Tom Ripphahn

hi, i'm tom. i live in frankfurt now, although i've lived in various places over the years. amsterdam for example, london, and also nashville for a while. i'm a singer/songwriter and producer, and also a sound engineer if asked. i have a passion for all heartfelt and genuine music, no matter what style or where from. it's got to be real, though. my recording studio is called 'analoghaus', because i also have a passion for recording to tape. it's not so much a question of sound, although i've got a couple of arguments for that at the ready, but more a way of life, a philosophy. i like the dedication and decision that recording to tape demands. most bands i've recorded reached a higher sonic and musical quality through working on tape.when i was 12, a friend at school gave me a mix cassette that contained 90 minutes of music that meant nothing to me. except this one song that had a ridiculous amount of echo on the vocals and everything else. The singer sang out of tune most of the time, but didn't seem to care. He sang as if he didn't care much about this ordinary world anyway. There was so much joy and pain in his voice. He made me see, feel a world bigger and more beautiful than the one i was born into. This song was the door to a life i wished i could lead, this singer was the man that i wanted to be. i used to lie in bed at night and hold the cassette player close to my ear in the dark and tried to crawl deeper into that sound. the song always left me in high spirits and deeply depressed at the same time. i knew i had to change my life.that song is 'stand by me' from john lennon's rock'n'roll album. it still has the same effect on me, like so many other songs now. it is my reference. i judge the quality of my work by it. if a song or a production i've been involved with evokes that or a similar feeling, i know it's been worth the effort.that's me in nutshell. be well!