Meet Christian Verspay | Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christian Verspay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christian, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I discovered my love for music as a child and spend hours listening to my father’s record collection, looking at the covers and reading the lyrics. At some point listening was no longer enough and I began to learn the guitar at the age of 12. Then, as a teenager, I realized that I couldn’t imagine anything other than making music. I felt an inner need to devote myself to music. Here I was able to express my creativity and immediately started writing my own pieces for my band. I studied classical guitar at the university of music, but also continued my projects with the electric guitar. Here I was able to express my creativity more and break new ground.
For my new band “Kryptik Wood” I wrote all the arrangements and I am currently working on new pieces. Not a day goes by that I don’t get up in the morning and look forward to picking up the guitar, playing and being creative.
For a few years now I’ve also been playing the hurdy-gurdy, which I really enjoy and which challenges and inspires me anew. To this day I’m happy about my decision and can’t imagine anything else.
For me music is a vital necessity like breathing or eating.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have dealt intensively with different styles of music. In my first band we played rock and metal, then I studied classical guitar and performed as a soloist for a long time. I also learned jazz guitar and studied different types of folklore. I think it’s the mixture of all these different influences that defines me as an artist today. It has contributed to my very own style and has inspired me in my compositions. Of course I am proud of each of my 4 albums that I have released that feature my compositions and arrangements. Each album was a great challenge in itself and developed its own character.

With my band “Kryptik Wood” I have released an album in May called “Black and Grey” which is dedicated to the music of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages with harp, guitar, hurdy gurdy and percussion. The album has been very well received so far and we have 2 great videos on Youtube.

My current solo album with electric guitar “TwentyeightDAYS” was released in October and contains 28 compositions that were created over a period of 28 consecutive days.
Each piece processes the first intuitive, spontaneous musical motif that emerged on the respective day into a composition. In order to develop the project audiovisually, I teamed up with the artist Christian “Zano” Zanotelli, who also processed and illustrated his first intuitive idea for each composition.

Life as an artist is constantly facing new challenges and you have to keep moving to go further. It’s not always easy, but it always opens new doors.
If a concert is not so well attended, you just have to go on and stay focused. The next fully booked event is already waiting.
I think the most important thing is to keep going and being true to yourself.
In addition, you should concentrate on making the artistically best of your works and not on what would sell well or what is currently mainstream.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a big fan of nature, I would grab my best friend, throw a box of red wine and some food into the car and go on a road trip into the incredibly beautiful nature.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve met a lot of great people and musicians in my career, but I especially have to highlight my wife, who has supported me a lot from the beginning, continues to motivate me and encourages me in my endeavors. And believe me, being with a musician is definitely not always easy. Without her I would probably not be able to dedicate myself enough to all my projects. She builds me up when things aren’t going so well or kicks me in the ass when I need it.
I also thank my children for their patience, love and advice on social media issues.
And last but not least I would like to thank my band colleagues Joséphine and Jaime from “Kryptik Wood”, with whom it is simply fun to make music. The recordings for our current album “Black and Grey” were a lot of fun.
In terms of music, I was particularly inspired by the following artists: Baden Powell, Alan Stivell, Django Reinhardt, Stepan Rak, Manowar, Richie Blackmore, Blackmore´s Night, Black Sabbath and Toni Iommi to name a few.

Website: http://kryptikwood.com/en/home/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kryptikwood/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-verspay-414575bb/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KryptikWood

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KryptikWood

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysFYOg_r5c0b_-7UX3kuKg

Other: Website Christian Verspay: http://christianverspay.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0V8B9lTxYEw1yZW2ql9KHv?si=YFav-O0tQKC29S-U3QqMw Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/de/artist/kryptik-wood/1567080838 bandcamp: https://kryptikwood.bandcamp.com/releases Email: info@kryptikwood.com

Image Credits
Marion Koell, George DuBose, Christian Verspay