Scumeck Sabottka
concert promoter & agent and CEO of MCT Agentur – Berlin
Scumeck Sabottka knows them all: as a concert promoter and agent who founded the online ticket sale tickets.de and is co-founder of MCT Agentur in Berlin, he has overseen the German tours of the likes of Arcade Fire, Atoms For Peace, Florence & The Machine, Pearl Jam, Kraftwerk, Lenny Kravitz, Marilyn Manson, Tom Waits, Moby, Radiohead, Rammstein, Robbie Williams and many more. Even though he has been involved in music professionally since the early 1980s (and a music lover for much longer) and back then worked with great musicians from all over the world – Einstürzende Neubauten and Ramones to name two of our favourites -, Sabottka has also proved himself a talented photographer as well as being truly big-hearted. While his eyes catch beautiful views of landscapes, human faces, cities and, of course, concerts to translate them into photographs, Scumeck Sabottka is very engaged in social activities too. In addition to showing social responsibility by supporting the organisations Amnesty International and Make Poverty History on his website, he also founded his own website: Remember Chernobyl, a platform that reminds us of the disaster of Chernobyl as well as the fight against its aftermath.
We are very happy to welcome this fascinating Berliner onto our list of friends and supporters. Immerse yourselves in his world and learn more about Scumeck Sabottka in our interview. A very warm welcome!
You are a concert promoter & agent and therefore hearing must be a very important sense to your work. What other sense couldn’t be missed in your life? Why?
All of them really – to see an artist or a band, to smell a venue and the fans, to hear the music — all of those senses are used when visiting a concert and these senses make the concert an experience.
Your work mainly focuses on the acoustical side of life. But how does your personal life sound like?
Music and sounds follow me throughout my entire live – I collect cars and motorbikes because of their look but also because of their sounds ….
Your personal evergreen?
Musicwise – Paul Desmond forever !
What is your sound for IWISHUSUN?
The sound of wind and waves, of trees and barking dogs…..
You are a creative person and have organised numerous tours of well-known bands and musicians. What is your vision for your personal work?
To archive the best in my field by offering fairness and understanding to the people I am dealing with; to learn from the vision of the artists I represent and to bounce back those visions in my head to make them a reality.
You oversee concerts but at the same time you show social responsibility not only by featuring several organisations such as Amnesty International and Make Poverty History but also by founding Remember Tschernobyl. Is this your tactic for making the world a better place?
I feel , that even by the smallest effort, we can make the world a better place and I try and push the envelope to everyone around me to share the love and experience I receive when being rewarded.
When was the last time you gave back and what did you do?
I wish not to brag about my social doings but like to say, that it is very rewarding to offer a helping hand; whether this is in our neighbourhood or in far away places, I enjoy learning of people who are in need.
Who is your personal hero?
The unnamed liquidators of Chernobyl.
Blind people and those who can see surely experience the world in different ways. How would you describe the world to someone who suffers from an irreversible loss of the ability to see in one sentence?
As the most beautiful music/sound they ever heard !
What is the most beautiful thing you ever saw?
The architecture in Brasilia by Oscar Niemeyer & Lúcio Costa – truly breathtaking.
What would you like to see more often?
The ocean.
Sunrise or sunset – what do you prefer?
Sunset for sure – especially on the beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Photo: Anton Corbijn.
