[Music & Interview]: Rosa Anschütz

 

 

 

Hi Rosa. Cool to have you for this “Music & Interview” feature, originally planned in April but Corona changed everything. …Nevertheless it is a shame that us synth lovers from NovaFuture didn’t know about you until we discovered the remix Berghain resident and Ostgut Ton artist Kobosil made for your track “Rigid”. We will talk about it later, let’s start with the very beginning: your youth and childhood. So please tell us where you were born and raised and how your childhood was.

Hello Jürgen !
So, I was born in Berlin. Half of my childhood i grew up in the suburbs, countryside of Strausberg. Our family lived very absorbed in a house at a lake. I got influenced very early from all sorts of art sectors, because of my parents and their friends that came visiting us. My childhood was very bond to the place, being in nature, building things in the workshops and playing piano and singing mainly. In the age of 12 we moved to West Berlin. I continued playing a lot of instruments and also started quite early to discover the post punk and bit later techno scene myself.

 

 

“Rigid” is your debut EP on Quiet Love Records released last year. How did you start with producing in general? Which equipment did you use when you started with producing and which for the EP? What was your process/how was the production process? Did you write the lyrics before you have the sounds etc?

I met Jan Wagner through Max Kobosil in 2016, we produced the EP together. Before I met Jan (Wagner), I was teaching myself everything. I took lessons in classic instruments, but I am not a “to be taught person”, I prefer intuition. When having a freedom, I know what I want. I started with Garage Band and then went on to Ableton. Including different instruments from time to time, modular synths, guitar, bass, traverse flute. I played trumpet for some years.. Maybe that is next to come.

 

 

You signed to Quiet Love Records who say they are based in Zurich, London, Istanbul or Berlin at different times – always depending where they are. How did you get in contact with them and got your music signed? Do you believe labels are still important for artists – you can also release your music totally independent via bandcamp and distribution services? Why did you sign with Quiet Love Records?

I met the label manager through Jan (Wagner), and was excited for someone to release my music the first time. I think you shouldn’t hesitate to release music yourself via the internet, but I believe that at one point, it’s somewhat healthy to have a small team behind you, that supports the journey. From early on I uploaded my music on myspace and later Soundcloud. Get myself heard by others is what I wanted.

 

 

As mentioned earlier we discovered your music when Berghain resident Kobosil released his stomping remix of your track “Rigid” on vinyl. How did it come to this release? Did you know the music of Kobosil before? I guess when you got the attention of people like us who love synth music at that time there were more and it became a big push for you /your career, right? Did it change something for you?

Sure the remix was a push for my career and I am also very thankful to Max, that he is supporting me that much. I knew his music before, because I had a period in my teenage years, going to Berghain quiet often;)

 

 

After the release of the remix you also played at Berghain’s Säule for a R-Label party on a Thursday. I remember that the queue was of the same length like on a Berghain Klubnacht on Saturday. How was this night for you? Please also tell us something about your (general) technical setup for live performances and how you prepare such events like mentioned. What are the most intense or strangest experiences during your live touring?

I was very excited to play at Säule, because I haven’t been inside the club for many years. Still there are a lot of memories connected with it and it was crazy to return and sing into the clubs darkness.

Before a show I get the usual nervousness, go though the tracks in my head, sometimes read a book, but prefer to not have any social contact. Same is after a concert, I need some minutes to calm down. I reduce my sets very much on the voice.

When I started playing live, I was taking all of my equipment with me. It got me super busy and I wasn’t satisfied with performing, because most importantly is the voice.

Säule was intense, my last show in Vienna was also very intense. The location was very special, open air, I was playing from a small hill and the sun was setting slowly while the show. It was the first concert with a larger audience after quarantine and such a relief. There is no strange experience for me with shows, people are strange.

 

 

Listening to your EP and the singles “Soft Resource” & “Opacity” remind us of names like Zola Jesus, Austra but also 80ies stuff come to our mind. What are your favourite artists and records that you still like, inspire you and are important for you? Please name 10 of them and explain why they are.

I remember going to the Atonal festival the first time with 15, which had a big influence on music for me. I saw Grischa Lichtenberger but also Raime, went further on to Blackest Ever Black Label, further to a showcase at Urban Spree. Urban Spree continued to be a usual club I was going. I went to a lot of concerts and parties, these experiences there and also at Berghain were important for me. Earlier on I was influenced by Portishead, Tricky, The Cure, Siouxsie And The Banshees. I enjoyed She Past Away, Swans, Black rebel Motorcycle Club. Hard to name the influences because I am an almost all style listener, but not a collector of Vinyls.

I enjoy when I discover a good album, because it uncovers a body of work, that can be vey impressing. I do search for new music but I am neither in scenes nor genres.

 

 

On facebook you are described as a transmedia artist. Could you please explain and describe what you do in addition to music production?

Transmedia means mixing all kinds of media or working in various fields. My work is equipped with a lot of visuality, which comes from photographing or videographing. From the artworks of my covers to the music videos that are out. Through my studies in Vienna I am also working on sound installations or lecture performances.

 

 

Especially in these hard times when touring is not possible and also selling records is difficult, many smaller artists have to look for another income – eg. working in jobs that they studied for or had a professional education for. Did you study or have an education? Do you work these days? To stay mentally healthy it is also good to have some hobbies. Do you have anything apart from music? What are you interested in?

I am still studying transmedia arts in Vienna and will finish next year. I am quite busy on projects around the main music one. At the moment I am preparing a position for an artfair called „Parallel“ in Vienna. It’s a translation of my album and will function as a sculpture and audio installation teasing bits of the record. Besides that I am writing music for a theater play at the „Schauspielhaus“ Vienna. And so much more ! I have routines, do sports and love to eat ice cream at Schwedenplatz in Vienna and read or write texts.

 

 

Actually we have another good reason for doing this interview. You will release your debut album on Quiet Love Records in November. What were the inspirations for it? With which topics are you dealing on it? As we know Jan Wagner, another amazing artist on Quiet Love, helped you with the production. Could you please describe the process of producing with him and in general? Was the process different from the one making the EP?

The title of the album is „Votive“.

Votives are used as a religious term for offerings, that please a god or goddess. For each track of the album I formed a clay sculpture. The album refers to rituals. Collecting texts, writing music, shaping electric voltages, it’s all a process. I was singing in choirs, make use of reverb, there are many acoustic references to religious aspects. I remain an agnostic.

The lyrics are from daily notes, material of observation, learning and listening produced with Jan Wagner in Berlin. Working with Jan is a virtual exchange between Vienna and Berlin.

When I have new recordings , I send them to him, he is doing a first order and then I am coming to the studio. We recorded quite a lot this year already.

 

 

Yes we are already at the end of our short interview. The last question is always about the future plans. We know that it is not easy to see what is coming next nowadays but are there any plans you already have in mind?

I want to finish my studies in Vienna, get more independent with my art. Go to Japan for some time and just learn more and more about everything. I have plans.