Joseph Malicke, known on Eternal Crane as joEy, was born on August 30, 1987. Music came to him one instrument at a time: the orchestra at eleven, on viola and violin; the guitar at thirteen; his own compositions at fourteen, hundreds of orchestral pieces written at a computer; the piano at sixteen, taught by a doctor of composition; and recording at eighteen. He has written and recorded his own music ever since.
In his twenties he played in duos built on listening: jazz improvised with a stand-up bassist, and duets with a flutist, a clarinetist and a singer-songwriter. He built his own recording studio and learned every part of making a record, from writing and playing to engineering, mixing and mastering, on piano, Hammond organ, Rhodes, melodica, guitar and bass. In 2021 he founded Musical Universe Factory, his own label, named for what he wanted his life to be about: creating musical universes. Today it sells his finished records directly, beginning with Cherry Blossom (2025). Among the musicians he loves are Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Yusef Lateef and Claude Debussy.
His spiritual path runs beside the music, and to him the two belong together: “Eternal Crane is Daoist, but it’s interfaith. It’s music and spirit.” In 2026 he founded Eternal Crane to give back: free piano and music lessons, each with something to play and a spiritual teaching, shared on YouTube and live on stream, and a place to belong for anyone, musician or not. He teaches the way he practises, in the open, where nothing is a mistake and nobody keeps score, so the soul can speak. He also gives private lessons in piano, guitar, singing, theory and improvisation, and shamanic readings.
“Give back. Start Eternal Crane. … It’s for them.”