Dieter Dierks

Dieter Dierks was a studio owner who hosted, recorded, and produced many important German bands from both the Progressive Rock and Jazz-Rock Fusion as well as Krautrock veins of music. Dieter was the owner of Dierks Studio and Dierks Productions, which started in the attic of his parents home in Stommeln, a suburb village outside of Köln. Two years after starting his recording studio, he had become popular (and successful enough) to build a self-contained studio in his parents' backyard. He also purchased the apartment building next door to use as a lodging residence for visiting musicians and their families and entourages. The studio became quite famous (and sought after) for its less-hectic, rural pace and serenity. As the pastoral setting became known and sought after, the name Stommeln became a desirable haven for many recording artists--thanks in no small part to the legendary cooking and care of  Dieter's mother, "Mother Dierks," who had stepped in to start a catering company built around her son's recording studio.

     Nektar and the Scorpions were two of the more famous bands whose careers Dieter helped launch and sustain. Among the other bands who used Dierks' studio to launch and/or cement their careers were Krautrock bands like Ihre Kinder, Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, Witthüser & Westrupp, Wallenstein, Birth Control, Guru Guru, Amon Düül, Can, Gila, Floh de Cologne, Grobschnitt, Popol Vuh, Atlantis, and Manuel Göttsching. He also helped German Prog Folk bands Hoelderlin and Bröselmaschine as well as Jazz-Rock Fusion bands like Embryo, Passport, Orange Peel, Epsilon, Krokodil, as well as Krautrock super group Cosmic Jokers founded by music visionary Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and jazz-rock fusion superstar, Klaus Doldinger. 

     In 1974 the company added a mobile recording studio--the first of its kind in the area, Dieter wanted to expand into the specialty of trying to capture high-quality recordings of live concert performances for many of the visiting artists from all over the world. A short list of some of these artists include Al Jarreau, Fats Domino, Oscar Peterson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Chapman, Ella Fitzgerald, The Platters, Brian Auger, Lou Reed, Nana Mouskouri, Santana, and Chicago. 
     With the successful guidance of the Scorpions into international fame, Stommeln became a destination for international top stars to flock to, including the likes of Ike & Tina Turner, Eric Burdon, War, The Boomtown Rats, Dokken, and Irish rock and blues musician, Rory Gallagher.