What is your name and role within Heisskalt?
Hi, my name is Mathias and i am the singer and one of two guitarists of the band.
How did you start?
We knew each other because of the bands we played in before Heisskalt. Several Members of those Bands moved to different cities to study and when i had the idea to form a new band to try to sing in german i asked the guys that were left – Marius, Phil and Lucas.
Where are you based?
We were Stuttgart based when we started out and now we are living in Stuttgart, Berlin and Leipzig. We all were a bit worried if that would work out but it turned out that the distance and the fact that we do not see each other almost every day anymore have a really good effect on our friendship. Suddenly we can miss each other really bad. That’s luxury, i guess.
Please give an example of your music writing process?
For “Vom Stehen und Fallen” and “Vom Wissen und Wollen” … me and Philipp recorded ideas at home and brought them into the rehersal room. We learned to play them, changed stuff and after a really long time we went into the studio and recorded everything live, except from vocals. Vocals were done afterwoods, after i changed half of the lyrics and became completely crazy.
Now we just meet in the studio of a friend in Leipzig with this really big room and just play and just record it and talk about it later. We’ll see if it gets easier with the lyrics, tho… 😉
What are you working on right now?
We don’t know yet. We just work on stuff and try not to think so much about what it actually is or will be. We did it that way too long. A lot of bands i know are doing that: Asking all of these questions at the beginning of something. Then suddenly you have to rate the music you write and think about stuff like “is that still Heisskalt?” “is that what we told everyone (or people that already startet to promote it) it will be like?”. We want to surprise ourselves. If you have a concrete expectation of something and then it turns out to be something totally different it’s hard to see that as a surprise. One would most likely be dissapointed. Or others would be.
(No offense, though: It’s nice that there are people that actually ask us, what we are working on. We just shouldn’t answer it right now. )
What is your gear setup?
Drums, two electric guitars with lots of Delay and Reverb effects and an electric bass. The Boss DD-20 plays a big role in our style of playing, everything else would be exchangeable. Les Paul, Telecaster and Jazz Bass. Hard hitting Drums, two toms, lots of cymbals. Amplifiers. Yes… 🙂
What do you like to do outside of music and does it affect your music?
Right now i am watching my daughter grow up and assisting her with it. I am sure this wonderful, but also drastic change will also affect my music. But i haven’t found out, what it does exactly. . We want to share the carework equally and so both of us have to decide carefully, what to do and what not to – which is a really good thing. Learning to say no to stuff and realizing, that the world just keeps turning. I also recognized, that i can focus like crazy now, when i work and i’m more confident in my decisions. We’ll see, what all of this does to my art. Luxur, again!
Do you know any music theory?
Yes. I studied music at the conservatory in Stuttgart. I haven’t been the best in theory, although i see the opportunities it gives you. I learned enough of it to learn a lot in the subject called “ear training”. Training my ears and constantly challenging them really changed everything for me. Theory, a trained mind, lets you think more, i would say. With trained ears you just know what you are playing and you know it in your own way.
What are your plans for the future?
As a band? Write music, record it, play it in front of people. Visit interesting places, meet interesting people and learn from them.
How did you get into music?
I can’t remember. I just started to play guitar and somehow i dind’t stop.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Borni – Kaffe und Pfeffi. He’s the brother of our Drummer Marius and i love his stuff!
Who are your top 5 influences and icons?
Puoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…… I don’t have all time favorites. It changes constantly. So i just tell you the bands and musicians that come into my mind first when i think about what blew my mind. Underoath blew my mind. Norma Jean did also and a lot of those Post Hardcore Bands. Jon Hopkins also did. Bohren und der Club of Gore also. Georgia did recently. Right now most of the music i listen to while i’m dancing and i don’t care about who did it so much or don’t want to bother the djane all night long. So there are a lot of tracks and artists that influence me that i don’t know. Oh, and Fjørt!
When are you playing next?
We’re playing some festivals throughout the summer. But nothing in Australia, i’m afraid to say 🙁
https://www.facebook.com/heisskaltmusik/
