Living Theater

Living Theater
The Story Behind It All
In 1989, PolyGram (now known as Universal Music) moved me from my native New York to Köln, Germany. For the next seven years I produced countless European artists in their native countries and languages (French, Dutch, German, Italian, etc.). After receiving gold and platinum record awards in those territories, I was asked in 1996 to relocate to Athens, Greece.
Upon my arrival there, I quickly became fascinated with the integration of Eastern-based instruments found in Greek pop-music. Guided by a profound calling and what seemed a sudden otherworldly perception, I became the first foreigner in the history of the Greek music industry to successfully arrange and produce Greek language recordings. Although that would have seemed challenging enough and a victory to be content with, I was further inspired to elaborate on my collective world experiences by integrating the various musical styles I had worked with since 1989
While living in Greece, I became aware of the abundance of DJ-compiled CDs in the market and decided to conceptualize a compilation that would embrace all the musical styles and languages that I had encountered during my time in Europe.
I began by writing a complete landscape of music and then proceeded to find undiscovered talent from around the world to guest in their native languages and musical styles. My intention was to navigate a global musical mother ship and christen it Living Theater.
The first collection producedLiving Theater Volume One: Modern Music From the Mediterranean and Beyond, contained fourteen tracks and was released in Greece under my own label (Kunduru Music) during the summer of 1999. Living Theater was an immediate favorite with trendsetters and fashionistas alike, spawning an instant hit, Solo por tu amor sung and co-written by Venezuelan-born Manuel Franjo. In the months following, seven additional songs from this release where licensed for use on more than a dozen CD compilations worldwide. Continuing the series with Living Theater Volume Two: Modern Music for Modern Minds and Living Theater Volume Three: Metamorphosis,the songs from Living Theater continued to find their way onto countless compilations, television programs and independent films, helping to make the music of Living Theater the most recognizable original series in the Chill Out/Lounge scene today.