Drummer, composer and producer from Kleve, Germany. Since 1999 I have also run the Musikschule Kleve‑Kellen.
Build your own groove: click the pads, then press Play.
About
At five I drummed in a marching band, at ten I sat behind a drum kit. When I discovered the music of the Canadian progressive rock band Saga, it was clear: I wanted to be a musician. At 17 I went to the Netherlands to study drums in “Lichte Muziek” (jazz and pop) in Arnhem, Zwolle and Utrecht. In 1997 I took my final exam in Utrecht.
Ever since, everything has revolved around the groove: I play live, compose and produce in my own studio, have developed drums and apps, publish method books and play-alongs with Amusiko Verlag, and run a music school in Kleve with more than 300 students.
Today I play drums in the jazz quintet MAYA and the Tae-Sung Chung Trio. Before that I played Latin, soul-funk, rock and pop, often as bandleader.
Drums and percussionLive, in the studio and as bandleader.
Composition and productionSongs for MAYA, an arrangement of “Last Waltz” for symphony orchestra and band, CD recordings, play-alongs, music editing for dance crews and clubs.
Teaching and publishingLessons, method books with play-alongs from Amusiko Verlag, e-books and practice apps.
Music school directorMusikschule Kleve-Kellen (MUKL), founded in 1999.
Timeline
1978 – 1990At five I drum in a marching band, at ten I sit behind a drum kit, at twelve I start my first band, TWOSH (progressive rock). I take lessons with Gerhard Bruntink at the Kreismusikschule Kleve and, as a young orchestral percussionist, play on the LP “Dokumente Klever Musik”.
1990 – 1997Drums studies in “Lichte Muziek” in Arnhem, Zwolle and Utrecht, final exam in 1997 at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht. Major in jazz and rock/pop drums, minor in piano.
1993 – 2000Drummer of the Dutch Latin band Sub-Rosa (salsa, samba, Latin jazz). This is where I discover my love for Latin American music.
since 1999Founding of the Musikschule Kleve-Kellen, called “Rhythm & Groove Factory” until 2016. Plus my own recording studio for productions, commercials, play-alongs and music editing.
since 2010Inventions of my own: free-floating MKdrums (2010), the first drum fill-in app (2013) and, with José Cortijo, the rhythmtoolsfactory. From 2017 play-alongs, e-books and method books follow.
2018 – 2026The drums and percussion duo Percussionways with José Cortijo.
todayDrums, songs and production with MAYA, drums in the Tae-Sung Chung Trio, my own studio for mixing and mastering, and running the music school.
Projects
MAYA
Jazz quintet, current
MAYA is a jazz quintet around singer Maya Kehren, in which I play drums and write and produce the songs. The single “Mercy” was released in September 2026, with bassist Adam Ben Ezra as guest. I arranged “Last Waltz” for symphony orchestra and band; it was performed in December 2025 at “Klangkraft Before Christmas 6” in the Kulturkirche Liebfrauen in Duisburg.
With jazz pianist Tae-Sung Chung I once founded the Tae-Sung Chung Quartet. Today we play as a trio: jazz with plenty of room for interaction and improvisation.
Amusiko Verlag
Method books and play-alongs
With José Cortijo I write and publish method and play-along books for percussion and drums at Amusiko Verlag. Best known is the “iPlay Cajón” series (method, NOW! and Advanced), which combines rhythms and playing techniques with online audio, videos and play-alongs.
Drums, cajón and percussion in dialogue. Concerts included the Alte Feuerwache Mannheim (2019) and “Jazz we can” in Bad Marienberg (2020), plus a video shoot for Meinl (2019) and a CD. The project ended in 2026: José has gone into well-earned retirement and moved to Spain, and our joint company was dissolved. The music and the videos remain.
With José Cortijo, Jazz we can, Bad Marienberg 2020
Studio and production
since 1999
Arrangement, recording, mixing and mastering for bands and my own projects, music for commercials and music editing for dance crews and carnival clubs.
The MUKL studio
MKdrums and apps
Inventions, since 2010
I developed free-floating drums and drum kits with utility model protection and in 2013 released the first drum fill-in app for smartphones. Together with José Cortijo this led to the rhythmtoolsfactory for drum and percussion apps.
Earlier bands
Selection
Sub-Rosa, Latin band playing salsa, samba and Latin jazz (1993 – 2000). Nachbars Lumpi, a soul-funk band known across the region, in which I was bandleader, drummer and composer. Skinnybold, rock with musicians from “Starlight Express” and “We Will Rock You”. Mama Guela (from 2009, danceable Latin music) and Lyrebirdz (from 2013, pop cover band) are bands I founded; neither exists any more.
Musikschule Kleve‑Kellen
More than 300 students, 19 teachers, a 400 m² school with its own concert hall.
I founded the school in 1999 and still run it today. Subjects, teachers, fees and registration can be found on the school’s website.
Texts and photos for programme notes, announcements and promoters. The texts are written in the third person and may be used as they are.
Short biography
Marc Küsters (*1973 in Kranenburg, Germany) is a drummer, composer, producer and director of the Musikschule Kleve-Kellen (MUKL). He studied drums in “Lichte Muziek” in Arnhem, Zwolle and Utrecht (final exam 1997) and has played with the Latin band Sub-Rosa and the soul-funk band Nachbars Lumpi, among others. Today he is drummer, composer and producer of the jazz quintet MAYA around singer Maya Kehren and plays in the Tae-Sung Chung Trio. He is an endorser of Meinl and Rohema. From 2018 to 2026 he and José Cortijo formed the duo Percussionways; their joint method books, such as the “iPlay Cajón” series, are published by Amusiko Verlag. Marc Küsters lives in Kleve.
Biography
Marc Küsters (*1973 in Kranenburg, Germany) was already drumming in a marching band at the age of five. He studied with Gerhard Bruntink at the Kreismusikschule Kleve, played on the LP “Dokumente Klever Musik” as a young orchestral percussionist and founded his first band at twelve. The music of the Canadian band Saga confirmed his decision to become a professional musician.
At 17 he moved to the Netherlands to study drums in “Lichte Muziek” in Arnhem, Zwolle and Utrecht, where he took his final exam in 1997. From 1993 to 2000 he was the drummer of the Latin band Sub-Rosa. He was bandleader, drummer and composer of the soul-funk band Nachbars Lumpi, founded a quartet with pianist Tae-Sung Chung and played in the rock band Skinnybold. In 2009 he founded the Latin band Mama Guela, in 2013 the pop cover band Lyrebirdz.
Since 1999 he has run the Musikschule Kleve-Kellen (called “Rhythm & Groove Factory” until 2016) with more than 300 students. In his recording studio he arranges and produces music and commercials, and mixes and masters. In 2010 he developed free-floating drums and drum kits under the name MKdrums; in 2013 he released his drum fill-in app, the first of its kind worldwide. With José Cortijo he founded the rhythmtoolsfactory and publishes method books such as the “iPlay Cajón” series with Amusiko Verlag. From 2018 to 2026 the two performed as the duo Percussionways.
Today Marc Küsters plays drums, composes and produces in the jazz quintet MAYA around singer Maya Kehren, most recently the single “Mercy” featuring bassist Adam Ben Ezra (2026). His arrangement of “Last Waltz” for symphony orchestra and band was performed in December 2025 at the Kulturkirche Liebfrauen in Duisburg. He also plays in the Tae-Sung Chung Trio. Marc Küsters is an endorser of Meinl (cymbals and percussion) and Rohema (drumsticks).
Meinl
Rohema