Peter Marckmann - Music

Ever met someone on a train? Better yet, ever met someone on a train and developed a friendship that last nearly 25 years? That's how long Peter and I have known each other and that's how we met. He opened the compartment door on a train from Fredericia to Odense in Denmark and asked if the seat across from me was "free". By the time we arrived in the hometown of Hans Christan Andersen, he had invited me to put up my tent in the backyard of the house he rented along with 4 other students. Peter fed me, shared his extra bicycle so that I could ride around the tiny village 6km outside of the city to make photographs and best of all, played a mean blues guitar and then sang his bittersweet songs of joy and sorrow in Danish for me the whole weekend. I had come back to Europe for the 4th time, this time to try my luck at living and working as a freelance photographer in Bonn, Germany. That summer would have been my first trip to Denmark though. There would be many more. I would even have a major exhibition of my work at the second largest museum in that flat country circled by the sea. And even though I never became the "famous" photographer I longed to be, I did have some wonderful times and have a few friendships from the 80s that still last today. So, it seems only fitting that I feature Peter's music in the premiere issue. He describes his attraction to writing and performing it, in his own words:

"Feeling lonesome and blue, and listening to Dylan and The Beatles is what set me off playing guitar and writing my own songs when I was a teenager. Whenever I've been at the edges of my life, new songs have popped up. My songs have helped me get a hold on my thoughts and feelings about friends, lovers, injustices, being happy or blue, and much more during the past almost 40 years of studying, working as a medical doctor, or doing research. I still dream of and work for my breakthrough as a songwriter. I am Danish and my songs are in Danish, because that's the way I can express myself the best. If you would like to listen to some of them go to: http://www.duoph.soundvenue.dk/ and then find my Mp3 list, choose a song and then click "Afspil" which means "play" in English.

Enjoy...Peter