CCK
Life Is Beautiful
© 2004 BlackMudSound Records / CCKmusic.com
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
SPECIAL: 10% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!
70ies FUNK rocket met a Studio 54 disco ball & said hi to a guy called R&B which knew about that chick ELECTRONICA & went totally HIHOP to the LOUNGE to finally realize, that life is truly beautiful - & walked home with a smile ...
tracks
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
Recommended if you like ...
links
notes
::::::::
WHAT'S THE STORY ... for those who want one ::
70ies FUNK rocket met a Studio 54 disco ball & said hi to a guy called R&B which knew about that chick ELECTRONICA & went totally HIHOP to the LOUNGE to finally realize, that life is truly beautiful - & walked home with a smile ...
:::::::::
WHAT YOU WILL BE HOLDING IN YOUR HANDS ... if you don't download, imagine ::
A kick-ass CD & 16 smashing tracks in a jewel case with a beautiful 4color 16page leporello pop-art booklet . All lyrics, all covers, all art..
:::::::::
WHO DID WHAT ... we care to share ::
Produced, written, composed & arranged by CCK for CCKmusic.com
Vocals by Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley, Jen Chapin, Ginger McKenzie, Julian Velard, Maya Azuzena, Juliette Tourret, Polina Goudiva, Tonni Smith, Full Nelson, Jimmy Rage & CCK .
Vocal production & arrangement by CCK .
All instruments by CCK .
Assistant production by HM Buff .
Engineered by HM Buff & EZ Reed .
Recorded in New York City, Munich & Paris .
:::::::::
WHO'S THAT GUY WITH THE THREE CONSONANTS ...
CCK seems like a COMET . At first you have no idea where he comes from, what message he carries & what tempo he travels with . But all of a sudden he touches the ground . And everything becomes clear...
Well, the MOTHERSHIP that brought CCK to this planet was very well chosen . It's true, he was on stage & at the piano even before he was born - in the womb of his pregnant mother, a well-known concert pianist & book author .
Then, as soon as he could touch the keys, CCK did what was his destiny . He made music . He started improvising & playing the piano from the day he can remember . Soon thereafter he picked up the drums . Before he was just 10 years old, he started playing boogie woogie, fell in love with jazz & gave his first little public concerts in piano shops, schools & at open art events at his parents' house . At age 16 he gave his first real professional solo concert .
After several recording sessions for radio stations before that, he first sang on a record at age 10 . That was for the very elite DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON GESELLSCHAFT . At the studios of the world's most famous classical record company, CCK's mother recorded an album of her own now famous children songs, together with a gypsie free jazz group & a group of wild kids, among those a wild young CCK . The then shocked record company still needs to keep the record at large numbers in stock . Since this first recording session he has been featured on many recordings until now . Still a teenager, he started producing his mom's records (over 30 to date) . Over the years, he has been successfully producing many other recordings for several artists & record companies .
A few years after graduating from high school & after having recorded 2 CDs in his native Germany, he moved to the US, got his Bachelor of Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston (where he received 2 Berklee Performance Awards) & his Master of Music at Manhattan School of Music in New York City (2 President's Awards) . Whenever asked about his formal studies, he always says, that life is the real school . His true education was trusting his instincts, believing in his feelings & knowing, that what one has to offer is original . "Creativity & creation need no education. It is or it ain't" he says out front .
Since the age of 17, CCK has been touring the world. From NEW YORK to MONTREUX, HAVANNA to BOMBAY, PARIS to ATHENS, SRI LANKA to MEXICO CITY, BUKAREST to CYPRUS & so on, he gave countless concerts at big festivals, famous venues & played at renowned clubs .
The BOSTON GLOBE called him "A PIANIST WHO SOUNDS LIKE NO ONE ELSE" & DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE raved about his "percussive storms" on the piano . His piano solo concerts in those prestigious venus are probably the wildest stuff, you've ever seen. It's like "Liszt 2005", how a well-known musician friend of CCK once said . It is complete freedom & takes you on a ride into the keys of his imagination.
In his carreer, so far, CCK has played & recorded with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Bobby McFerrin, Salif Keïta, Living Color's Will Calhoun, Kenny Garrett, Richard Bona, Bobby Watson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Jamey Haddad, Anthony Cox, Joachim Kühn, Greg Osby, James Genus & many more . He still dives deep into afro-funk with his group SUN MUSIC & explores music from many other corners of this world .
Since 1993, CCK makes NEW YORK CITY his beloved home . He actually lives in an old loft on the Bowery in the East Village of Manhattan . Not only was that avenue the driveway to Peter Stuyvesant's mansion (one of the first settlers in New York) . It's also just around the famous "5 Points", a historic place documented in the Hollywood movie "GANGS OF NEW YORK" . It also was the home of many artists since the 50ies . The loft he lives in used to house German immigrants around 1900, was a hayloft in the 20ies, a jazz club in the 60ies (where the jazz legends & some of his early heroes where hanging & playing) . Among other strange things, it also housed an after-hours club in the 80ies . Now, once you enter his loft, you are in CCK's zone . An open space, a peaceful shrine, a creative cell, an exciting vibe & inspiring focal point in this rushing city of all cities .
A willing slave to his imagination, CCK loves to cook, designs graphics, clothes, interiors & other things . He equally loves to chill on his fire-escape (a very rare thing these days), overlooking the Manhattan skyline . Creativity is his being, communicating the beauty of life to the world his motor, touching people his destiny .
Before this new "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" project came together, CCK had released 12 ALBUMS under his full name CORNELIUS CLAUDIO KREUSCH. Mostly jazz, funk, worldmusic & chill out . He received several GRAMMY NOMINATION list entries & a 1.PRIZE at the USA Songwriting Competition in the jazz category (while being the only one to also place among the finalists in two other, the hiphop & electronica categories) . He furtheron received the Scala-Award for best new artist, several prizes at piano & composition competitions & other honors . Once his name got mentioned a lot, people started calling him just CCK .
After many fruitful years with a few different record companies (among those BMG, ENJA, ACT ...), he decided to do it himself & founded BlackMudSound Records in 2002 . In not even 2 years they built a catalogue of close to 100 tracks, 11 products, amazing CD box sets, vinyls & wonderful digipacs with extensive booklets . The design is exquisite throughout & the music is created by CCK with the help of his musician friends . The label operates out of offices in New York City & Munich, Germany . It's run with a family spirit & you can feel the love & friendship among everybody there . They all are out to make this label happen & enjoy life while they are doing it .
"I only have one simple message to share", CCK explains. "I want to touch the hearts of all human tribes. Now, if I want everybody to feel it, I have to learn all their languages to be able to communicate my story to them. But the original message or feeling stays the same. So whoever likes me to say it in jazz, get my jazz records, or my chill-out records, or my worldmusic records, or check out my production on dance remixes & pop music. Or get 'LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL' . It's in everything I do!".
'LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL', his latest album, truly defines a new direction in CCK's life . On this record he mixes a whole lot of different styles & genres . Like when he's cooking, he puts in this or that, adds the spices & stirs it up real hot . This stew here consists of POP, FUNK, ELECTRO, R&B, HIPHOP & LOUNGE. Somehow, it really melts seemingless together into one epic journey in song & sound. It's like a city with different hoods . Like a world with many corners . Like a being with different feelings .
Although, he is not one of those obnoxious shower-wistlers, he loves it when a hook, melody or riff won't leave one's head no more. "I live music . And I love music that touches you & many others" . POP, for CCK, is "the distilled essence . It is within everything & everything is within it ."
The 16 songs on this album are sung by 10 different amazing singers from New York, Paris & Jamaica . There's Cheryl "Pepsii" Riley, Tonni Smith, Full Nelson, Maya Azuzeña, Julian Velard, Jen Chapin, Ginger McKenzie, Juliette Tourret & Jimmy Rage plus CCK himself . The music was recorded & produced in his CosmiCK.studios, in New York City, Munich & Paris . And at airport lounges, on mediterrenean terraces, in the back of the tour van & some other strange places . The sound engineers on this project include, amoung a few others, HM Buff (who has worked with Prince, No Doubt, Mousse T etc), assistant producer as well, & EZ Reed (Naughty by Nature, Guru, Queen Latifah etc) . CCK wrote, composed, arranged & produced (including the vocal production) the record . And with a handful of exceptions, he played & programmed all instruments himself. Truly, this record is born from a passionate being, bathed in an independent spirit & battered with funk instead of Botox .
Until his early 20ies, CCK suffered from severe astmah . After being hospitalized many times, he now runs the New York City Marathon & does extensive Yoga . Overcoming obstacles in life helped him in becoming himself . People, who have met CCK say that he stands for pure freedom, energy & feeling . They say, he electrifies, inspires & challenges . Time Out New York says "CCK: A WILD RIDE!" & United Press International promised "a bright future" for CCK . Bring it on . You make the difference .
Hey & remember, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL .
REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE NEWS SAY !!!
:::::::::
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT & CHECK OUT THE FAMILY OF RELATED MUSIC ::
THE ALBUM >
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (BMS-009)
16 smashing tracks
pop / funk / electronica / r&b / lounge
THE SINGLES >
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (BMS-008) ::
radio edit
club remix
life is sexy remix
NEW YORK CITY - uptown downtown (BMS-007) ::
radio edit
club remix
hiphop remix
nyc sextended
lounge remix
THE VINYLS (available through our website at CCKmusic.com) >
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (BMS-010) ::
club remix
disco shark remix
album version
CosmiCK.remix
NEW YORK CITY - uptown downtown (BMS-011) ::
club remix (long version)
CosmiCK.remix
nyc sextended (long version)
hiphop remix (long version)
:::::::::
WHAT HIS REAL FAMILY DOES ::
Whoever wants to check out his family's work, go to ...
CCK's mother >
DorotheeKreusch-Jacob.com
recording artist, book author, music paedagogy icon, concert pianist
CCK's younger brother >
JohannesTonioKreusch.com
classical guitarist, recording artist, composer, professor
CCK's younger sister >
CarolinCamillaKreusch.com (under construction)
sculptor (wood & steel), painter, performance artist
CCK's father >
cares less about publicity