Q&A: Silent Attic

If you feel nostalgia for the Indie bands of the early 2000s, or simply that's the music that gets you dancing, make space on your playlist cause here´s a band that you won´t stop listening to. Coming from Flensburg (Germany), literally on the border with Denmark, Silent Attic is deeply influenced by artists like the early Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and The Bottlemen or even The Smiths. Catchy melodies, and an uncomplicated indie rock sound that we would kill for to enjoy live now while we sweat, sing and jump in a crowded venue. Despite being about to start a mini tour, there is little hope of being able to enjoy such a night. However, this young band consisting of Eros Atomus Isler (vocals/guitar), Leon Paul Paulsen (guitar), Benjamin Bajramovic (bass) and Maik Klink (drums) has worked hard these last months and is about to release "Escape" (October 2nd), their second EP and after two singles we can't wait for the album to come out. But before that happens, the band took the time to respond to some questions about the pandemic, the new album, upcoming shows and much more. Here's what they answered!

The Covid-19 has paralyzed the live music industry until no one knows when, and has left us all kind of orphaned. But how has the absence of live music affected you, what have you been doing these last few months?

Silent Attic: “Of course, all of the gigs we were supposed to play in spring and summer of 2020 were sadly cancelled or postponed, but it is like it is. That was kind of bad news for us, but at least we had a lot of time to just hang out in the rehearsal room and work on new ideas and songs without any pressure. So for us, it was actually quite good in terms of creativity and now we're really happy that we're able to get back on the road and finally play some shows again!”

Perhaps with the travel restrictions, price increase and the absence of flights as before, it is now time to promote the local scene and hire national talent for both gigs at venues and festivals. Nobody seems to know very well what is going to happen but from your perspective, once things get back to normal, what scenario are we going to find? Do you think the music industry is going to change in some way, or perhaps everything will go back to the way it was before?

Silent Attic: “We think it might still take some time until everything goes back to normal again, but we have to use the possibilities we have nowadays and make the best out of it! The industry has been on hold for too long now, so even if playing shows in times of Covid-19 doesn't feel the same as it used to, we still need to get creative to at least get it basically going again. Of course, Silent Attic used to play small, sweaty clubs and the concerts have always been pretty intimate and intense, but by now we need to stay safe and see if that will be possible again soon. We are missing it, to be honest. In the long run, the pandemic will surely leave its traces in the music industry and we are pretty sure that it will influence the awareness of people, especially in bigger events. “

During these months in which all kinds of events and concerts have been canceled, many initiatives have emerged. From streaming from living rooms to weird festivals with people in the audience in some sort of boxes that personally reminded me more to cattle than people, but have you seen anything out there interesting or outstanding that probably under other circumstances would not have happened?

Silent Attic: “It's actually funny how people suddenly come up with ideas that would have seemed pretty weird if the crisis didn't exist. Live Streams for example. A lot of venues are struggling financially due to all the cancelled events and have started those livestreams series to raise money or simply give people the possibility to get back on stage again. So you're suddenly standing on a stage you used to play on in front of 300 people but you are the only one in the club. These things might have seemed super weird if we did it last year, but now it has somehow become strangely normal. “

On October the 2nd you are going to release “Escape”, the second EP and you´ll be in the middle of a mini tour that's about to start in Flensburg on September 19th and will stop in Berlin too on October 15th. Given the current circumstances, you may be among the first ones to play after many months of silence. How´s the situation right now, do you think these shows are going to happen, do you have something special planned for them?

Silent Attic: “When we postponed the shows in early 2020, we were quite sure that they were going to be as normal as shows used to be. Considering the current situation, they won't be normal at all. Of course, the clubs and promoters as well are doing their best to put on the shows, but there are a lot of enhanced safety guidelines that you have to be aware of. We will be playing the shows, but most of the club shows will be restricted in ticket sales and will also be equipped with seating to make sure that people follow the distancing regulations. Because it's kind of weird to deliver a full-on indie rock show in front of people sitting and watching, we thought about working on our set and delivering a show in an MTV-Unplugged kind of measure. But that's just an idea, for now, we will see how it all works out!”

Photo: Press Silent Attic

As for this new album that sounds so much like the first Arctic Monkeys or bands like Catfish And The Bottlemen, what challenges did you find in the process of making the always feared second album?

Silent Attic: “Well, the whole sound thing has always been a challenge for us and we've been trying to find our own sound for quite a while now. I wouldn't say that the EP already marks the end of that search, it's more like another step into a new direction, you know? The thing is that we dropped our first record very early in our career, way earlier than bands like Catfish or the Arctic Monkeys did and that's probably why they already had a more characteristic, distinctive sound at that point. We're still looking for that sound and the EP just another stop on that journey.”

After “Hide Away” (released back in July), just a few days ago you released “Take My Time”, a catchy melancholic love song. How does the rest of the album sound like?

Silent Attic: “The sound of "Hideaway" and "Take My Time" actually sums up the sound of the whole EP very well. It's a pretty fast sounding, danceable record with 5 straight forward tracks. We strictly stuck to a simple arrangement during the recording sessions, which only contains two guitars, drums, bass and vocals. We're really happy to deliver a fresher and more mature sounding record and we're also really curious how the fans will like it in the end.”

Northern Germany has given us many bands, but beyond the charm of the Fjord and the Flens beer, how far do the advantages go and when does it become a limitation to come from a place like Flensburg?

Silent Attic: “When you are growing up in a small town like Flensburg you basically know everyone after a certain time. This can actually be a very nice thing and definitely a reason why a lot of people like the town so much. In terms of music, it might be an advantage as well because it's pretty easy to become a part of the local music scene very fast. After 2 years of playing, you know every single person that has something to say in the music scene. On the other hand, your possibilities are pretty limited in a small town like Flensburg. For example, there are basically only 3 music clubs that you could possibly play at and if you did that once, you can't play there for the next few months because people wouldn't show up again. So at some point, you will eventually have to start moving into different territories anyway to continue growing your network there.”

There are many things and a lot of help that is needed today to gain a foothold in the music industry, but where are you now and what do you expect from the upcoming times? What things would you point out as essential to grow as a band (in terms of the help a band needs to grow)?

Silent Attic: “A lot of people think that it's only about the music itself if you want to be successful in the music industry. In a way they are right, but there's nothing more important than building up a network and having a team of dedicated, reliable people working in the back. Having great tunes is the foundation of making it in the music business, but there's far more to it than people expect. There's so much happening behind the scenes and you also always have to have a little bit of luck, too. But you're able to prepare the ground for luck by doing networking, building up a team and working with people who are experts in what they are doing.”

To finish this questionnaire, festnoise is about music but especially music festivals so the question is a must, which are your favorite festivals as music fans and in which ones do you dream of playing, both in Germany and abroad?

Silent Attic: “As you probably already noticed, we are heavily influenced but mostly British indie / alternative rock bands of the 2000s. That's why attending or even playing festivals like Leeds, Reading or Glastonbury would be the holy grail for us! Of course, Germany also offers a huge scene of festivals that would be a lot of fun to play, MS Dockville for example. They've got all those small newcomer stages and it would be incredible to be part of that one day! We will see where it takes us in the next few years.”

Listen to Silent Attic on Spotify and follow them on Instagram and Facebook to be updated on news and tour dates.