Sky van Hoff (born 1986) is a multi platinum German record producer, songwriter and musician. He works primarily with acts in the metal and rock genres, including Rammstein, Emigrate, Till Lindemann, Sleep Token, Kreator and Electric Callboy. As of now he's earned 14x platinum and 8x gold certified album productions. Before becoming a producer, van Hoff was a guitarist for metal band Machinemade God and toured extensively with the band until opening his own studio in 2008.
Sky van Hoff | |
|---|---|
 van Hoff in the studio in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sky Hoff |
| Born | 1986 (age 37–38) |
| Origin | Cologne, Germany |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Formerly of | Machinemade God |
| Website | https://www.skyvanhoff.com/ |
Career
editIn 2003, van Hoff joined metal band Machinemade God as a guitarist and signed his first record deal as a band member with Metal Blade Records in 2005.[1][2][3] His first album with the band, The Infinity Complex, was released the following year.[4] He wrote and produced the band's next album, Masked, released the following year.[5][6] After receiving requests to produce other German metal acts, van Hoff opened his own studio in 2008.[7][8] In the years that followed, he worked with Kreator, The Sorrow and Caliban.[9][10] In 2012, van Hoff appeared on the third season of the German version of The X Factor as a musical director for Sandra Nasić's team, where he supervised and produced the "Groups and Bands" category.[5][7] He was a producer for the folk duo Mrs. Greenbird, the winner of the season, and subsequently produced their self-titled debut album released the same year.[11][5]
In 2018, van Hoff contributed to Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe's solo project Emigrate and their third album, A Million Degrees, with production, recording and mixing.[12][13][14] He was later brought in by Kruspe to record and edit guitar parts for Rammstein's untitled studio album.[15][6] Following the album's release in 2019, van Hoff joined the band on their stadium tour as Kruspe's monitoring engineer.[16][6] In 2021, van Hoff produced and composed the music for Rammstein singer Till Lindemann's first solo single, "Ich Hasse Kinder", and was a producer on Emigrate's fourth studio album, The Persistence of Memory.[17] He received notable praise for his work on Lindemann's single from YouTube personality and music producer Rick Beato.[18] van Hoff rejoined Rammstein in the studio for their next studio album, Zeit, contributing guitar production, recording and editing.[17] After the album's release in 2022, van Hoff continued touring with the band as a monitoring engineer until the end of the tour the following year.[8] He again collaborated with Lindemann on the singer's debut solo album, Zunge, as a producer, songwriter and instrumentalist.[19]
Discography
editWith Machinemade God
editStudio albums
edit- The Infinity Complex (2006)
- Masked (2007)
Production and writing credits
edit| Year | Artist | Title | Song(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Caliban | Say Hello To Tragedy | Engineer | |
| 2010 | Kreator | Terror Prevails - Live At Rock Hard Festival | Mixer | |
| Arma Gathas | Dead To This World | Composer (orchestra, synthesizer and piano parts), producer, recording engineer, mixer, arrangements | ||
| The Sorrow | The Sorrow | Co-producer, mixer | ||
| 2011 | Artwon Artown Artnow | – | "Love Rodeo" | Producer, engineer |
| "My Lawyer" | ||||
| 2012 | Kreator | Terror Prevails - Live at Rock Hard Festival, Pt. 2 | Mixer | |
| Phantom Antichrist | Recording engineer (pre-production) | |||
| The Sorrow | Misery Escape | Composer, producer, mixer | ||
| Mrs. Greenbird | Mrs. Greenbird | Producer, recording engineer, mixer | ||
| 2015 | Dikta | Easy Street | Producer, mixer | |
| Unleash The Sky | Youth | Producer, recording engineer, mixer | ||
| 2016 | Drescher | Erntezeit | Producer, mixer | |
| 2018 | Emigrate | A Million Degrees | Recording engineer, mixer | |
| Hannah Trigwell | Red | "Nobody", "Another Beautiful Mistake" | Producer, recording engineer, mixer, arrangements | |
| Hopelezz | Stories Of A War Long Forgotten | Producer | ||
| 2019 | Rammstein | Untitled | Additional producer, recording engineer | |
| Mental Cruelty | Inferis | Producer, engineer, mixer, mastering | ||
| Une Misère | Sermon | "Sermon" | Songwriter | |
| All tracks | Producer, engineer, mixer | |||
| Kassogtha | The Call | Mixer | ||
| Eskimo Callboy | Rehab | "Rehab", "Hurricane", "Disbeliever", "Made By America", "Prism" | Songwriter | |
| All tracks | Producer, mixer, arrangements | |||
| 2020 | Aborted | La Grande Mascarade | "Gloom And The Art Of Tribulation", "Serpent Of Depravity" | Recording engineer |
| Eskimo Callboy | MMXX | "Prism" | Songwriter | |
| Enslaved | Utgard | Engineer, technician | ||
| Ghøstkid | Ghøstkid | Producer, engineer, mixer, editing | ||
| Shape Of Water | Great Illusions | "Scar", "Not All The Things" | Mixer | |
| 2021 | Der Weg einer Freiheit | Der Weg einer Freiheit | Recording engineer | |
| Sleep Token | This Place Will Become Your Tomb | Mixer, editing | ||
| Emigrate | The Persistence Of Memory | Producer, recording engineer, mixer, editing | ||
| Till Lindemann | – | "Ich Hasse Kinder" | Composer, producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2022 | Ghøstkid | – | "Ugly" | Songwriter, producer, engineer, mixer, editing |
| Rammstein | Zeit | Additional producer, recording engineer, editing | ||
| Dikta | – | "Dig Deeper" | Producer | |
| Nebelhaus | – | "Alle Jahre wieder" | Mixer | |
| 2023 | Our Hollow, Our Home | – | "Downpour" | Producer, mixer |
| Till Lindemann | Zunge | "Sport frei", "Altes Fleisch", "Du hast kein Herz", "Tanzlehrerin", "Schweiss" | Songwriter, producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2024 | Ghøstkid | Hollywood Suicide | Producer |
Instrumental and vocal credits
edit| Year | Artist | Title | Song(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Caliban | The Undying Darkness | "Nothing Is Forever", "Army Of Me" | Guitar |
| 2009 | Say Hello To Tragedy | "The Degeneration Of Humanity" | Guitar (solo) | |
| 2010 | Arma Gathas | Dead To This World | Orchestra, synthesizer, piano | |
| 2012 | Kreator | Phantom Antichrist | Programming (pre-production) | |
| The Sorrow | Misery Escape | Electronics, strings | ||
| Mrs. Greenbird | Mrs. Greenbird | "Shooting Stars & Fairy Tales", "After All", "It Will Never Rain Roses" | Bass | |
| Piano | ||||
| 2015 | Unleash The Sky | Youth | "Concrete Walls" | Vocals |
| Programming, synths | ||||
| 2018 | Emigrate | A Million Degrees | Bass, synthesizer | |
| Hannah Trigwell | Red | "Nobody", "Another Beautiful Mistake" | Guitar, instruments | |
| 2019 | Une Misère | Sermon | "Sermon" | Backing vocals |
| Eskimo Callboy | Rehab | Synthesizer, electronics | ||
| 2020 | Ghøstkid | Ghøstkid | Guitar, bass, synthesizer | |
| 2021 | Sleep Token | This Place Will Become Your Tomb | Synthesizer, programming | |
| Emigrate | The Persistence Of Memory | Bass | ||
| Till Lindemann | – | "Ich Hasse Kinder" | All instruments except drums, programming | |
| 2022 | Ghøstkid | – | "Ugly" | Guitar, bass, synthesizer, programming |
| 2023 | Till Lindemann | Zunge | "Sport frei", "Altes Fleisch", "Du hast kein Herz", "Tanzlehrerin", "Schweiss" | All instruments except drums |
References
edit- ^ "Making Tech Work". Sound Radix. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ "Machinemade God". Metal Blade Records. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Blabbermouth (2005-11-23). "MACHINEMADE GOD Sign With METAL BLADE RECORDS". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ Blabbermouth (2005-12-13). "MACHINEMADE GOD: New Album Cover, Track Listing Revealed". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ a b c Behind The Music E26: Sky Van Hoff, Headliner Radio, 2023-05-31, retrieved 2023-10-07
- ^ a b c Allikas, Katrina (2019-09-05). "Sky Van Hoff - Artist Profile". Sonarworks Blog. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ a b "Sky van Hoff". KLOTZ AIS. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ a b Protz, Adam (31 May 2023). "Sky Van Hoff: Guitarist-Turned-Producer on Reaching The Pinnacle of the German Rock Scene". Headliner Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Blabbermouth (2011-10-25). "THE SORROW: New Video Interview, Quality Performance Footage Available". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ Blabbermouth (2010-04-01). "ARMA GATHAS: New Song Available For Streaming". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ "Alles zum Thema X Factor 2012". vox.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ Blabbermouth (2018-10-22). "RAMMSTEIN Guitarist's EMIGRATE Project To Release 'A Million Degrees' Album Feat. TILL LINDEMANN, CARDINAL COPIA". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ "Emigrate veröffentlichen ersten Song aus A MILLION DEGREES". Metal Hammer (in German). 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ Richard Z. Kruspe talks new Emigrate Album & Rammstein, guitar Magazin, 13 December 2018, retrieved 2023-10-07
- ^ Beckner, Justin (15 December 2018). "Guitarist Richard Kruspe Reveals the Member of Rammstein He Fights With the Least". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Waite, Jacob (10 November 2022). "Sky van Hoff trades the studio for the stage". TPi. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ a b Block, Guido (28 January 2023). "Rammstein 2022 Stadium Tour Chooses Waves Products for Guitarist Richard Kruspe's Monitor Mix". LightSoundJournal.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Beato, Rick (2021-06-30), "Reacting to the Top 10 Metal Songs", Spotify Reviews, retrieved 2023-10-07
- ^ Hemsted, Alexander (29 September 2023). "NÆRMEST ULÆKKER TEKST: Till Lindemann offentliggør tre nye singler". GAFFA (in Danish). Retrieved 2023-10-07.
External links
edit- Sky van Hoff discography at Discogs
- Sky van Hoff at IMDb
- Sky van Hoff at AllMusic
