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Ms John Soda are a duo, you and Micha Acher, but is it true that you wrote most of the music?
Stefanie Böhm:"Well we both had some basic songs, maybe there were some more from my part. Then we exchanged a few and we both added things to the other one's tracks. The songs went back and forth a couple of times and that's it. When we went to the studio it all went quite fast. It took us ten days to mix the album and to record some additional drums and voices."
Were the songs written over a longer period or are they all 'new' songs?
"I had had some of the songs for a long time, but we actually only worked on them for a few months. When we started recording they changed a little bit but they are not really new. Some songs are four years old. The way we recorded and arranged them is quite new."
Some of the tracks sound a lot like The Notwist, but with a female singer.
"Well, there is Micha's influence on my songs, but it also worked the other way around. When Micha made songs I added voice and keyboards. It's a mixture, a real mixture."
You're also a keyboard player in Couch. Why don't you sing in Couch?
"Couch is a totally different thing. Besides, I don't write songs for Couch. Michael Heilrath, Couch's bass player, writes most of the songs. The input of the rest of the band consists of the arrangement and the way we play it. It's a totally different way of working. With this project I have my own songs and I wanted to recorded them my own way. That's why I started doing Ms John Soda."
And you are Ms John Soda?
"It started as a solo project a few years ago and I first used the name, so yes: I am Ms John Soda. But now I think it has grown to be a whole band, especially when we play live with four people. But I really want to keep the name because I like it very much."
What does No P. Or D. mean?
"To me it means 'no place or date', but we didn't want to make it that clear."
I thought it was "no pills or drugs".
"Or 'no percussion or drums'. (laughs) That's why I wanted to make the title like this, so everyone can interpret it in different ways."
You write all the lyrics. They aren't always cheerful are they?
"No, but it's also not like a total depression. I think it's something in between. It's more melancholic than totally sad. What I wanted to do was to express some feelings, in the words and in the music."
Thomas Morr said that his aim with Morr Music was to put out melancholic music. Does that also apply to you?
"I don't think the goal is to make melancholic music. To me the goal is to make music that expresses emotions, which does not always have to be melancholy or sadness. But that's just what mostly comes out." (laughs)
Do you like it at Morr Music? Your album sounds very different from the things they have done before.
"I was surprised that Thomas wanted to release the record. I did the 7" (on Hausmusik) four years ago and Thomas came to me and said that if I wanted to do more I had to send it to him because he wanted to put it out. The 7" was four years ago and me and Micha just kept working on the songs. Apparently Thomas still wanted to do the album, although we said it was quite different from what he usually does. But I'm really happy about it. This album may sound different from the other releases on the label, but there will be more different things on Morr in the future."
Would you agree if I said that your album is the most poppy release on Morr?
"We wanted it to be pop in a way. For me, compared to my work with Couch, Ms John Soda is my pop project. That's what I like about it, because I really like pop music, though I don't want to make mainstream pop. I wanted to make pop music, but in a special way, electronics mixed with real instruments."
What's your musical background? You like pop, you make post-rock with Couch and now there's Ms John Soda.
"I come from an indie rock background. Ten years ago I was listening to hardcore and things like that. But I'm not only listening to indie rock, I also listen a lot to electronic bands, and some experimental stuff, too."
How does it feel for someone with an indie rock background to be around all these electronic music artists on Morr?
"I think most of the people who are in electronic music all have an indie and rock background. The people I know have. I'm listening to electronics as well. It doesn't feel weird because I think it mixes quite well. People don't listen only to electronica or only to rock. It's about being open-minded."
How important will Ms John Soda be compared to your other projects?
"For me it's only Couch and Ms John Soda, but Micha is involved in other projects, with the Notwist and Tied Tickle Trio. I just want to do my two projects and I don't want to decide which is number one and number two. They're both important to me and I think it's the same for Micha."
What is 'Unsleeping' about? It's a beautiful word, but I didn't know it existed.
"The word exists, but it's like old-school English. It means 'not sleeping'. With the lyrics I don't want to talk about specific things, I want the listener to get some parts and interpret them in their own special way. Most of the songs are about how I feel about losing something. The way it goes most of the times. It hurts and it's sad, but it always happens like that and you can change and get on with it. It's the way life goes. Life is not sugar licking. (laughs) That's what Micha always says: das Leben ist kein Zuckerlekken. But it sounds much better in English." (laughs)
Is there any new stuff coming out next year?
"Yes, we are hoping to release a 12" some time in Spring or Summer, but we haven't recorded it yet."
Ms John Soda discography:
Meine Welt in Schokolade (7", Hausmusik)
Drop = Scene (12", Morr Music)
No P. Or D. (CD, Morr Music)
» Visit the Morr Music website
http://www.kindamuzik.net/interview/ms-john-soda/ms-john-soda-life-is-not-sugar-licking/2134/
Meer Ms John Soda op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/ms-john-soda
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