BIOGRAPHY
Carlo is a Swiss drummer who lives and works in Zürich and Los Angeles. He loves video games, offbeat cartoons and cats.
Thanks to his stylistic flexibility as a player, Carlo has performed with around a hundred artists and bands from a wide variety of musical backgrounds (see list below). He's played in Asia, Europe and North America with violin virtuoso Gingger Shankar, toured South America and Mexico with Nickelodeon's Heffron Drive, toured the US and Canada with EDM artist and Grammy nominee Coucheron, and toured the US and Europe with his own ska-punk band Victory Kid. He's also played for well-known Swiss artists Florian Ast, Shem Thomas and Bastian Baker
Carlo has recorded for a wide varitey of bands and artists and contributed to many scores, including the blockbuster video game "Fortnite", the Emmy Award-winning TV show "The Tom & Jerry Show", and the PBS documentaries "And She Could Be Next" and “We Are The Radical Monarchs”. He also scored and recorded a viral video for the New York Times.
Carlo has performed at a number of major television events, including the 2018 Video Game Awards (26 million viewers), Premios Telehit 2017 in Mexico (over 20 million viewers), and the first-ever televised TED Talk in Mumbai, India. As an actor, he's starred in national commercials, including a Volkswagen commercial shown during every match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
In 2021, his original ska-punk band Victory Kid was signed to Austrian punk label SBÄM. Their debut album 'Discernation' has over 2 million streams on Spotify and a similar amount on Youtube. Past original projects of his include the riot grrrl formation WASI, the queer hard rock band MARY and the emo band Westland.
Academics: Carlo holds a Bachelor's degree from Berklee College of Music (on a full scholarship) and a Master's degree from the Winterthur Academy for Contemporary Music. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from both schools. For his bachelor's recital, he performed the legendary 43-minute prog rock album Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull with a full band, and for his master's recital he rearranged music written for Nintendo 64 video games for a fusion band. In contrast, he wrote a 90-page master's thesis on simplicity in music.
ARTISTS
Carlo has recorded and/or performed for all of the following artists, bands and productions:
A Girl Named Dave, Alec Kwon, Amber Rae, Angeli Flores, Aria Lanelle, Ayako Yamauchi, Backseat Pilots, Bastian Baker, BeauxX, Black Cats Smoking, Black Jacket Big Band, Body Talk, Champions, Chanel "Coco" Valme, Chreis Cheib Musical, Claudia Pawlikowski, Co Gfeller, Cordell Crockett, Coucheron, Crowd Theory, Daniele Odasso, David Baron, Dayna Bloom, Dead by Midnight, Devin Tait, The Dorks, Duncan Johnson, Edona, Ekaterina Ramzhaeva, Emma Hern, Eric Dash, Eva Wey, Felicia Ferraro, Florian Ast, FM Crush, Gabriela Cabezas, GayC/DC, Ghislaine van de Laarschot, Gingger Shankar, Golden Boy, Goody Grace, Guro Frydenlund Elverhøi, Half Past Two, The Häppy Hüsselhäffs, Hear Kitty Kitty, Heffron Drive, Ian Abel, Indiana Grace, Jason Hunter, Joel Jarek DeGraffe, John Thurmon, Juliana Davis, Kanen Seth, Kendall Schmidt, Kev O'Brien, Lena Glikson, Lexi Layne, Lucy & La Mer, Lost Puppy, Lydian Nadhaswaram, Magnetic South, MARY, Mechanical Roots, Malcolm Green, Michael Greenberg, Mike Medina, The Moon Jellies, Mr. Max, Nikola Stajic, Nite n Dae, Not Elvis, The Old Fashioned, Oliver Monaco, Peiyi Liu, Pere George, Pop Vision, Quote Unquote, Roberto Hermosillo, Roger Glaus Trio, Seong-Min Baek, Samantha Goryeb, Same Animal, Schweizermacher Musical, Strange Days Doors Tribute, Street Drum Corps, Tamara Usatova, Taya Balasowa, Ted West, Tickwanya Jones, Trapdoor Social, Travis Leonard, TX2, Vanessa Silberman, Victory Kid, Vivek Maddala, WASI, We Are The Tigers Musical, Westland, The Wind Chaser Club, Zach Torres, Zibbz
PRAISE
"After working with Carlo I can say that he is, indeed, one of the most important musicians of this new generation." - Jamey Haddad (Simon and Garfunkel)
"Carlo listens so carefully; he's got a well developed ear and deep pocket, but knows when to go off and does it well. He also comes every time with a pro attitude and zero drama. One of the best!" - Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind)
"His drumming is big and powerful." - Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
"You were smoking up there" - John Densmore (The Doors)
"...a dear friend and one of the most rockin' drummers on the planet!!!" - Cordell Crockett (Ugly Kid Joe)
„The best drummer I‘ve ever played with“ - TX2
"Carlo is a tasty player. It was great to see him perform Jethro Tull's 'Thick As A Brick' album - and nail it." - Scott Hammond (Jethro Tull)
"Carlo, you have an amazing right hand and a fantastic sense of time." - Jack Joseph Puig (Grammy Award Winner)
"Carlo (...) is one of the up and coming young giants on the drum set." - Bob Gulotti (The Fringe)
"Your drumming is fucking stellar." - Chris Freeman (Pansy Division)
"You have a great time feel and sound great. You've got rock and roll in your soul." - Mike Mushok (Staind)
"A great friend and one of the finest percussionists in the world: Carlo" - Shah Rukh Khan (Bollywood Legend)
"His ability as performer and passion as an artist are indispensable." - Roger H. Brown (Former Berklee College President)
Carlo would like to thank the following institurions for providing him with scholarships:
Berklee College of Music
Rotary International
Lyra Foundation for Highly Gifted Young Musicians
Fritz-Gerber Foundation for Talented Young People
Swiss Musician's Union
Schüller-Foundation
Fuchs-Eugster Foundation
Melinda Esterhazy de Galantha Foundation
Humanitas in Libertate
Hans and Wilma Stutz Foundation
SKILL SET
On top of drumming in various styles and being an all-around easy person to get along with, Carlo has a host of skills that make him not only a wanted drummer, but also a great musical director. His skills include:
- Recording drums at his home studios in Zürich and Los Angeles
- Editing and mixing drums
- Preparing and running backing tracks and click tracks
- Playing various percussion instruments including the frame drum
- Programming and playing electronic percussion instruments like the Roland SPD-SX
- Fluency in English, German and French
- Organizing and running rehearsals and auditions
- Swiss punctuality and dependabilit