Marcel Cobussen Professor of Auditory Culture, Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University  Academy of Creative and Performing Arts

At the age of 4 I listened to all the sounds of the small village where I grew up. We didn’t have television yet, and the radio was only turned on to hear the news and the weather forecast.

At the age of 14 I had my first encounters with all kinds of rock music: glam rock, hard rock, symphonic rock, jazz rock. First came Mud, then Deep Purple, followed by Yes and Genesis, before I dedicated my ears to Gong, Magma, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

At the age of 24 I was studying jazz piano at the Rotterdam Conservatory. I got acquainted with Bill Evans, Thelonius Monk, and my favorite, Paul Bley.