Foto-© Linda Schäffler

„I’m not trying to be different — I am different”, sagt Pink Sweat$. “I never talk about sex in an explicit way; that’s intentional. I never degrade women; that’s intentional. I don’t have a [fancy] haircut. I wear pink. That’s not typical for the history of R&B.” Es sind Sätze wie diese, die verdeutlichen, wieso Pink Sweat$ eine der aktuell interessantesten neuen Figuren im R’n’B ist. Der Sänger, Songwriter und Produzent aus Philadelphia glänzt mit organisch produzierten, klanglich reduzierten Songs, die seiner weichen Stimme viel Platz zum Strahlen lassen. Wir haben den US-Amerikaner im August nach einem Showcase in Berlin zum Interview getroffen!

Thanks for the show, it was really nice!
Thank you! I am glad, you liked it.

So when did you start writing your songs?
I started writing songs, when I was eighteen.

And have you written other stuff like poems or something?
I guess when I was young. Like eleven, twelve – I like to write short stories and poems. Just stuff, that free your mind and let you imagine another life, you know.

And when are you feeling creative? Is it like waking up in the morning and it`s just like „okay, I have to write something down!“ or…?
Yeeah, it`s different all the time. It`s like, sometimes somebody might just say something in like in a conversation and it`s like „Oh – thats dope!“ or I being talking to someone and then I say something they like „oooh“ and I write it down. Or like – I just go in the studio and start singing sometimes. Yes.

Nice – I also love your videos! Do you sometimes already have an idea for the video when you have the song idea?
Yes, I was like – I wanna do bizarre stuff, like simple but with an extra. With an end where you saying „I wasn`t expecting that!“.

Are you always working with the same video team, are you kind of a creative team?
Yeaaah. Yes, we do and we are.

How do you like Berlin?
It`s beautiful, really pretty.

How long are you staying here?
Just one day. (Laughter)

You have to come back again.
Yeah, I gotta try – what`s the usual delicacy here, that you have to have?

In Berlin specifically it is Currywurst.
I am gonna try. Is that the center of the city?
Yeah, kind of – but in Berlin are different spots of interest, you have a different Kiez everywhere.
A big city of US is New York, what is the big City in Germany?
It`s probably Berlin.

And where did you grew up?
I grew up in Philadelphia. You know, it`s a big city, not much going on in that city though. It`s hard to break through in music.

There is not such a big creative scene?
It`s not so big creatively in music like they take a lot of music programs away in the schools and stuff – So it`s harder.

And then you moved to LA?
Yeah, I am living in LA now. Yeah.

And how it is in LA?
Aw, it`s a breeze. (laughter) Yeah, it`s like pro and cons.
It`s good, because you can do so much creatively, but sometimes it`s bad because everybody is there, you know. You know, everybody creative is there.

And what are your goals for your career in the next five years?
I wanna do a stadium tour, just like having a whole stadium with everybody wearing pink would be crazy cool.

And when you imagine yourself at forty years, what do you see?
Oh wow, that`s deep…I don`t know, that`s hard. I would imagine that I am very happy and I helped a lot of people. And made people feel good, bring a lot of smiles and a lot of tears. That`s beautiful.

Do you have other hobbies…beside music?
Yeah, I like to play basketball, rollerskating. I don`t think you do that a lot here – rollerskating. Oh, a little bit, yeah – with the old roller-skates from the 80th. Yeah, that ones! I like to watch movies, I am pretty like simple. I like hanging out with friends.

And do you play with a band sometimes?
Not so much, I mean – yes I have a band on the road. Actually – they are coming tomorrow, right? (to the manager) Yes, my band is coming tomorrow. It´s fun, life is good.

So that chapter of your life is good and crazy and all of it?
Yes! I am getting so much new experiences. New places, beautiful places like this. Just seeing all that outside of my world where I grew up in. It´s pretty cool.

So – would you consider yourself an optimist?
Very, super optimistic. You have to be, to live in this creepy world. (laughter)
I decided to be an optimist.
Anymore questions?
No.
(laughter)

Actually – Do you have some kind of life advise for other artists?
Oh, I like that question. I always tell people to be optimistic, but…be skillful. Know what you are good at, know what you are not good at. Form teams with people who complete a full picture, you know. So if you are like a good videographer, you don`t need to partner with another videographer.
You wanna build your own superhero team, where everybody is good and can execute what they do best.
So building good teams around you?
The key to success is other people.
Nice one!

I don`t have anymore questions, I think. Thank you so much for the show and the interview!
Cool, that was fun – let`s eat! (Laughter)