Son of a German mother and a Ghanaian father, Duke was brought up in Germany. His musical experiences were marked by the German punk/hardcore scene in his restless youth and then very soon by the discovery of the beauty in Funk, R&B, Jazz, Classical music and German songwriters.

In ’94 Duke studies Jazz vocals at the Maastricht conservatory for 2 years offering access to a diversity of styles - e.g. Gregorian music -and leaving a great impact on his musical path. While searching for new musical inputs his way led him to Brussels-Belgium where he played with the Malagasy guitarist, singer & songwriter Miary Lepiera, who probably stays the person with the most influence on Duke’s music.

The panoply of African music Brussels had to offer in the nineties allowed Duke to develop his rhythmic guitar picking style. He has worked as a software developer for a belgian aviation company during 8 years and has rarely performed in that period. Despite all these years Duke has not lost the urge to create and perform music.

At present Duke is performing his own songs solo and is working on his first album.

Miles Davis
Al Jarreau
Duke Ellington
Miary Lepiera
Bad Brains
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ben Harper
Georg Friedrich Händel
Tuck and Patty
Habib Koite
busi mhlongo
Cassandra Wilson
Joe Hisaishi
Arvo Pärt
Hannes Wader
Konstantin Wecker
and quite a few others

Prudencio Saez concert guitar
Seagull Series 6 steel string guitar
Fender Strat Mexican