This October, Michael J. Keplinger revisits two of his early music works with the 2025 Remasters of False Neon God and Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me).
While the two pieces are separat works – and very different in aesthetic – both share a similar journey: originally released independently alongside their respective music videos, they went on to international festival success before now arriving for the first time on all major streaming platforms through DIEgital Records.
False Neon God – Out 17 October 2025
First released in April 2019, False Neon God is an experimental, instrumental piece that became the foundation for Keplinger’s eponymous music short film. Shot in a single night in December 2018 and starring Austrian performance artist Silke SILK Grabinger, the video pairs the starkness of the music with an equally unflinching visual language.
The music film premiered at the Crossing Europe Film Festival in Linz in 2020, after delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and also screened at the New Generation Film Festival in Serbia. Its premiere marked Keplinger’s first appearance at Crossing Europe, a festival to which he later returned with narrative shorts such as Allerseelen and IRIS.
With the 2025 Remaster, False Neon God finds its way to a global audience for the first time, releasing via DIEgital Records on 17 October 2025.
Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me) – Out 24 October 2025
Originally released in August 2020, Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me) is an acoustic love song written and produced by Keplinger during the summer of the pandemic. Intimate and understated, the song offers a quiet reassurance with the line: Nothing is ever too real to be a dream.
Alongside the track, Keplinger created a hand-animated music video, developed frame by frame in just one week. Shot with Simona Ascher and their dog Django as models for the reference footage, the short film captured the reflective and fragile atmosphere of the song. It went on to win multiple awards, including the ‘Levi’ Award for Best Music Video at the Venetian Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival in 2021, where the jury described it as “stylistically optimal” in complementing the song’s emotional depth.
Further recognition followed: a Gold Medal and Special Award for Remarkable Idea at the VÖFA Regional Championship in 2022, as well as a Bronze Medal at the Festival der Österreichischen Film-Autoren. The video screened at festivals across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, from Colombia to India, Russia, and the United States.
With the 2025 Remaster, Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me) too will receive its first wide digital release on 24 October 2025.
First wide release & the 2025 Remasters
While both pieces of music were previously available with their music video counterparts, this two-part release marks the first time, both False Neon God and Pick Up Your Cross (and follow me) will be available for streaming globally.
For this occasion, Michael J. Keplinger created an all-new 2025 Remaster for both tracks, giving them new life and a vibrant, full sound.
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