Culminating a staggering back catalogue of 115 albums in a career spanning over 2 decades, German Underground Ambient/Electronica Legend Michael Brückner has only just started receiving the recognition he truly deserves since he began posting his music on the internet only 10 years ago.
*Due to the unexpected (but highly appreciated) volume of some of the answers, I have created an ‘appendix’ at the bottom of this feature so you can read up on Michael’s influences/recommendations in more detail.*
I would personally like to thank Michael for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer my questions in such a detailed manner, he made this feature possible and all the more pleasant! I should probably have written more of an introduction but I think you will agree that Michael managed to put it better than I.
Read on for a complete profile of a true uncovered gem from the Ambient/Electronica dimension!
Introduction
by Brückner
Maybe I should briefly introduce myself: I'm an Ambient / Electronica artist from the upper south-west of Germany (near Frankfurt). Although I started to compose and record music in 1992 (when I was 21), I did so (more or less) only in the privacy of my music room until early 2006, when I (urged by a friend) started to present my work in several music related networks (...first of all MySpace, back then).
At that point I had already accumulated a rather large number of albums which - except for family, a few friends and one music journalist - no one ever had heard. During the ten years since then, I was lucky to find a small (but appreciative and supportive) audience, and new albums now receive more attention (reviews, radio airplay, interviews - even sales occasionally) than I ever had thought possible when I started in 1992, and for that I'm most grateful.
I earn a living for my little family as a graphical designer (I have studied communication design from 1995 - 2003) in a very small (but fine!) family-run printing company in Mainz (four people, I'm the only employee). Business is hard for small, traditional printing companies since the rise of first home computers and then internet printing companies, and we consider us very lucky to still be around.
Before dabbling in music, I was an aspiring illustrator & painter, and also a writer of science fiction / fantasy / surreal stories. These creative activities however have been (sadly) in hibernation for too many years, since it became hard for me to balance my profession and family life with being an artist - so I concentrated on music.
DMD: What albums really influenced you growing up?
MB: That is a really hard question, because I was a record collector and there were so many. Also from so many genres - I was listening to (almost) all kinds of music: from medieval or Rennaissance music to Death Metal, from Irish (and other) Folk to Techno, from Singer / Songwriter to Experimental Avant-Garde, and so on...
I had (and always have) a soft spot though for the so-called "progressive" rock music from 1968 to 1978, a period that I still consider the golden age of music. The electronic music of that period, which later became crucial for me, was just one (although very interesting) part of it for me when growing up, though...
So, the list would be (very) long, and I'd still feel I had omitted something important. I have tried to concentrate on electronic music (with a few exceptions).
As a boy:
Soundtracks by Ennio Morricone, John Wiliams, Peter Thomas etc.
As a teenager:
Klaus Schulze, "Audentity" and "Mirage" (...and "Dune" and "Trancefer"...)
Mike Oldfield, "Ommadawn" (etc.)
Pink Floyd, "Wish You Were Here" and "Meddle" (etc.)
King Crimson, "In the Court of the Crimson King" and "Red" (etc.)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, "Brain Salad Surgery" (etc.)
Yes, "Fragile" and "Going For The One" (etc.)
Jon Lord, "Sarabande" (and everything he did with Deep Purple, especially "Fireball")
Tangerine Dream, "Rubicon" and "Stratosfear" (etc.)
Talk Talk, "Spirit of Eden"
In my early twenties (so rather late, but still crucial for what I do today...):
Andreas Vollenweider, "The Book of Roses" and "Eolian Minstrel" (etc.)
Massive Attack, "Blue Lines" and "Protection" (etc.)
Peter Michael Hamel, "Organum" and "Bardo" (etc.)
Peter Gabriel, "Passion" (and the soundtrack of his game "Eve")
The Future Sound of London, "Lifeforms"
Steve Roach, "Dreamtime Return"
Brian Eno, "On Land" and "The Shutov Assembly" (etc.)
Of TREMENDOUS influence also was the music of the yoga community I was part of throughout the 90’s (...basically Indian mantras and kirtans in very tasteful "modern" arrangements) and also original Indian, middle eastern and North African music, etc. - but also some mix V/A CDs with trance, acid and other dance music, and one music cassette I found one day labeled only "Drum and Bass" with some brilliant music I loved and listened to a lot, without ever finding out who the artists were...
Please note the very conscious omission of Kraftwerk - although early on I had their second album and the single of "The Model" (which I liked) I never listened much to them, and most of their albums (which of course were groundbreaking in the 70’s) I've heard only two or three years ago for the first time in their entirety (to close that gap in my musical education). Quite likely they influenced me still by influencing everyone else who influenced me later!
DMD: Not considering musical influences, what inspires you to compose the music you make? (art/film/earth/space etc)
MB: Art, film, earth, space -all of this, and life in general (my experience and idea of it, and my impression of other people's, and creatures, lives...). Also spirituality, philosophy, psychology. And "just" curiosity, playfulness and maybe a general impulse, or wish, to create something hopefully beautiful or meaningful during my lifetime which gives other people some joy and / or some new experience etc. -and myself a feeling of being alive.
OK - so here's another very incomplete list including some films and books, and visual artists, that and who are important to me.
Books (fiction):
Michael Ende, "The Neverending Story", "Momo" and "The Mirror In The Mirror" etc.
Richard Adams, "Watership Down"
Howard P. Lovecraft, "Cthulhu and other Stories" (etc.)
Steven King, "Nightshift and other Stories", "Pet Cemetary" (etc.)
Olaf Stapeldon, "Starmaker"
J.R.R. Tolkien, "Lord of the Rings" but also "Leave by Niggle" (etc.)
Books (non-fiction):
Erich Fromm, "The Art of Loving"
Stanislav Grof, "Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death And Transcendence In Psychotherapy"
Peter Michael Hamel, "Through Music to the Self"
Joachim-Ernst Berendt, "Nada Brahma: The World Is Sound - Music and the Landscape of Consciousness"
...and many different books and articles on psychology, philosophy, religion, and Indian, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and many other kinds of mysticism.
Film directors / films:
Charlie Chaplin, "Modern Times", "The Great Dictator" etc.
Laurel & Hardy, (...just about everything!)
Stanley Kubrik, "2001 - A Space Odyssey", "A Clockwork Orange" etc.
Ridley Scott, "Alien" and "Blade Runner"
Steven Spielberg, "Jaws", "Schindler's List" etc.
John Carpenter, "Dark Star", "The Thing" etc.
Tim Burton, "Edward Scissorhands", "Big Fish" etc.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, "Amélie"
...but also many independent film makers and small budget movies.
Painters:
Pablo Picasso
M.C. Escher
Salvador Dali
Frida Kahlo
*A full list is included at the bottom of this feature*
DMD: You must have witnessed the ambient/electronic music scene change a considerable amount over a long period of time, Is there anything you miss about that past music scene?
MB: Well, to be honest: the years since 1992 rushed by so quickly it doesn't seem to be "a long period of time" at all.
And as I've said in my short "biography" above, I worked more or less in isolation until 2006 (and even then it took me some more years to really arrive in "the scene"); also, as a listener, I never was only into electronica, but rather appreciated some electronica along with many other kinds of music, and I didn't follow much what was going on in contemporary electronic music.
So: the only first hand experience I have is from recent years, otherwise I only know about the past music scene from what other musicians (and fans) told me (or from what I read now and then). It seems that in "the past" musicians sold more albums, and concerts / festivals had larger audiences. Of course, these two things are desirable for any musician.
I know a colleague of mine who used to sell ambient albums by the thousands in the early 90’s, then by the hundreds some years later. Today he more or less "arrived" at the same (humble) sales of smaller artists like me. Another prominent ambient artist, Robert Rich, said about this topic in a recent interview:
"Everyone is a pollywog in the puddle now."
On the other hand, without the blessings of the internet and the (relative) independence from record companies to publish music (or art in general), I guess I never would have found any listeners at all - and never would answer this interview (just for example).
So, like many things, both the past and the present situations had positive and negative aspects; but all in all I'm quite happy at the moment, concerning the scene: there is a very openhearted and vivid exchange, support and mutual inspiration between artists, and an openminded public, and also a lot of reviewers / journalists / radio hosts who work on the same level than many electronic artists (which means: not making a lot of money from it, but doing it for art's sake in the first place), and this is a good thing, I think, and very encouraging.
DMD: What artists today are you are really into?
MB: Again, I came to know SO many really brilliant, highly gifted artists since 2006 (when I "entered" the internet) that it's impossible to name everyone who impressed, and probably influenced me a lot and deserved to be highlighted.
On the other hand, ever since I started to dabble in music myself (and then have a family and a daytime job) my spare time to listen to other musicians (unfortunately) shrunk away, therefore it's impossible to follow everyone.
So, here are a few examples of artists/projects who had a huge impact on me during the past few years (OK, in some cases past 12 years or so - but it still feels rather "recent" to me... ;-) ):
Laurie Spiegel
Mouse on Mars
Aes Dana / Vincent Villuis
Hector Zazou
Lightwave
Craig Armstrong
Stephen Parsick / ['ramp]
Markus Reuter
...but most of all: Robert Rich!
I only started to listen to his music two or three years ago, and what a big revelation it has been - and continues to be! I can't believe that I didn't discover his music earlier (well, he had contributed to "Dreamtime Return" but I didn't realize that back in the 90’s). I'm still in the process of devouring and digesting all of his work, which will probably take me some more years to do, and it's like a string of masterpiece after masterpiece; somehow what Robert does (and also often what he writes, or says in interviews) is so much my cup of tea that, in a way, I completely feel at home in it...
And I still listen to Klaus Schulze almost on a daily basis!
My musical taste also never really changed. Once I love a piece, and album, an artist or band, I keep on doing so (with only a few exceptions). The same music that gave me kicks 35 years ago still does so today. But I don't just stick to the old stuff, I appreciate great new music just the same.
Maybe the emphasis, or focus (of my listening habits) slightly shifted: since about ten years ago for example, I listen to much more electronic music than I used to do, and to less rock or jazz.
I also listen to less ‘songs’ and more instrumental music, plus I listen to more quiet music than loud and fast music.
But that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy or appreciate these other things anymore when I do listen to them. I just do it less often...
DMD: You have had a huge number of releases over the years, do you have a particular favourite? Or is every track special to you?
MB: It's a little bit of both, I guess.
In the case of any album that I released, I personally liked it at that time and thought it was good enough for offering it to others to listen. That it was a complete statement, a gestalt, a coherent "sonic story".
That doesn't necessarily mean that I was of the opinion that every single track was "the best" I ever did. Rather, that it worked well enough within the idea I had for a given album, that it expressed what I wanted to express in that moment. Certainly I sometimes was aware that I probably had made some better tracks before - but those were already done, and for a different context.
So I always try to come up with something new, for the new context, I struggle with the new challenge and try to achieve the best result I can. And when I arrive at a point where I can - at that moment - not do it any better, I accept it as it is. Of course: IF I basically like the result.
It also happens that I start some track and it never works at all - in that case, I usually delete it and just start something new...
Then, naturally on looking back over these more then twenty years, you start to see differences, and with the distance of years (and maybe evolution of skills) there are many mistakes, or questionable decisions, or flaws that become visible which often first were overshadowed by the enthusiasm about a fresh release.
I tend to be a little blind about certain aspects of what I do as long as I'm actually working on the material.
Probably it would be wise to start a project, and when it's done wait five years, and then revisit it - maybe correct, change, balance things better, and THEN release it.
But, I don't have that kind of patience. I'm always bubbling over with new ideas, I can't keep up realising the projects in the same speed that they spring up in my mind - I have a strong urge to get things done to be able to do the next thing. I don't know, I often tried to discipline myself in that respect, but until now, I never managed to...
On the other hand, there are some albums that seem to stand out when looking back, and which indeed are special to me. But I'm not sure if that means that these are my "best" albums - because often I find that my listeners have their own favourites, quite different from my own preferences. But anyway - here are some of them, in chronological order:
"A New Age" (1997)
"Incarnation Generator" (1999)
"Movies Moving in my Head" (2000) & "Drones" (2001) (which are the first and the last parts of a loose "trilogy", "Mousic" (2001) being the middle part)
"The Outsider" (2002)
"Ornitheologique" (2003)
"First Half of the Moon" (2004) (...containing the one track I worked longest of all on - about a year in total - and if I'll rerelease it, I will work on it again. It's called "Silent Lie")
"One Step Behind" (2005)
"Daydream" (2006)
"Days In The Sun" (2008)
"Ombra" (2010) & "Ombra - Revisited" (2014) (an updated and extended re-release)
"Eleventh Sun" (2012)
...the albums from 2013 on are still too close to me - which means they ALL are favourites. :)
Well, after thinking about it, I have to say: the truth is that I still like all of them! In some cases, maybe they are hard to defend (like some very cheesy, new-agey ones in the late 90’s or some naive attempts at dance music). But I like them anyway...
DMD: Tell me about your latest release Hikari…
MB: Oh yes. It was released March 8th. It's a charitable release to bring some relief to a good friend, Rick Chase, who's wife died of cancer a year ago, and in addition to that tragedy he ran into (unbelievably huge) debts because of the medical bills.
And there are several further projects in the pipeline; if all of them, or which of them exactly, will really be released this year is not sure by now.
But definitely there will be a second album with drummer Tommy Betzler (we released one - called "TWO" - in November 2015), again with a couple of guest musicians.
DMD: Today, the next generation of artists and composers use internet platforms such as Bandcamp and Spotify to sell and showcase their music to the public, What is your opinion on the current state of the music industry? Do you miss the days when physical music was the only media available?
MB: Well, as I've said before, although I'm an active recording artist since more than 20 years I didn't really enter the "music business" before 2006, when already everyone was crying about the internet, piracy, and mp3 - so, I guess at least in this respect I'm rather part of that "next generation", offering my music via Bandcamp, like anyone else. And, well: I'm quite happy to do so.
Of course I also have that old-fashioned affection for lush physical releases - I adore those huge, book-like double or triple vinyl concept albums of the late 70’s that would unfold like a gothic altar, displaying wonderful illustrations etc. - all those things that the punks hated so much. I love that!
But… on the other hand, just two hours ago, when tidying up my little music room, I struggled to fit some new CDs I bought into the crowded CD shelf and at some point thought: fuck this shit, I'll only purchase downloads from now on... (Laughs)
So, like always, everything has (at least) two sides...
DMD: On last December’s compilation release “Scattered All Over” you include a quote from the Book of Luke in the Bible, are you religious at all? What are your personal beliefs?
MB: Well, as You probably already have guessed from my list of books: I consider myself a "spiritual" person - not necessarily "religious" (at least not in a narrow sense). I grew up as a member of the rather liberal protestant church and for some years had an intense "christian phase" (during which I already was interested in some mystic and "occult" matters, too).
In my early twenties I joined a community that practised a meditative form of yoga (including mantra chanting and a - female - guru) and I followed that for some ten years (or in a very loose and vague way, you might say that I still do so today). It was a very openminded community though, and encompassed many other forms of spiritual traditions in addition to the basically Indian concept, like Sufism, Jewish and Christian mysticism, etc. It was, by the way, through singing mantras and playing kirtans etc. on a harmonium that I started with my own music, and some of the lovely people I met there gave me impulses that were very important for the road I would take with my music (especially classical cellist Christoph von Erffa, who triggered my interest for microtonal music, among other things).
As for my personal beliefs, it's difficult to describe them in only a few words. In a way, they have grown more vague over the years; I have a strong believe that something we might call "spiritual" lies at the core of everything that occurs in the universe, or maybe simply IS the universe. I'm not sure at all what exactly this might be; some called it "cosmic energy grid", some call it "nature" - I still call it "god" because that's how I'm used to call it and it still works well for me (and even as a boy I never seriously imagined it as an old bearded man).
As for the Bible, there are certainly words in it which are still valid for me, which make sense to me, and which - to me - seem to convey a higher kind of truth. But I don't think that everything is true, or great, just because it happens to stand in the bible, nor do I think the bible is the only book that ever expressed any truth.
That special quotation ("The kingdom of god lies within you.") for sure seems to resonate with truth for me; then that album was my Christmas album last year, so it seemed suitable... ;-)
DMD: Were you formally trained on piano or did you teach yourself? Also do you play any other instruments?
MB: In fact I'm (almost) completely self taught, although I took piano lessons for about half a year in 1993 or 1994.
But in fact I never really practised and instead cobbled together my own "compositions" and made a cassette for my teacher, asking her what she thought about it!
The truth is that I'm still in no way a "proper" pianist, or keyboarder. Without electronics I'd be rather lost (although I had a habit of continually improvising on my wife's piano over the years, by which I acquired some - very limited - "skills").
Still, when playing live I try to do actually perform live (play by hand) as much as I can, because it's a challenge for me and more interesting and satisfying for the audience. But I think it's not my forte, and my playing is usually more sloppy than brilliant. Unless I have one of these very good days, which happens once or twice a year...
As for other instruments, I don't "play" any - but I do "play around" with many: I occasionally use guitars, flutes, percussion instruments, glockenspiel and whatever I get into my hands and try to create some interesting sounds with them. Which sometimes works, although I can't really play any of them properly...
So, my main instrument still is the computer, followed by (hardware) synthesizers and keyboards.
I would love to collaborate with all kinds of instrumentalists to add more instruments to the mix; occasionally that already happened, but less often than I wished for. I especially like cello, for example…
DMD: Referring to "The Outsider" do you have a favourite HP Lovecraft book/collection/tale? (At the mountains of Madness is one of my personal favourites) Also, What other genre fiction writers are you a fan of?
MB: Ah! Howard, my old friend. Like looking back into the past and seeing my own reflection in an old and dusty mirror!
I don't really know why, but from the first moment I came in touch with his writings (and later biographical writings about him) I felt so drawn to him that at times I even briefly entertained the idea of being his next incarnation.
A troubled soul and very weird guy for sure! With many problematic views. But such a kind heart still, too. Favourite stories...? Well: "At the Mountains of Madness" for sure is brilliant, and I love it. But maybe I'd still prefer "The Colour out of Space", or "Pickman's Model". "Call of Cthulhu"...? Great! "The Rats in the Walls"? Too! Or how about: "The Music of Erich Zann"...? "Shadow over Innsmouth" is another classic! As is "The Haunter of the Dark" and "The Whisperer in Darkness". Then the dream fantasies - of them maybe "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" is my favourite. Lovecraft! My brother!
There is a brilliant long essay on HPL by French writer Michel Houellebecq, by the way, called "Against the world, against life" which I strongly recommend - about the best commentary on the topic I've ever read (and I've read quite a few).
As for other writers, I've already mentioned some above, but when it comes to weird fiction / cosmic horror and such, here are some guys I like:
Clark Ashton Smith, a contemporary and (letter) friend of HPL who wrote a couple of really outstanding short stories (along with a lot of rather mediocre or even right-out lousy stuff). But his best work is top notch!
Try "Genius Loci" for example, or "The Coming of the White Worm" "The Seed from the Sepulchre" or "The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis"...
Wiliam Hope Hodgson's "House on the Borderland" for sure is a masterpiece of cosmic horror; he did also write some more conventional horror stories, which are not bad, but not as outstanding. Then his magnum opus "The Nightland" is very fascinating, although due to it's artificially "baroque" language it's hard to read.
Algernon Blackwood is another classic horror writer that I enjoy a lot, especially "The Willows".
Of more contemporary horror writers, Stephen King has succeeded to transpose many Lovecraftian topics into modern (and more professional) writing; actually I think that King is a quite brilliant author and has fully deserved all of his success.
More recently, I also enjoyed Neil Gaiman's "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" a lot, as well as David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas".
Many more might come up if I think about it longer….
DMD: Who have you done Graphic Design Work for?
MB: No one you are interested in, I guess!
As I've said above, I work in a small company, our customers are local business people in the first place, or lawyers, doctors, sometimes also local artists, or private people who need invitation cards for birthdays etc. We also used to work a lot for a catholic academy, and other churches. Only occasionally a local musician, no one you will know. Most of it is (from my perspective at least) routine work, what we call "bread and butter" in German: flyers, small posters, business cards - occasionally books, like privately printed autobiographies. Sometimes small magazines or catalogues. Such things, nothing spectacular. If you like, you can visit our little (and already rather old) homepage here...
On the other hand, I have made the design of all my own albums (and the cover art of most, although in recent years I tend to invite friends who are visual artists for this...). And all the other visual stuff I need to promote and support my music. Occasionally, I also have created a cover for a friend, and some logos; for example the logo of the SynGate sublable Luna was created by me...
DMD: Are there any live performances occurring this year?
MB: Hopefully, yes - although just a few, and except one, they still need confirmation. There will be one performance in a cafe in Mainz (the city where I live near to) with fellow musicians Mathias Bruessel and Fryderyk Jona in June, then maybe a festival appearance in November with Tommy Betzler (although not at the main stage) and perhaps another concert with Tommy in late August or September.
And who knows: maybe something spontaneous will happen...
DMD: Do you prefer analog or digital recording? Or the best of both?
MB: That's an easy question, after all!
Best of both, please! Why have less, when you can have it all...?
Speaking of the chance to "have it all" - since I'm not overly blessed with material wealth, my equipment always was very basic, and very humble. I never had the chance to just buy and try anything I find interesting; rather, I try to get the best out of the few ramshackle gadgets which I happen to own. So I'm probably not the best person to ask that question haha!
DMD: Finally, In your youth did you experiment with any mind-altering drugs? If so, how big an effect did they have on your writing?
MB: I fear I'm more the drinking type; I had some rather serious problems with alcohol when I was 18, 19 years old - but fortunately I learned to handle that and ever since I have had my drinking habits in check.
Then - actually I would have loved to try some LSD, really - but in fact I never did so far (and maybe for the better...).
Occasionally some Marijuana, most of it in my early twenties, and it never seemed to have a strong effect on me.
However, I have read two books by Stanislav Grof in which he writes about the results of his LSD experiments in the 1950’s and -60’s. Most interesting! He later found techniques that included what he called "holotropic breathing" and music, which were able to induce the same states of mind in people than LSD. These techniques actually, were quite similar to (and, I guess, partly borrowed from) yoga meditation.
I can say that on several occasions I had strong inner experiences like those people had under LSD (most of them in the mid 90’s when I was actively practicing yoga) - and for sure these influenced me on many levels. I think that a tendency towards introspective and contemplative music and art - like drone ambient, for example - or towards repetitive, hypnotic, potentially trance inducing musical patterns, a certain degree of surrealism or "otherworldlyness" might have been emphasized by these experiences (although some interest in that direction had already been there before...).
To state it very clearly: although the results of LSD research are indeed fascinating, remember that they took place in controlled circumstances and under guidance of experienced (and sober) persons. And most importantly: we don't need chemicals to reach these states. So just swallowing some stuff without proper preparation and guidance will quite likely not turn out so cool and even is dangerous.
A girl I once had a relationship with when I was about 20 used to say:
"The best drug is a clear mind." I can only agree to that.
You can purchase and stream Michael's latest release Hikari
here
Many other of Michael's albums can be found on bandcamp
here
INFLUENCES APPENDIX
MUSIC/LITERATURE/FILM/ART
Albums
as a teenager:
Jean-Michel Jarre, "Oxygène" and "Equinoxe" (etc.)
Vangelis, "Opera Sauvage" and "Beaubourg" (etc.)
Kitaro, "Silk Road" and "In Person"
Ashra, "New Age of Earth"
Edgar Froese, "Aqua"
Asmus Tietchens, "Nachtstücke"
Propaganda, "A Secret Wish"
Michael Hoening, "Departure from the Northern Wasteland"
Keith Jarrett, "The Köln Concert" (etc.) - and also many other ECM jazz musicians, like Eberhard Weber, Jan Garbarek and so on...
Albums: In my early twenties….
Robert Fripp, "The Gates of Paradise"
Ezra Sims, "The Microtonal Music of..."
The Orb, (...the title escapes me, I only had a copy on cassette, which had vanished years ago)
Dead Can Dance, "The Serpent’s Egg", "Into The Labyrinth" etc.
Tiamat, "Wildhoney" (etc.)
Books (Fiction)
Philipp K. Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (etc.)
Wiliam Hope Hodgson, "The House on the Borderland"
Jorge Luis Borges, "Fictions"
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "One Hundred Years of Solitude", "Collected Stories" (etc.)
Umberto Eco, "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum" (etc.)
James Graham Ballard, "The Voices of Time and Other Stories", "The Crystal World" (etc.)
Brian W. Aldiss, "Report on Proablitiy A" (etc.)
Film Directors/Films
Douglas Trumbull, "Silent Running"
Peter Weir, "Picnic at Hanging Rock"
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Terry Gilliam, "Brazil", "The Fisher King" (etc. ...and of course anything by Monty Python!)
Jim Henson & Frank Oz, "The Dark Crystal"
Walt Disney (Studios) & Pixar, "Jungle Book" (etc.) "Up" (etc.)
Andrey Tarkovski, "Stalker" and "Solaris" etc.
James Whale, "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein"
Painters:
Max Ernst
Michelangelo
René Magritte
Albrecht Duerer
Hieronymus Bosch
Christian Schad
Leonardo da Vinci
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Claude Monet
Felix Nussbaum
Gustave Doré
Caspar David Friedrich
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Peter Brueghel
Edgar Ende (the father of Michael Ende, who was a not very successful surrealist painter)
Friedensreich Hundertwasser
Lady Frieda Harris (illustrator of the Crowley Tarot set)
Illustrators (most of them SF / fantasy):
Chris Foss
Jim Burns
Patrick Woodroffe
Roger Dean
Mouse & Kelly
Gottfried Helnwein
Friedrich Hechelmann
Torsten Wolber (...his early, unknown work only)
Quint Buchholz
Comic / graphic novel artists:
Carl Barks (!!!)
Hergé
Art Spiegelman
Walter Moers
Franquin
Jean Giraud (Moebius)
Philippe Caza
Charles M. Schulz
Dik & Chris Browne
Bill Watterson
Don Martin
