I studied at the Berlin University of the Arts until 2012, but I decided I didn’t want to do a Masters. So in 2012, I had to get to know myself and what I actually wanted to do. The real turning point was in 2015, when I met a lot of people in Berlin with bands and was really inspired, if only to sit at home, write and do vocal exercises.

One of these bands was [instrumental psych outfit] Camera, and that’s how I met Steffen Kahles, who would go on to produce my songs. I went on tour with them several times, on and off. As they’re an instrumental band I would go on stage and improvise and do ad-lib vocals. That’s when I started writing my own stuff.

    I don’t think about genres when I make music; I go by feelings and emotions.

At the time, I was subletting my apartment and living with a Korean director, and he was asking me if I knew any German bands or German music. He was doing an animated movie about North and South Korea, wanting to make a comparison to West and East Berlin and using German music. I said, “Yeah, I also make German music. I have some demos, and I can send them to you.” That was when I realised I needed to do it now and started working with Steffen. Freier Geist and Wanderratte, were written for the film [which eventually didn’t happen], but then I also knew I also wanted to make a record. Sometimes things just need to align. I played every showcase festival, including SXSW and Eurosonic. I did all the stuff that was there for indie and newcomers, but they would always struggle putting me into one genre. If I’m honest, I was so surprised that people found it so unique. It actually annoyed me a little because I thought I was just doing pop music. I also never thought I’d be singing in German. It wasn’t until a friend of mine wrote me a poem in German, and then I thought it was so beautiful, and I was going to do it.Until the end of my twenties, I was still on the first record. Then I was like okay, what am I going to do next? The first record we made without a producer; it was just Steffen and me. Sometimes I would record and edit my vocals myself, then do the post-production myself. This is not something I would like to do again. When we made that record we basically had no life. I thought, this can’t be it. The voice is an instrument – depending on your daily state, it changes. I do not want to put us in that situation again. I knew I wanted to work with a producer, and I wanted to find management. 

There was so much pressure, so many people talking around me. The most important thing was for me to be happy with it musically, and be 100% sure of what I’m delivering, and to be a fan of what I’ve done. It’s like a plant. When it’s too big, you put it in a bigger pot, and sometimes it dies because it doesn’t like the new environment. I want to grow and be involved, but I don’t want to lose myself and lose the people I was working with. It was hard for me to say that I want to grow and not lose myself, but I must say, I’ve done really well.

Maybe people will say, well there’s yet another language on the album. I grew up with three different cultures and languages, with completely opposite cultures. I’ve always felt torn, and for me, making a record that has all these languages is an act of bringing together these different pieces. Some will like it and some will not like it. You can’t please everyone.