This time, we get to know Talking to Sophie. His track "Mariposa" is now featured in the New Artist Spotlight Family of Playlists.
Link To New Artist Spotlight Playlists:
𝟭. Where are you from and what is your hobby?
I’m from the middle of no-where in Germany. Okay, that’s not entirely true, I live, together with my wife, my son, two beagle ladies (Sophie & Marie) and a cat named Pudding in a small village, called Hohenfinow (population 525), about 1 hour east of Berlin. Most of the time, when not working, I’m walking the dogs (or do they walk me?) through the woods and fields around the village. Oh, and I collect Records & Hot Wheels.
𝟮. How did you get into music?
In second grade I became a choir boy in school and stayed that till high school. I haven’t had any instrument in my hands till I turned 16, a guitar became something mystical for me around that time, but I had no knowledge how to even play one chord, nevertheless I wrote my first song just a few days after I started playing (the song is called "Brick On Brick" and I did a rerecording of the song 2 years ago). After a couple of friends and I started our first band, we were between 16 and 18 years old, we couldn’t afford recording time in a studio, so we tried to do it by ourselves with a cheap Phonic mixer and just a few low-low-low quality mics. The results were, let’s say „interesting“, but I stayed behind the mixer and 7 years later a got my audio engineer degree.
𝟯. Who are your biggest influences?
That is a long list. I can not remember a lot musical influences from my childhood, except for Phil Collins... but seriously, we had a tape of the album which played so often, that the audio tape dissolved one day. When I was a teenager I spend my days on my skateboard and got into Skate-Punk and Pop-Punk. A major influence was Tom DeLonge (more Box Car Racer than Blink 182, but I loved both Bands), you can still hear that influence in my guitar play. Later I discovered more Indie-Artists like Death Cab For Cutie (all time favorite) or Rilo Kiley, Singer/Songwriter like Chris Staples (extraordinary on the lyrical side!) and Folk a la The Head And The Heart.
Also always floating in my head: Andrew McMahon, The Decemberists, Paul McCartney, Nada Surf and Tom Petty.
Despite of the musical influences some writers are always present when creating new tunes, especially Nick Hornby, John Steinbeck, Colin Meloy and Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes).
4. What are your goals in the music industry?
I don’t want to sound cheesy, but writing songs, playing songs and an audience who listens to my music, is just fantastic. I think it is great that a guy from a small village, in the middle of no-where in Germany can release a song or an album and the whole world can listen to that tune.
5. If you could choose a location to perform at, what would it be?
I always love to perform in unusual locations, like a rooftop and in the woods or in a botanical garden. But there is one traditional location I would definitely play what ever it takes: Red Rock Colorado. That location is just stunning.
6. What is your all-time favorite song?
Easy one: Death Cab For Cutie - Title & Registration, this little song is just perfect, short, light-hearted and let my always sing-a-long
7. Most embarrassing moment?
Tough one: there is nothing I can remember that was really embarrassing and I thing it’s cause I take a lot of situations with a huge amount of humor. Stupid things can happen and the best way to survive is to laugh.
8. Proudest accomplishment?
In late 2015 I wrote a song called "Bright Lights", it was kind of a wedding proposal for the love of my life and over the years the song grew to a serious wedding song for a few hundred couples. I like the idea that one of my songs is a part of the biggest moment in other peoples lives.
9. What is something about you that might surprise someone who knows you the best?
When I write new songs, the last I come up with are the lyrics. Usually I record some banana text just to find the right melody, sometimes those banana words stay for a long time and I'm listing to those songs a lot and sing-a-long. It happens that I play every now and then one or another song with banana text live at a show - it seems that nobody ever noticed that ... .
𝟭𝟬. What is your dream collaboration?
Hm, Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab) or Ben Folds, both would be fun, but both are not that realistic. Matthew Caws of Nada Surf is a very nice guy, met him a few times, woking with him would be heavenly and of cause Chris Staples, I already shared the stage with him (as support act). I would also love to see someone of my heroes would cover one of my songs.
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Nice conversation and...you have to read it if you want to know who Sophie is!!!🎧🎧🎧😉✌️✌️
Red Rock Colorado would be an amazing place to play. Love the fact you come from a small town of 525.
Congratulations and Good Luck!
Loved the interview.