What inspired this last release?

We made the album COCOON during the lockdowns. I was kinda lonely and grumpy but by chance someone introduced me to Belgian musician/ Producer Raymond Rose and we said let’s try and write some songs together. It was mad coz we had never met in real life and I wasn’t sure whether it would work over the distance but it turned out we are totally on the same wavelength and just really enjoyed writing together. It was meant to be for fun really, there was no agenda.. but after a while we looked back at what we had and we said ‘hey, let’s make an album’. I got a little bit of artist funding from the German government so we picked our favorite songs and finished them and made some vinyls. It still feels a bit crazy the whole thing just kinda happened. It was great to do something purely for the fun of it without trying to please anyone or setting certain goals or whatever…

One thing we really wanted to make sure of is that we didn’t want to over-produce these songs. They are very raw and tackle some very real and personal topics so it’s nice that we stuck to that little pact and kept it very un-airbrushed (if that’s an actual word..?), moving away from the very polished sounds we have come accustomed to.

What is something you can’t live without?

Guacamole. And my cat Finley. Oh and of course music / sound.

Any funny anecdotes from the time you were recording or writing this?

As we had never met in person when we were writing I kinda made up this character in my head of what Raymond would look like. A big strong Water God with shoulder length hair and a neptune’s spear. He imagined me as a Halle Berry type. I can confirm that both imaginary characters are very much not what we are in real life. haha. It was fun while it lasted though.

What’s your favorite thing to do besides music?

I love mountains, I just really love how unrestrained it feels to walk or ski or just drink beer in the mountains. And I love food and wine. I’m the world’s worst cook but I make very appreciative noises when I eat good food, so feel free to invite me for dinner 😉

What’s a record or artist that shaped your creativity?

I listen to lots of different types of music, depending on my mood. But I think that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Blondie had a massive impact on me. I Iove the sound but mostly I have always really admired female performers with a bit of a punky attitude – women who have something to say and have figured out a cool way of expressing their thoughts. I can’t really listen to songs that have rubbish lyrics, that really hurts my ears. I’m into people who express emotions well and who can bring Zeitgeisty messages across, wrapped in -and elevated by- a badass sound.

Who is an artist or band you look up to today?

I quite like The Dandy Warhols, the early Warhaus records, Dry Cleaning Band, Wet Leg, Viagra Boys to name but a few. I find it hard to keep on top of new releases at the moment coz there is such a huge amount of songs coming out every day, but I try to go to as many gigs as possible. Seeing bands live and really feeling the vibes is the most enjoyable way to listen to music for me.

What excites you the most about what you do?

I’m so glad to have music as an outlet. I honestly think I would end up in a lunatic asylum if I didn’t. I have this thing called SPS.. sensory processing sensitivity… which means I tend to feel things a bit more intensely than most people. Music is the perfect way to express those emotions and to let it all out. Really, I’m so very happy that I have friends who get what I wanna do and interpret it musically. Lucky me 🙂