Issue 21 – In Conversation with .. 10!

In your new album, there is a track called
“Rote Ampel”. Your gift of storytelling
shows. Can you tell me more about this track?
I was driving around town with my car when
I saw a young boy standing on the side of the
street looking at my car. I looked at him and
realised how crazy it was because I used to be
a boy looking at cars. Now, I'm the driver.
I started thinking about how much I had to go
through and work to be the person in the car now.
I was thinking about it all my way back and when
I got into the studio I just needed to write a song
about that moment and try to narrow it down to
what it takes to become the driver and not the boy
on the street. The process of writing that song was
a reflection of my journey for me so far.
At such a young age, you have two impressively
successful careers - actor and musician. From how
I perceive it, I would say music is more of a
therapy for you. Is that correct?
For me, music has always been more of a passion
that drives you. The biggest difference is, that in
movies, I play someone else. With my music, I can
open my true self and tell my stories. I get to be
all: the director, the cameraman, the editor and
the writer. In film, I’m a part of a huge team that
takes care of a lot of stuff. I trust them and do my
work. As an actor, I get to tell the stories of others
and live through different lives.
All my life, all I wanted to do was to tell stories.
The power of storytelling has always charmed me
since my childhood. It's perfect for me to have that
balance between telling someone’s stories and my
own. With that, I’m able to find myself again in
the songwriting process after an intensive period
of filming. Especially for actors and actresses, it
can be hard because you tend to lose yourself in
the character. Music has been my way to help me
counterbalance it and find myself again.
In other interviews, you've openly talked about
your mental health struggles, which I find was
so helpful to many young people. Can you tell
us what's your process for dealing with anxiety?
I used to have panic attacks and, luckily, they
have got a lot less since. About two years ago,
I stopped drinking, which helped a lot. During
my day-to-day life, I’m trying to maintain a healthy
lifestyle and prioritise taking time off, spending
quality time with my family and respecting my
recovery time.
I must say what helped me most was openly
talking about it. It gave me so much relief
because, until that point, I thought I was sick and
was the only one experiencing those attacks. It
can feel very lonely, and then you can end up in
a negative loop thinking there’s something wrong
with you. When I started speaking about it,
I realised I'm not the only one.
Can you tell me more about the meaning
behind your song, “Mond” as it has such
a touching sentiment to it?
It's a very personal song about a friend
who's always stuck in a very negative
situation. We all have friends who have
been in a dark spot for a while, it's nice to
have something to sing along with and just
say: “I'm there for you, I'll take care
of you".
Would you say your albums function as
your diary or a form of self-reflection?
Or is it more of an emotional release?
Honestly, my process isn’t very intentional
when I write. It just happens and comes out
of me. I don’t start with a specific thought.
Usually, my process is about just letting it
all out of me until the point when I have
around 30 songs. That’s when I started to
puzzle it together - like a director.
Can you pick out a few of your favourite
songs on the album and tell us more about
how they were written, and how did you
come up with them?
I'm a big fan of “Fuck It”. Initially, we
only had an instrumental with a top line
that somehow ended up sounding drunk.
I perform the song as if I'm intoxicated,
thinking about what topics one might
think about or discuss while being drunk.
Pain and love seemed fitting. Now that
I no longer drink, I often observe how
those around me who lose their ability to
maintain a coherent conversation. They
tend to switch topics abruptly.
From that thought process, “Fuck It”
emerged. It captures a particular state
of mind. The song immerses you in a
heightened emotional state and serves as
a compelling opener for the album.
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