Sweet Music RecommendsHello NHOAH, thank you for speaking with us! How are you?
Hey Sweet Music, nice chatting with you. I’m very good thanks, just having the first drink after an intense day of work.
How has the last year and a half been for you? What has kept you sane?
I mean everyone has their own experience of the pandemic. At the beginning of the year my father died of covid-19. That was rough. For a few months, I couldn’t make music. I produced strange songs and was often sad in the studio. Nothing worth listening to for anyone else, just me and the vibrations. Then, music began to save me once over. It was healing. My pain and melancholy subsided and I woke up stronger. I’m lucky to work with such a powerful tool to channel emotions.
Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?
Sometimes I feel like a living fish net. I fish in cafés, in books, in clubs, in conversations with strangers and friends … Even in dreams. I wake up in the middle of the night to sing into my mobile and end up laughing at the nonsense I recorded in the morning, haha – although I actually have successfully written songs from dream sequences.
I also used to write punk songs with a political angle. However at the club, this kind of commitment is misplaced. The club is a place where you forget about your everyday life while you dance. After that you’re strong enough to handle anything coming your way. That‘s why the natives danced together before every important event.
Have you found the way your produced has changed in recent times? What has it been like producing without any crowd interaction or live shows for inspiration?
At first I was really paralyzed. Then came a phase of disorientation. Not that I didn’t have ideas, but I didn’t really get enthusiastic about things. Dance music without dancers is like making good wine without anyone but you drinking it. It’s ok, but in the long run …
As a result, I made bad music. Sitting-too-much-in-the-studio type music.
But then, suddenly it all clicked into place. And now I’m really doing something new. The songs are just bursting out of me.
For you to get started on a new track, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a ‘visualisation’ of the finished work?
Honestly, the beginning is often torturous. I’ll be goofing around to get at least something out. Other times I have a strong text idea or a special sound or groove in mind. But then it’s possible what I implement will simply sound like shit. In short, there are no rules. But I always find a solution after a day in the studio. I won’t go home otherwise. I will go home at the very peak, when I start getting excited. That’s my way of working.
Recently, I work a lot with frequencies. Mostly with modular synthesizers. I also chant mantras but that’s too extensive of a topic for this interview. I can only say that there’s a lot more to music on a global level than we at first perceive.
What do you think they key has been to staying in the game for so long?
The motivation that there is still an infinite amount of work to be done. I hope I at least made a start in my lifetime 😉
What do you miss about the ‘old days’ and what inspires you in the current day?
Importantly, in the 80s and 90s there was still money to be earned for artists – it was a legitimate path of making a living. The musical scene was seeing the most incredible talent. Individuality and being different was the most important thing to make a break through. I can’t shake the feeling that the most important factor today is to satisfy algorithms, for example with short songs and a uniform mash. Artistically, this is a shame.
Unfortunately, only a few musicians take the time to work on a big strike because they are told this no longer works in times of streaming. The most exciting music at the moment comes mostly from young musicians who don’t give a shit about the business. Those who don’t become suppliers to business formed by the digestive tract of the notorious apps and still keep being musicians will make it. To them I call out: stay that way!
What is next for you? Do you have anything in the pipeline you can tell us about?
I‘m in the middle of composing and producing my upcoming album. Also I’m going to film a special event similar to the two long live sets you can watch on youtube (check for example LIVE SET IN A STORM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eMd5tTSnZ0 ). Not quite as ambitious but certainly entertaining.
Most of all I hope we’ll get through the upcoming months ok, stay healthy and will meet again at the clubs, parties and raves in the near future with lighter hearts.
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