Are you still here? I thought you finally deserved a sign of life. No, there’s no news, unfortunately. I just wanted to wish you Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to the New Year. But while I’m at it, I can also tell you a little bit about what’s going on here. Well, more like what’s not going on, actually.

Oh, this is Jin writing. Nice to meet you.

I wish I could announce something. But the truth is, we haven’t done any music together for at least six months. Writing that makes me feel kind of sad. Things become more real when you see them spelled out in black and white. But there’s no point in denying it. Our rehearsal room is covered in cobwebs and our instruments are gathering dust.

Why is that? There are two main reasons:

Firstly, we’ve lost our producer. Well, he’s still here, but not really. Hans hardly ever leaves his room anymore. All the fuss about his mum has really got to him. I think he also felt a little let down by us. Now he’s withdrawn completely. I know he’s making music. You can hear it when you go downstairs into the hallway. Just not with us. Getting along with people has never been easy for him. I understand that it’s more comfortable on his own. Or with AI. It doesn’t contradict him, doesn’t have its own opinion, just does what he wants. Will that make him happy in the long run? I doubt it. I would try to coax him out of his cave, but there’s also...

Reason No. 2: Our singer-songwriter is also indisposed. Don’t worry, C is fine. But Leo has disappeared. For real this time. No word from her in months. Cell phone isn’t working. We have no idea where she is or what she’s doing. You know that C and Leo are super close. I always found it fascinating how two such different people could be so attached to each other. The truth is, without Leo, C is only half there. Aimless, indifferent, and above all, totally uncreative. I tried to send him a few piano chords, but no response.

So that’s how things are with us. Not so great, I know. But better times will come again. Definitely.

Just so you don’t go completely empty-handed, I’ve recorded a piano version of “lɪbɛlən” as a little Christmas surprise for you. I hope it brightens up your holidays.

And now: Have a wonderful christmas time! Don’t argue too much with your family. Sprinkle love around and let yourself be sprinkled a little too. Use the quiet time to get in touch with your inner self and find what’s really important to you. Then start 2026 as a new person.

Big hugs!

Jin & The Holy Loneliness Collective

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The band is taking a summer break and this is also an opportunity for me to catch my breath and take a brief look back.

While the first season of ‘The Holy Loneliness Collective’ was made possible with the help of funding from the Covid-19 era, the second one was an attempt to put the project financially on its own feet. For me, it was never about making money. The idea was simply to generate a little extra income to buy me the time to keep the project going. And perhaps at some point to be able to pay an illustrator again.

At the moment, the situation is such that the membership fees are not nearly enough to achieve either of these goals. And there is no sign that things are heading in this direction either. I have therefore decided to cancel the premium subscription. THLC is now free again for everyone.

However, this also means that I will no longer be able to post regularly at a fixed interval. I have to prioritize commercial projects to a certain extent in order to make a living. Beyond that, whenever I have the time and energy to pursue projects purely for the love of art, I'll be tinkering with new THLC material. I already have a few songs in the drawer that want to get out. So sooner or later there will be something new here.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has subscribed to this newsletter, who reads along, writes comments and messages and thus helps to shape the story. But above all to those who have supported me financially over the last few months. I really appreciate that. Thank you very much!

With that, I'm off for a summer break for the time being. See you soon, I hope!

Christoph Klinger

by the way spotify deleted our song mɐʀiupol | just like that | supposedly because there were some fake streams | but what can we do if some random dude lets his bots listen to our song? | we have nothing to do with it | but no way to appeal or defend ourselves | there's not even an email address you could write to | well luckily the song is still online as part of the lɪɐxdɐloː ep | so if you wanna listen to it you can still find it that way even on spotify | but you better listen to music somewhere else anyway | I'm pissed off by the whole dump >

so we'll be off | for a while at least | if there's anything to report we'll be in touch | new music or something | will definitely come at some point | until then take care and keep it up >

hans and the rest of the holy loneliness collective

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the question is what next | yesterday we all came together and talked it over | we definitely wanna work on new songs | but no pressure | maybe a little break first | but something will come sometimes | i guess >

and then i dared to say it | that i don't wanna do the social media stuff anymore | sorry it's nothing against you guys | but i'm just really not the type for it | none of the others volunteered either | so i had the idea and they can't refuse that | we'll just let you guys vote | our fans | definitely better than drawing matches >

so >

p.s. | don´t dare to click on my name | it´s only there to make everything look fair and stuff | right?

somehow everything feels pretty good now | i hate to admit it but maybe jin was right | maybe something had to come out >

and it gets even better | silke had at least agreed to have another talk with everyone | but we didn't do it | not necessary anymore | next day the helmet guys left | dismantled the scaffolding packed up the tools and gone | they left a pile of dirt behind ok | but we can deal with that | and in the afternoon silke packed her things too | no point in sprucing up the old dump she said | too much hassle | and then she was gone | no idea where | but who cares as long as she´s not here >

why the change of heart? | no clue | can you make sense of it?

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ok | so i have to talk to silke | but i'm not doing this alone | you guys are coming along | you got me into this after all | here's the link | let's go

let´s go

till was the most difficult one | not cause he was against it but cause we had to make him talk to us again first | he was still hiding in his room | but that's not really possible | i've been there too | you have to go to the bathroom or eat something every now and then | we really had to sit on watch and when he was out we secretly sneaked into his room and then we were just there when he came back | he didn't like that at all | he´s pale | doesn't look too good | the others had to work him over big time til he finally got his mouth open | then it all gushed out | he also apologized | to me | was a little awkward | didn't know what to say | so i apologized too | don't know what for | but it probably didn't hurt anyway | in the end we agreed that we wanted the construction work to stop | and that silke has to move out again >

but here is the catch | cause now not only silke lives here but also her workmen | there are enough empty rooms | they sleep there in metal bunk beds | no idea how many | probably fifteen or twenty | they all look the same with their helmets and dungarees | do they even take them off at night? | so silke got an army | we can't just kick her out | and of course she won't go of her own | leo and jin told her that we want the work to stop | she doesn't care | would be total nonsense to stop it now she says | would cost her a fortune for nothing | then leo shouted at her so that i could hear it all over the house | but silke just laughed | said she could break the heating in leo's room again if that's so important to her >

so what now? | there are three options and you have to help us decide >

leo thinks we should just kick her and her helmet guys out | she could round up some people to help us | doesn´t surprise me she knows people like that | keff and his bros weren't exactly peaceful either | leo says that´s the only way | cause brute force is the one language silke will understand >

of course c isn't comfortable with that | he believes that silke is only doing this because she likes having power over us | and that's why we should all move out | yeah you heard right | at least for a while | then she'd quickly lose interest and cancel the whole thing and just go away | and then we could get back | i'm not so sure | of course she likes having power over others | but what if she wants to see it through? | then we'd all be homeless | that's a pretty big risk >

the third suggestion is from jin | and i'm really scared of that one | she thinks i have to talk to silke | and alone | cause she thinks in reality it's all about something between the two of us | that silke is only doing it to prove something to me | and that we have to sort it out | and then silke will listen | i don't believe it | honestly | she's never given a shit about what i want | she does what she wants | and on top i just don´t wanna do it | so if you wanna be nice with me take one of the other options | but hey no pressure >

so what do you think? | which option is best? >

or do you have a completely different idea?

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but how do you do that? | just go to her room and knock? | what if i bump into silke on the way? | or till? | what if jin isn't there? | or if she's busy? | what if I interrupt her with something? | for a whole day i didn't have the guts to go | i was secretly hoping that maybe she would knock on my door and then i could open this time | but nothing | on saturday i got over myself | maybe because i had run out of cookies and had to go out and get something to eat anyway | the way through the house was totally nerve-wracking | i hardly dared to breathe | upstairs i could hear jin playing the piano | wouldn´t be good to interrupt her | she'd be in a bad mood and then it wouldn't be the right time to talk to her | so I turned around went to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of carrots because that was the only thing I could find right away and went straight back to my room | how can one be such a sissy when it comes to things like that? >

then yesterday morning at seven there was a rattling and banging as if the whole house was collapsing | at seven! | i've had maybe two or three hours of sleep | looked cautiously through the curtains and there were some tattooed guys with helmets dragging long iron bars | what the hell? | are they building a scaffolding? | at our house? | i was so dumbfounded that i completely forgot that i wouldn't leave the room | there's a guy in the entrance hall with a clipboard taking notes | the infernal noise is coming from the basement | sounds as if someone is sawing directly into the wall | then i see silke in the kitchen with a guy in a suit and a construction helmet | try to get away as fast as i can | but as i'm about to shut the door someone calls my name | i hesitate for a moment | it's not jin but leo who comes towards me | complete overload | i quickly go into the room and close the door | but she knocks and doesn't even wait for me to open but just comes in | still wearing some kind of pyjamas and her hair all messed up | looks very angry >

thankfully not at me as it turned out | but it took me a while to figure out what she actually wanted | apparently silke got it into her head to renovate our house | improve energy efficiency | even a new heater | heat pump | climate neutral | of course jin likes that | so silke immediately ordered craftsmen | she knows people in the business | and while you're at it why not insulate the outside walls paint everything over and who knows what else | will propably cost millions but she's got the money | leo is really pissed off | finally someone who understands what's going on | didn't think it would be leo of all people | but though it's all totally fucked up i'm almost glad that at least someone is on my side now | jin obviously likes silke's move because of climate and stuff | and c at least hasn't spoken out against it yet >

and till? | no one has seen him in days | apparently he's sitting in his room just like me and won't come out | even locked the door | no one knows why | but i have a feeling | it's always like that with silke | sooner or later people realize that they're just being used and sucked dry | but it's too late by then | she already got what she wanted | now on to the next one | probably jin | we have to do something | just what? >

any suggestions?

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on monday in rehearsal i was so loaded that i actually got my mouth open and said something about it | and it wasn't worded very diplomatically believe me | everyone stares at me like i'm a zombie | and what does silke do? | she starts crying | the old cunt | starts telling all kinds of stories about how much of a psychological burden my hostility is on her | that she only wants to help us and how mean I am putting her down like this | I almost had to throw up | but with jin and c of course this kind of thing works - harmonyloving as they are | and silke knows that very well the old snake | bet she planned it exactly like that >

so i'm the villain now | after that i was yelling around a bit and that probably didn't make it any better | it's been two days now and i haven't thought about anything else the whole time | there have been a few knocks on my door but i can't talk to anyone about it now | would just freak out again | honestly i think there are only two possibilities | either silke leaves or i do | because the two of us together under one roof - that's just not working out | or at least i can't handle it | but i'm really scared to say that out loud | because the others would have to decide between the two of us and after the last rehearsal it's anything but clear how that would end | maybe i'd have to leave | the house and also the band | of course i don't want that | but maybe there's no other way >

what do you think? | should i take the risk and bear the consequences? | or try to keep putting up with it somehow | i just don't know what's best | help me

Listen to lɪbɛlən

if you don't have one of those streaming services you can always listen to the song here | or on bandcamp >

ava says we have to do some advertising now | on social media because that doesn't cost anything | that's why c and jin are breaking the song down into little snippets and making videos for it | seems it's called assets in technical terms | but no matter what you call it - it makes no sense to me | we spend our days making commercials and hanging out on insta and tiktok with the goal of getting people on spotify where they can listen to our song for which we get next to no money | the only ones who benefit are insta and tiktok and spotify | or am i missing something? >

anyway - we've agreed to try it that way and then evaluate | and decide how to go on and if and why at all | so over the next month you'll be bombarded with these so-called assets on insta and tiktok | if you don't wanna miss it follow us >

[hahaha you're definitely going to do that now, right? | amazing how convincing i can be]

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if you've been to our place to listen to lɪbɛlən you've probably also met silke | she's always hanging out here now | driving me crazy | but what can I say? | she's till's guest | but it can't go on like this | i haven't been to a band rehearsal in two weeks | cause i know for sure that she'll be there slouching on the sofa and giving her opinion on everything | and i just can't stand it | wonder if really no one but me realizes it? >

so something has to change | but how to solve it? | do you have any ideas? | i'm just so bad at this kind of thing | conflicts and stuff | i'm really grateful for any advice

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Come visit us!

so you are still welcome to drop by | our doors are open | if you don't want to come and listen to lɪbɛlən anyway you can now find the song on bandcamp | here is the link | you can also buy a download there if you want | the money goes almost entirely to us >

now we're still debating whether we should upload the song to spotify & co | actually we'd be happy to boycott it | why? | because it's a bloodsucker company that fills its pockets and those of its shareholders at the expense of musicians like us | in a nutshell | and spotify is a bad place for a 7 min song anyway | you can't get into playlists with it | and the payment is even worse than usual | on the other hand we know that many of you listen to music via spotify and you probably would want the song on the platform too | right? | let us know what you think | should lɪbɛlən be on spotify or not?

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everything is ready | you can come >

you are hereby invited to visit us in our humble residence and listen to our new song lɪbɛlən while you're there | how does it work? | very simple | www.visit.holyloneliness.com is the magic link that brings you to us | then all you have to do is choose your avatar and off you go | it works best with a desktop computer but you can also use your cell phone if necessary>

please bring some time and preferably headphones | of course we are there too and if you have any questions just talk to us | you can also hang out in the fireplace room or in the garden | maybe you'll find leo | she somehow disappeared | no idea what's up with her again >

Visit us now!

if something doesn't work out please let us know and we'll try to fix it | should an error message appear simply reload the page | happens sometimes | and feel free to leave a comment on how you liked it and what you think of lɪbɛlən | cause we're all pretty excited | but we're looking forward to meeting you | see you soon

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at the same time everything has to be finalized for the release of the song | so i'm supposed to ask for your opinion | which cover artwork do you like better?

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of course ava is right | the song isn't the kind that sticks with you after a few secs |you have to listen for a while | best to the whole thing from beginning to end | nobody does that on the internet | that's why we thought we'd just invite you to our house and play you the song here | a bit like a listening party | then you can see our house and our garden and you can chat with us a little | what do you think? >

have to admit that i panicked first when ava suggested it | you know i like to keep to myself | but everyone was in favor of it and said i'll survive it and what can i say? | guess i will survive after all | just don't be surprised if i'm not very talkative | but maybe no one will come anyway | could also happen right? >

so what do you say? | would you come?

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we were all sitting there like drowned rats | to be honest we did it a bit on purpose | just thought it was cool to go against every trend and make a 7 min monster with several parts and no real chorus | we felt like real rebels | but we didn't realize that we were making ava's work almost impossible that way | and even if it feels good to make music without commercial compromise in the end you want it to be heard by a few people right? >

then silke spoke up who had only been sitting by like some granny version of yoko ono | that she knows an editor from antenne bayern quite well and that she could definitely do something there | ava tried to explain to her that they will never play a 7 min song on the radio but silke didn't care at all | if we had a decent promo budget at all? | that we just have to say if we needed money | oh man it's just like always | no idea about anything but she always has to play it big | luckily everyone else was against accepting money from her >

but the problem remains | do you maybe have any ideas how to get people to listen to 7 min of music straight through?

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that morning i'm walking down the hallway towards the kitchen | just wanted to throw a quick pizza in the oven | then the door to the bathroom opens and who comes out? | silke | with nothing on | just a towel wrapped around the private parts | thought i saw a ghost | probably looked pretty stupid staring at her like that | and she just gives me that weird triumphant look pulls up her shoulders walks past me and goes where? | into till's room | can you believe it? >

was no longer hungry then | what's going on? | how can something like that be? | have they both completely lost their marbles now? | but in retrospect a lot of things suddenly make sense | silke not reacting to the fact that i didn't invite her over for christmas was completely out of character | and then there's till's mysterious dates that were so important that he couldn't play the scratch guitar for days | and he's been avoiding me for days and can't look me in the eye when we run into each other | i probably should have guessed it | but i just couldn't wrap my head around it and still can't get it in there that he seriously ... | with my mother?!!??! | you can´t do that right? | what's wrong with him? >

what should i do now? | tomorrow we've planned a rehearsal | think i'll just pretend to be sick | absolutely not in the mood to meet him | it's enough that i can hear them across the corridor | i'll just listen to loud music all day long now | gosh it's pissing me off

PS: about the scratch guitar the poll was just as undecided as I'd been before | but since till was avoiding me i just did it myself over the weekend | at least i don't have a bad conscience about that anymore

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i tried to use the time of the twelfthtide to get the new song done | had finished the vocals with c before christmas | where he still wasn't sure about the lyrics we just recorded both versions | so all tracks were there and ready for mixing | acoustic guitars | strings | ondes | piano | vocoder | some electric guitar | i went out with my zoom and recorded some ambient sounds for intro and outro >

so all i had to do was glue it all together and mix it and knot the loose ends | but somehow it didn't happen | the whole thing is just too damn huge | i mixed the a part first but when i was done with b i thought a was weird again | so all over again | and so on and so forth | spent several nights that way | but when i listened the next day it was always worse than before | almost freaked out >

and then i woke up monday round noon and suddenly it was finished | don't know what i did the night before | only have a few blurry memories | but anyway it's fine now | almost at least | for the b part i still need some creaking and croaking from an electric guitar | for the mood | maybe played with a cello bow | but till isn't here | already since last night | allegedly kind of date | something romantic | whatever | but i'm tired of waiting | i could probably just play it myself | his guitar is lying around in the rehearsal room and the bow is jin's anyway >

what do you think? | should I just do it quickly? | or will till be offended? | it's just a little scratching, isn't it? >

ps | i haven't heard from silke since christmas | maybe she's offended too | not that it matters to me

pps | wasn't quite happy with the pixel images | so i spent some time with midjourney and messed around a bit | think i like it better now | what do you think?

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you were right | it was a good idea not to invite silke | would have been nothing but trouble | don't have to do that to yourself do you? | i was in doubt whether i basically had to invite her cause it's just the right thing to do | but shouldn't you always listen to your gut feeling? | and you voted against it too | so i don't feel bad about it >

hope you have a relaxed time as well and we'll hear from each other next year again

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of course silke took the opportunity to throw a punch at me right away | emphasized several times how happy she was that i was living with such an obliging young man who still knows how to treat a lady | barf | till went all in and really served it up as he always does and buttered her up big time | at some point i couldn't take it anymore and got out but they just kept sitting together and chatting for two hours or so | without me | can you believe it? >

eventually there was a knock on my door | silke of course | said she wanted to talk to me at least for a bit | and then as i had feared she mentioned christmas | where i was planning to be | i said home | as usual | it's true | at christmas i'm always the only one staying here | who should i go to? | and it's absolutely fine with me | i have no desire to put up a dead tree and deface it with tinsel and straw stars and stuff like that | i'm perfectly fine if i just have some quiet time | she asked if she shouldn't come over | and can you say no to something like that | you can't do that right? | but i didn't say yes either | she said i should think it over | and then finally left >

first i went to the kitchen to tell off till | but now jin and c were there too and in the end they told me off rather than the other way round | why i was so hard and hostile towards silke | if something had happened between us | but where do i start? | nobody will understand anyway | so i might as well save myself the trouble | and then jin said that no matter what had happened everyone deserved a second chance | that was when it got too much for me and i left and went back to my room >

but now that my anger is slowly fading i wonder if the others might have been right after all | am i being too harsh? | i mean silke really did everything to make my childhood a living hell | every time i was fond of something she found a way to ruin it for me | that's just what she does | she takes over everything and then she breaks it | and after all she just disappeared | i swore i'd never have anything to do with her again | and in my head i know that's a damn good idea | but maybe jin is right? | maybe she deserves another chance? | even if everything in me revolts against it >

what do you think? | should i invite silke over for xmas? | or rather not?

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