Foto-Credit @Warner Music

Es gibt so ein paar Bands, die könnte ich immer interviewen. Wenn man auf einer Wellenlänge ist und sich ab der ersten Sekunde blendend versteht, macht es doch viel mehr Spaß den Künstler*innen Fragen zur Musik zu stellen. Dann fühlt sich das nicht wie ein Fragenhagel an. Bei HONNE zum Beispiel ist es genauso. Man sieht sich, freut sich sich wiederzusehen und schon plappert man drauf los. Da das letzte Treffen schon einige Jahre her ist, quasi Staffel 1, starten wir jetzt in die neue Staffel. Eine neue Staffel mit ihrem neuen Mixtape, neuen Musiktipps und witzigen Anekdoten:

Lovely to see you again. The last time we met was four years ago at the Reeperbahn Festival. Since then you released your second album and a mixtape. It’s like in a TV series. What happened in the last season? How are you? 
Andy: As you said, we released our second album „Love Me Love Me Not“ and we toured that extensively. Then we started to work on our mixtape, which we just released. We just kind of been cracking on like normal. Trying to navigate the world as it is currently and figuring out to work remote on music. Because we can’t tour. It’s interesting.

I realized that your first album is my soundtrack for my last year in my hometown Nürnberg. I’ve been listening to it all the time and it’s so nice to bring this era to Berlin now. It started with your concert at the Astra…
James: Oh that’s nice! By the way at that gig I nearly fainted. Before the gig I wasn’t feeling very well and was shivering. Thinking I was going to be sick and passed out. During the last song, I managed to get through the whole thing and thinking, I’m going to be alright. You know that feeling, when you look into something really bright and get sun blocked in your eyes? That happened to me and I thought „this is it, I’m going to faint…“. I finished the track and walked off the stage, nearly dead. That was one of the scariest moments in my life. It’s a horrible feeling.

I know what you mean! I fainted once at a The Kooks concert, not because of the band. It was too hot for me in the venue. It is a really weird feeling. Talking now about your new mixtape „no song without you“. Why did you call it a mixtape? Were you influenced by Hip Hop Evolution? 
Andy: It’s an interesting question. Basically it’s an album. In my opinion it has the quality of a full length album, but it wasn’t just thrown together. It has a proper thought process behind it. At the end of last year, I got married and I’ve been with my partner for many many years. The last time I made a mixtape was when we first started dating. This album is for her. It’s a collection of songs we put together to give to your partner or crush. That’s why we call it a mixtape. 

That’s so nice and that’s what I really like about your music. It makes you want to have a partner or someone to share your music with. I can remember at one of your concerts, you said to the crowd, that the next song is for the couples and if you want to hug someone just do it. That’s a really nice vibe and your style I guess. 
James: I’m really not sure, what we’re going to do now with Corona virus. Nobody is allowed to touch in the audience, so we need a new plan.

Yes, you do. How would you describe your mixtape in three words? I would say it’s a little bit melancholic, playful and wise. 
Andy: Now we’re older and wiser.

James: Like you said, I think. One of the biggest changes with this is the start of songwriting. We moved away from our old way of writing for us. Which is producing the music and then Andy singing on top. Which is what we always used to do. Now we’re writing the melody and harmony and producing around the song we’ve written. It really shows off – the songs have a traditional songwriting feeling, what we enjoy. We grew up listening to all kind of music our parents listened to, like The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. We were surrounded by instruments and started to write songs. It brought us back to playing the guitar rather than using the synths, what we’ve been doing the last years. 

Andy: With the last two albums, we wrote a lot of it separately. James would be working on music, so did I and with this album, we went to L.A. and we’ve been working together. In the same studio, same place with a few other people as well. When we came back to London, we finished it together in our new studio. Because of that, we have a stronger connection through the music, because we made it together. It wasn’t like one person did something and that’s cool. We both feel equally connected.

Would you say this is your new way of writing music or would you try another process for the next album?
James: We will continue to write together. For sure. We loved having this space with all the keyboards and drum kit lined up.

(Andy schwenkt mit dem Rechner einmal rum und zeigt das Studio.)

James: Before that, we had a weird way of doing things. Like what would be cool on this song? Now, one of us would be working on the song and the other one would just go in and try adding things and see what it feels and sound like. It’s much more a creative environment to be in.

Will there be an album number three or another mixtape? What are your plans?
Andy: We don’t really know. There will be another album, whether we call it album number three or four. The next plan is to start writing again. We already got songs for the next full length project, because they didn’t fit with their style and feeling. We’ll carry on and won’t wait that long, as we did now.

James: Because we can’t tour. We’re going to be in the studio everyday for the next nine months.

Can you remember – in the last interviews you recommended me Chance The Rapper as your favorite artist. Would you like to have him as a feature guest or work together with him on new songs?

Andy: That would be cool. He’s an amazing artist. If that opportunity comes around, we would take it, as quick as we could. What I’ve been listening to has kind of changed, I guess I went through a Hip Hop phase, but now I’m more into chilled out music, like Whitney, Phoebe Bridges, stuff like that. Kind of more align with the mixtape I guess, which makes sense.

Coming to my last question, you know that question, what’s your favorite track or album at the moment? Is it Chance the Rapper or do you have a new artist for me? 
James: Let me look for someone new. Rich Brian with Love In My Pocket.

Uhh.. I don’t know what track.

James: The lyrics are 18+, but it sounds quite fun and innocent. Have a listen.

Andy: If you think our music was playful, then his music is very playful.