"I am Korny" is a roots-based indie rock artist from Germany with a story to tell. At the symbolic crossroads of his own life, he walked away from a comfortable existence in support of the music that makes him whole.
Somewhere between the Blues and Dixie, "I am Korny" writes songs about being a touring musician, and the reality of night after night on the road. He opted to leave security behind, in order to experience that rare freedom of being completely dedicated to art and creative expression. His songs are morbid and bittersweet allegories about the sacrifices he has made, and will continue to make, and the fleeting joy he experiences as a conduit for "that never-ending wanderlust, that thirst for freedom and adventure." His story is that of a classic, Faustian bargain wherein he gives up his soul in exchange for the ability to move mountains with his music.
It all began in 2013, on a porch somewhere in Cincinnati, with his guitar in his lap, gazing over the mighty Ohio river. "Back then I had already given up on music," I am Korny says. But music hadn’t given up on him just yet. His is the music of an outlaw, perceiving his otherness not as a burden, but as a crown.
New EP "Sleep Ain’t Paying My Dues" channels this restlessness into 6 songs that explore I am Korny's chosen persona as a wandering merchant of gloomy sounds, fatally infected by America's sheer vastness. These are songs of itinerant spirituality, of voodoo blessings, and gritty timelessness. The title track to "Sleep Ain’t Paying My Dues" exhibits the classic characteristics of I am Korny's vagabond aesthetic - the blues shuffle, the roaring fuzz-guitar, and the irreverent attitude of a sparkle-eyed traveller who just can’t afford to go to sleep.
