festnoise | Music & Festivals

Nov 23

Nov 23 A conversation with CHILDREN

CHILDREN are soon going to release “HYPE” (Grönland Records), the second album of this German duo made up of Laura Daede and Steffi Frech and because of that I had the occasion to meet both of them in the cozy office of the record label some days ago.

It's not easy to find authenticity these days. There hasn't ever been a more exposed and connected society neither, and yet I feel that we ́re every time more emotionally disconnected and somehow lonely people. CHILDREN presents “HYPE”, an album with obvious doses of nostalgia, an album that sounds like the past but is also a statement of intentions for the future. An album that probably represents who they are, where they have been and where they are going (if this is even possible to know). An authentic album made of experiences and memories of these two girls who have had no problem in undressing their emotions, and share afterwards the result with all of us in the form of beautiful, delicate and careful songs.

It was easy to talk with these two. Laura and Steffi seem to complement and understand each other perfectly. They show themselves joyful and fun but also cutely nervous. And they don't stop laughing. You empath very quick, with them and with their music. This is the conversation we had.

There seems to be a lot of complicity between the two of you, since when do you know each other?

Laura: “There is this historic photo of us in the Kindergarten seated next to each other but I wouldn't really say that we met back then, it was just a random photo. We come from a small town so everyone was in the same Kindergarten and the same school but we really met when were finishing school and we did some projects together and we realized that we could work together really well.”

Steffi: “We also sang in a choir together and we both were playing in bands. So we were always in the same circle, knew each other and literally went to the same places during our youth but we were not that close. The friendship started right at that moment.”

Laura: “Then Steffi was already playing with Andre, our former Guitar player, and they asked me to join so we started playing in a band together.”

It's been 5 long years since you released your debut album “Leaving Home”. Why did it take you so long to put out this second one?

Laura: “After the first album we went on tour and then we took some time off too. Back then we used to play with Andre so we also needed time to rearrange and see what we wanted to do with the band, where to go and what kind of music we wanted to make, which also took some time to figure it out. But for the last two years we have been working quite intense!”

“HYPE” will be released on January 31st, 2020 via Grönland Records. I've been lucky to be able to already listen to it. It sounds fantastic, and it sounds retro too. An album of future retro pop they call it. With a band's name that indirectly roll back to childhood, with music videos and social feeds full of analog references and a bunch of synths in their music, there is a lot of nostalgia everywhere. What do you have to say about this?

Laura: “It definitely does. I think the music that we put on this album or the songs that we write are influenced or inspired by the music that we listen to when we were little and I think that's a big part of all the harmonies and melodies that we have in our heads and that we wanted to put. We also wanted to put more synths in this album as compared to the first album where we had more guitars. We really like this french synth pop bands like Agar Agar.”

Steffi: “I think it's nothing so conscious or at least it wasn't because I was not really thinking about it. Now I realize how influenced I am by that kind of music! I often ask myself why do I like that so much and now it's getting more clear but in the process of doing it, I was just trying to find out what I liked.”

Laura: “I always think that I'm more influenced by recent music, new stuff or things that just came out a couple of years ago but of course all this is partly influenced by stuff that is much older so I think it's just a nice mix of a lot of influences.”

Life can change a lot in 5 years, even more at this age. How do you feel now as compared to that moment when you released your first album?

Steffi: “Better! Well good, not better and definitely different”

Laura: “I think we put a lot of stuff into this album that we wanted to have. We wanted to find ourselves in our music so it also took time to have all these emotional experiences that we could put into the album and we also wanted to sing in German so to realize how we wanted to sound in German or what we want to sing about was also a process.”

The same way you are switching between English to German, the whole album seem to enclose a transition, like you are still immersed in a process.

Steffi: “I think the album is definitely our finding ourselves process. We are still finding out what we want to do and where to go”

Laura: “Yeah, but I don't really believe that this will always be completed! It's more a state of mind of ours that we always are kind of questioning the things that we do, wanting to improve them. I think it's just the mindset that we always have with what we do.”

“HYPE” definitely seems to be the place where they have put all that they have been going through. What changes did you experience in your lives within these five years and how did this influence your music?

Steffi: “Well, we are making music just the two of us now. We started as a four piece band with our guitar player Andre and a drummer and we did that for a long time but we separated like a year or a year and a half ago. So the new music is definitely also about letting things go. But the major change was being now the two of us talking to each other and making music.”

Laura: “And I think the point of life where you are, it's also a transition. You study and you are trying to find your place in life but then you realize that this is real, its getting real. So I think it's a whole process of trying to find a place in this world, which never stops.”

Steffi: “Which I would never know where it is! You realize that it's not black and white, its something greyish and that's the thing that you have to hang in there.”

CHILDREN (Steffi and Laura from left to right). Photo by Marco Lehmbeck

I guess it's especially difficult nowadays when we all have so many options at all times, no matter what we do.

Steffi: “Yes! Especially compared to our parents that only had maybe a few choices or even only one. If they were lucky and good enough they could study and then there was like one profession and you just worked in that profession. The world is not working like that anymore and it's really hard.”

Laura: “And it's definitely hard also because you get distracted very easily by everyone or everything.”

Steffi: “Everyone is sharing what they do! It feels like everyone is being so productive that you wonder how they do it. There is people releasing stuff, writing books or doing projects while you are on the couch watching Netflix or just thinking.”

It's interesting to realize how the more free we are, the more trapped or unhappy we can be.

Laura: “There is a study that states that people on arranged marriages are more happy at the end of their life. They never got to choose, they could never say they chose the wrong one because it wasn't their decision.”

Steffi: “And I think there is some truth on it because I think you can be together with a lot of people actually. It's more about yourself and just the decision if you want to be together. It doesn't really have to do so much with other people.”

In this new album you also talk about love in times of internet. How do you think the internet is influencing the way we interact?

Laura: “I think in times of internet you get a different impression of closeness, or connectedness to people because with all this kind of social media you have an idea of what people do, where they are or what is the state of mind there. If someone gives you a heart, you can interpret so much into these little things that are actually just a click. Like: ́why when you watch my Instagram story it means that you love me, if I watched yours just because my phone just went through it!´ I think this is definitely something that I was occupied with the last few years to see how this all comes out together and how it does rely to real relationships with people.”

Steffi: “Many people are also finding relationships via internet. With all these apps lots of my friends did and it still works!”

Laura: “It's actually a really nice way to get to connect with people. It's just a new way that people have to adapt to.”

Steffi: “But I'm kinda stuck in the analog world, I think.”

Based in Berlin since they moved in 2008, the city has to -implicitly or explicitly- be in the album too. How is your relation with Berlin, what do you like to do?

Steffi: “I do very normal things. I really like to go to concerts. We also went to a lot of them together in the last two years, and I'm really happy that Winter is coming because there are so many concerts coming up. I also really like to go to the theater at Schaubühne or Maxim Gorki or exhibitions at small galleries that friends of mine have.”

Laura: “I also have to say that during the last 6 months, we didn't really do much stuff because we actually went from work to the studio and then to bed. So it was a pretty busy time and we couldn't really enjoy much of what the city has to offer. Also in the past years, I noticed that I enjoy much more to get out of the city. I used to have a little bit of ´fomo´ (fear of missing out) when I was younger and every weekend there was something going on, but I kinda learnt to enjoy the time being outside the city.”

With already three singles out (Hearts, Hype and Forever & Ewig) and while we wait until the end of January when they will release their new album “HYPE” (January 31st, 2020), CHILDREN are going to support the band Rikas at the end of November in different German cities. But, how about future shows by CHILDREN, any future concert in Berlin?

Laura: “We plan something for the release of the album. Until then we won't play in Berlin but once the album comes out there will be some shows.”

Steffi: “There is also this thing with the city where you come from that you don't play there so much actually. But we have played in all Berlin indie clubs, I think we played them all within the last ten years.”

Laura: “And it's always super nice to play in Berlin because not only your friends and family are coming and I'm always amazed when people come by that I don't know. We also did some support shows in Berlin, but next year we will have our own shows!”

*UPDATE on the article about CHILDREN´s 2020 German tour