be as one.” Oh yes!!

Do you only create and work in a studio environment, or do you also find time to perform live? And which of these two do you ultimately prefer and why?

Composing4you: Not yet! I go the opposite way. First comes the music, then live. 2021 there will be the first composing4you album, and then we gonna start the tour. This tour will take place in the major US cities but also the European ones. And it will be a permanent situation. This tour will have no end. I wanna be with my family (my fans) as much as I can, and I can`t wait! It gonna be a great time!

Do you have a recent favorite track in your catalog that has a specific backstory and/or message and meaning very dear to you?

Composing4you: I love them all…they are my babies!! Each of them has got a unique story. “Why I don`t have to cry” I wrote in a plane above the clouds, while crying, had just lost my girl. And thought, I don`t have to cry….but still I did. “Love the USA” is one of my favorites, because it is true. I love the USA with all my heart. It is my country, and my spiritual home as long as I live. Always. It is a love song to my country.

Could you tell us something about your latest project?

Composing4you: “Hollywood Rock” was my longest journey so far. It took 6 months to finish the song. It started in January in Hollywood. I went there to get inspiration for my new song. But I met beautiful young artists, highly talented, living under poor conditions, but with fire in their eyes and working on their dreams in a way I never had seen before. That changed me and my way to see my work, and inspired me. It was late at night, and we were on the way back from a pub. There are still some unused stars on the Walk of Fame. On such one we promised to get our names in there. I will never forget this moment. In that moment “Hollywood Rock” was born. I wrote it on keys in burger restaurants on Hollywood Bvd and Sunset Bvd. And when it was finished, I flew back to my friends, and they were the first to hear the new song. Oh yes.

What do you find most rewarding about what you do? And do you have a specific vision or goal that you would like to achieve in the near future?

Composing4you: I think the most beautiful reward I can get is a place in the heart of my listeners. That is where I want to be. Without expecting anything back. When I released “Our angels will come tonight” a woman wrote, that she sent the song to her beloved daughter, who lived far away from her, and who she could not see often. She madly missed her, and sent her my song as love message. I think this world should be united in love, no matter where you come from, no matter which religion you belong to. Because we are one on this planet. Yes. I thank you very much for the possibility to talk about my dream.

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