Born in 1970 near Bremen, Germany, Christopher von Deylen found his musical calling very early on. Fascinated by albums by electronic artists such as Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre and encouraged by an open-minded piano teacher, Christopher spent many of his teenage nights experimenting with synthesizers and sequencers. In his High School band he played the synthesizer and while still in school he also acquired his first recording engineering skills. After completing his Applied Cultural College Studies with a pre-masters course in Music in 1993 he pursued his music career dream in earnest.
A friend of the family, legendary German music publisher Peter Meisel, introduced him to the studio scene in Hamburg where he landed an apprenticeship in the legendary “Boogie Park” and “Chateau du Pap” recording studios, where he gathered valuable experience in studio work and used every spare minute to put his own ideas into practice. 1994 saw the release of his first single production under the pseudonym f.l.y.: “Feel the Rhythm”. The record flopped, but this didn’t put him off, and he continued on his musical path undeterred. He got involved with the most diverse production projects, conscientiously developing his sound.
From dance project TANK (“Can u Feel the Bass”, top 20 single charts) to creating electronic sequences for DIE PRINZEN, to the hit album “Golden Boy” by SIN WITH SEBASTIAN, produced together with INGA HUMPE (these days the voice of “2RAUMWOHNUNG”) – there were constantly new and exciting challenges. He even was asked to arrange the music for the MDR (mid German broadcasting company) talking book production of “Lord of the Flies”, produced a Remix of the 80s ICEHOUSE classic “Hey Little Girl” and released a cover version of the ART OF NOISE hymn “Moments in Love”.
Finally in 1998 SCHILLER was born. At first it was just a club-oriented project with dance elements. But already in the Schiller debut album “ZEITGEIST” (1999) there was a clearly audible urge to push the musical boundaries. Guest vocals by Hans Paetsch, Oliver Rohrbeck (“DIE DREI”- classic German children’s audio book series) and the duo Voelz / Pigulla (the German synch voices of the “X-Files”) introduced the spoken word element in SCHILLER’s world. With this direction in mind and seeking to do something unique for the approaching millennium, in 2000 von Deylen took a little break from music-making and embarked on a long road trip with his father from London to Beijing. The impressions of this 2 month-long journey are reflected in Schiller’s second album “VOYAGE” .
Released in the summer of 2001 in Germany, it went straight to number 1 in the album charts and stayed there for the rest of the summer – more than a month. The single “Dream of You” with PETER HEPPNER of WOLFSHEIM turned into the most successful Schiller single so far, and marks the beginning of a fruitful collaboration. As with the previous album “ZEITGEIST”, “VOYAGE” was recorded in the bedroom of von Deylen’s two room apartment in Hamburg. Television teams from ARTE, ZDF and RTL crammed themselves incredulously into the cramped attic to report on the phenomenon that is SCHILLER. “Voyage” was awarded a “Platinum Disc”.
Excited by the musical openness and pulsating life of the German capital, von Deylen moved to Berlin in the spring of 2002. After setting up his own “livingroom” studio, he embarked on recording the third Schiller album “Life”. With guest artists such as PETER HEPPNER, KIM SANDERS, SARAH BRIGHTMAN or VELJANOV he succeeds to refine the SCHILLER sound further. Again a big success the album earns another “Golden Disc”. Visuals always having fascinated von Deylen, it seemed only logical that he went on to compose film music for the first time in 2003. He collaborated on the soundtrack for the film “Gate to Heaven” by WIM WENDER’s student VEIT HELMER. The film starring UDO KIER won various awards at international film festivals and became a blueprint for STEVEN SPIELBERG’s airport drama “TERMINAL” starring TOM HANKS.
Following several solo appearances (ARTE TV’s MUSIC PLANET 2NIGHT and on the “Club ship AIDA”, an invitation from German President Rau to perform at his official residence SCHLOSS BELLEVUE (2002) and a concert in the Gehry building at the Brandenburg gate in Berlin, SCHILLER’s first live tour in the Spring of 2004 is inevitable. Schiller performs all the highlights from his albums at twelve sold out concerts. Due to the enthusiastic reaction from the fans and excellent reviews from the media another 9 live dates are scheduled for November of 2004. The according Live DVD received the DVD Champion Award of 2004 for best music DVD.
To top off an exciting year the fall of 2004 sees a series of rare SCHILLER remixes: After Sinead O’Connor and the voice of CLANNAD, MOYA BRENNAN, hardcore German rockers RAMMSTEIN come knocking at von Deylen’s door, and get a powerful emotional remix of their single “OHNE DICH”.
Most of 2005 was consumed recording the fourth original Schiller album “DAY AND NIGHT”. Von Deylen solicited contributions from new collaborators Moya Brennan, Mike Oldfied, Jette von Roth and once again Kim Sanders and Sarah Brightman for what turns out to be his most international offering yet. Success is imminent with a Top 5 Chart Entry and another “Gold Disc” to follow. On the back of the success Schiller embarks on a second tour of Germany, with a presentation so spectacular it receives a coveted Opus Award 2006 for best sound design. The according LIVE DVD is certified Gold.
Having opened up new markets in Europe, Asia and Eastern Europe in 2005 and 2006 Christopher von Deylen is now directing his focus on breaking SCHILLER in the USA. Already enjoying steady sales for his first three albums in the USA on Radikal Records and having enjoyed Top 10 Chart Success on Billboards Electronic charts with two Singles, the album “DAY AND NIGHT” – released by new label 4 West Records – will connect Schiller LIVE with a devoted fan community in North America. A handful of select appearances are planned for fall 2007 with a full tour being organized for the summer of 2008. If reaction to recent LIVE shows in Dubai, Russia, Albania and opening for Depeche Mode in Athens, Greece are any indication, the world is ready to embrace Schiller.
