Born 1970 in Leverkusen, Germany, Christian Tolle was raised in a family where music had, and still has, its place. With a father who is an enthusiastic singer and a grandmother who played great piano, he discovered music quite early. At the age of 12, he got a guitar and took "classical" lessons. Soon after that, he got a Stratocaster copy and rocked the neighborhood with power chords and Heavy Rock.
His first definitive statement was in 1987, when he released a song on a compilation of the German musician magazine „Musiker“. Many wonderful band efforts followed. He played with the Cologne-based bands "Underdog" and "Black Rose", as well as with the native singing band "Lehmann". In addition, he studied economics and started writing for the largest German musician magazine, FACHBLATT, in 1992, a magazine he had been reading since 1982.
Inspired by Los Angeles big players, with whom he became acquainted during his time as a journalist, he decided to start his own project with the friends and heroes he had met over the years. Tolle recorded, then, with Steve Lukather, Tim Pierce, Michael Thompson, Chuck Wright, Doug Aldrich and Lauren Scheff in LA: "Those sessions were some of the greatest musical experiences of my life", Tolle explains. "It was amazing how great these players do in so little time. I learned a lot just by watching them work". But not only the big names make his albums strong. Every musician on Christian Tolle Project puts his/her whole heart and soul into the songs. And that is the main goal.
CTP's debut cd. Better than dreams was released in 2000. It got excellent reviews and feedback from the press, media and the AOR community.
5 years following the release of Better than dreams it is now time to continue. With the current release The real thing, Christian again delivers 10 songs that feature a refreshing variety of modern Rock music. From the hard hitting Enemy, to the midtempo beats in The flow, the westcoast influenced On and on, to the stadium rocker The real thing or the power ballad First time, all songs are melodic, catchy and powerful.
Songwriting was a team effort once again. Christian wrote with Darin and Lauren Scheff, John Cuijpers, Steve Barnes and Amy Antin. An impressive list of guest musicians gives the album a very special flavour. Christian is joined by Steve Lukather, Doug Aldrich, Morris Adriaens, Chuck Wright, Lauren Scheff, Harold van Gestel, Pit Hupperten, Stephan Scheuss, Thomas Heinen, Philipp Artzt and John „Jaycee“ Cuijpers.
