Alternative power pop industrial songwriter • producer • guitarist • vocalist • keyboardist
Can you tell me about the first song you ever wrote?
The first song I ever wrote and recorded by myself was called “Trouble in the Sky” — I was either 12 or 13 years old. I had saved up all my money for a dual cassette player that had mic inputs on the front — and to my surprise it would allow me to record the live mic at the same time I’d be dubbing a cassette — so I had basically figured out my own multi-tracking system using this ‘practically defect’ machine. So first I’d record the drums i sequenced on my brother’s Yamaha PRS keyboard, I’d then have that tape running while I’d record the bass guitar onto a fresh new tape, and so on. Am I making sense? The song itself, lyrically/musically is pretty mature in a way — but also kinda funny: my voice hadn’t broken yet. Overall amusing! The verse started with, “I’ve been waiting for a dream, but listening to the wishes of the mean world, real world…” The chorus was “I can see trouble in your eyes / I can see trouble in the sky!” — gotta find that tape!
Are you the person who comes through in your songs, or are there aspects of yourself that you hold back?
I’ve always been most impressed by artists who take on different personas and go the distance theatrically in telling a story e.g Kate Bush, Prince. There is a German band called Spliff that had a huge influence on me — they were kind of like Germany’s answer to 10CC — they’ll go to great lengths to musically exaggerate a theme — playing with all genres of music. I wouldn’t say I’m holding back aspects of myself. I feel like music is the place actually where I’m often asking myself “Who am I?” It’s in my music that I’m able to express a lot of my fantasies — images, ideas, oddities that inspire me.
Is there a certain type of person you write your songs for?
No. Often times I am faced with people saying things like “Do it for the fans!” My response is that I think my fans really just want me to “do what I do.” What excites me most when I’m writing a song is the feeling that I’m going somewhere I haven’t gone before — that’s what’s most important. I noticed a lot of artists’ process revolves around copying things they or other people have already mastered. That’s not my raison d’etre. I need to be travelling to a new exotic destination every single time. My newest ditty isn’t even written for a person. In fact, I wrote it for a dog called Gunnar who passed away a couple of months ago. It will most definitely be on my next album.
Where did you come up with the idea for your featured song?
The featured song is called “I Care about You” and it’s from my latest EP called Shackleton. In the realm of “romantic” pop songs (even though I have many) I still always feel like I have merely touched the tip of the iceberg. Recently I’ve been totally fascinated with ballads in the Italo Pop genre — and here I feel like I’m taking that feeling and blending it with an American R&B flavour. Lyrically, I wrote the song because I love my woman. Sit back and enjoy!
Listen to the featured song!
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