Sky van Hoff

German musician and producer

Sky van Hoff

van Hoff in the studio in 2021

Background information
Birth name| Sky Hoff
Born| 1986 (age 38-39)
Origin| Cologne, Germany
Genres|

* Rock
* metal
* indie
* pop

Occupations|

* Record producer
* musician
* songwriter
* composer
* engineer
* record mixer

Instruments|

* Guitar
* Bass
* Drums
* Vocals
* Synthesizer
* Keyboards
* Orchestral Arrangements

Years active| 2003–present
Formerly of| Machinemade God
Website| https://www.skyvanhoff.com/

Musical artist

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 14× platinum and 8× 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.

## Career

[edit]

In 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

[edit]

### With Machinemade God

[edit]

#### Studio 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  | Der Weg einer Freiheit | Der Weg einer Freiheit |  | Drum Recording engineer
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  | 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 Denegation 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]

1. ^ "Making Tech Work". Sound Radix. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
2. ^ "Machinemade God". Metal Blade Records. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
3. ^ Blabbermouth (2005-11-23). "MACHINEMADE GOD Sign With METAL BLADE RECORDS". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
4. ^ Blabbermouth (2005-12-13). "MACHINEMADE GOD: New Album Cover, Track Listing Revealed". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
5. ^ a b c Behind The Music E26: Sky Van Hoff, Headliner Radio, 2023-05-31, retrieved 2023-10-07
6. ^ a b c Allikas, Katrina (2019-09-05). "Sky Van Hoff - Artist Profile". Sonarworks Blog. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
7. ^ a b "Sky van Hoff". KLOTZ AIS. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ Blabbermouth (2011-10-25). "THE SORROW: New Video Interview, Quality Performance Footage Available". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
10. ^ Blabbermouth (2010-04-01). "ARMA GATHAS: New Song Available For Streaming". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
11. ^ "Alles zum Thema X Factor 2012". vox.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-11-05.
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ "Emigrate veröffentlichen ersten Song aus A MILLION DEGREES". Metal Hammer (in German). 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
14. ^ Richard Z. Kruspe talks new Emigrate Album & Rammstein, guitar Magazin, 13 December 2018, retrieved 2023-10-07
15. ^ Beckner, Justin (15 December 2018). "Guitarist Richard Kruspe Reveals the Member of Rammstein He Fights With the Least". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
16. ^ Waite, Jacob (10 November 2022). "Sky van Hoff trades the studio for the stage". TPi. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
17. ^ 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.
18. ^ Beato, Rick (2021-06-30), "Reacting to the Top 10 Metal Songs", Spotify Reviews, retrieved 2023-10-07
19. ^ 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