aki traar

music between contradictions

I was born in Vienna but grew up in a few different countries. Growing up, my Mother - an english teacher from the tiny city Hollabrunn (AUT)- loved to move around - mostly taking sabbaticals. Usually at least 2 of my (now) 4 older sisters would come along, until they would be old enough to move out and it was just me and her.

We lived in L.A., Brighton (UK), Québec City (CAN), Vienna (AUT), and Duino (ITA). With all the perks of seeing the world and learning different languages it was also hectic for me as a kid. As for many people, music (with all its accessories) became a safe-space from the madness. I started playing electric guitar when I was roughly 10. When I was 16 the Internet in Italy (where I was living) was so bad that my friends and I couldn’t really ‘stream’ music. We went to the local cafe and downloaded it - it became a rare good for us. I was initially going to study political science in Scotland after High School, however, I had to come back to Austria to complete the mandatory military service - during that time I started producing music and applied for the Vienna Music Conservatory and got accepted.

Now I see myself as a person that works in and with music (I struggle to define myself as a ‘musician’) I work in many different fields: I produce/write/sing and perform songs. I’ve played concerts and festivals around Europe including Paris, Basel, Bolzano, Vienna, Bratislava, etc. I also do a lot of composing for Stage and Theatre having worked on plays performed at Burgtheater, Volkstheater, Salzburger Festspiele, SNG Drama Ljubljana, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Schauspielhaus Graz, etc. I finished my degree in Electroacoustic and experimental Music at the Vienna Conservatory with distinction, went on to finish a Bachelors Degree in Musicology at the University of Vienna, and am currently completing a Masters Degree in Classical Composition at Bruckner University in Linz.