Soaring melodies, haunting flutes and tribal rhythms is the trademark style that has consistently ranked CUSCO in the Top 10 Instrumental Charts as one of the most popular instrumental groups around the world. With more than two million albums sold worldwide, CUSCO’s timeless music continues to delight new and loyal fans alike.

Fans often comment that CUSCO’s music inspires wonderful, vivid images. Michael Holm, the group’s leader, echoes these sentiments, “CUSCO is a storyteller, only we paint the pictures with sound and melodies. Whether it’s lions roaming the Serengeti Plain or an Aztec temple, the image is what brings the music to life.” In fact, it was Holm’s overwhelming desire and adept ability to express such images that founded CUSCO, which he named after the Incan empire’s capital city.

As a teenager in his native Germany, Holm began his career as a songwriter and soon embarked on a legendary career as a Top 10 rock vocalist, yielding a series of hit records and over 800 songs to his credit including several million sellers. Successful but still searching for something more, Holm decided to take a six month sabbatical and found the creative answer he was looking for at the sacred Inca temples at Machu Picchu. Returning home, Holm teamed up with long-time friend Kristian Schultze, best known for his keyboard role in the jazz-rock-fusion band Passport, and the partnership led to the creation of what is now CUSCO’s distinctive core sound. Read more…