IT IS GONE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.

Time has always fascinated me—not just as a measurement, but as a deeply human experience. It's strange how we live inside of it every moment, yet only occasionally become aware of its movement. When we're young, we wait. We wait for something to start, for something to arrive, for life to begin. And time feels slow, stretched out. But later, often without warning, it begins to speed up. Suddenly you're looking back on years like they were weeks, and moments like they were seconds.

Before You Know was born from that realization. It came during a period of quiet reflection—looking at old photos, remembering holidays, listening to my children talk and noticing how much their voices had changed. There was no one moment that made me write this piece. It was more like a slow wave, a gentle emotional pull, the kind that comes when you realize life is happening—and has been happening—all along.

Musically, I wanted to capture that sense of quiet continuity. I wrote the entire piece around a single, repeating piano note. It’s soft, steady, and unchanging—like a red thread running through the song. Around it, layers evolve: subtle harmonies, textures, and atmospheres shift and swell, but that one tone remains. For me, it represents the core of who we are. The part of us that stays steady while everything else—people, places, stages of life—changes.

One of the most moving things in life is that you rarely realize you're in the middle of something meaningful until it's already passed. The swing in the yard, a summer afternoon, a quiet breakfast. Then, before you know, it becomes a memory. And yet, there’s something comforting in that, too—that all these moments accumulate and shape us, even if we didn’t notice their weight at the time.

Before You Know is not just a song—it’s a pause. A breath. A moment to look around and feel where you are right now. Because this moment, too, will pass. But something in you will carry it forward.

If the song speaks to you, I’m deeply grateful you’re listening. And if you ever feel like sharing what it stirred in you, I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for being here, all the best.

Markus

Here is a link to Before You Know in Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5EudJTOgS430zNNqY9iwng?si=f1130426fb964ba9

I also made a playlist of my favorite Neoclassical minimalist music, you can check it here. It works great in the mornings! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6tS4kphBH29ykUkl51B2gA?si=d65ad857925a4524