It is really interesting to reflect upon the journey we have had so far. On the one hand, it takes me by surprise every year, that we are still doing this for a living. On the other hand, I know that we are incredibly lucky. And we have an amazing team we’re working with for the last few years. Yet, it is not only the work and having talent, you also need to have a little luck on your way. We had a lot of misfortune, too, but it always walked side by side with good things. I never lost hope in our little band.
Early beginnings
We started the project Hundreds in the summer of 2008, found a name and slept and worked in Philipp’s studio in Erfurt (he played piano for singer-songwriter Clueso at the time). We recorded day and night and were writing songs at the same time. Our first My Space Page was up for only two weeks, when suddenly a guy from Leipzig reaches out to me, if we were willing to play a concert… I was completely flabbergasted, yelling at my brother: “OH MY GOD! How are we supposed to play a concert! We just finished recording two songs, how can we play a whole show!” I never thought of myself as a stage personality. I am more of a beholder, but it turned out, the front was okay for me in the end. Yet, it took a lot of overcoming my own fears. The guy who sent me the mail ended up turning into a friend and close consultant throughout our career. And in 2009 we played our first Leipzig Show with his help.
Hundreds back in 2014. Photo by J Konrad Schmidt
Highs and lows
Then, a few days later a guy from Berlin writes to us. He tells me that he wants to manage artists with his best friend. Normally he only likes music with guitars, but there is something about our music that he really likes. They don’t have much money, but a lot of great ideas. We would be their first act. And they became our management. We couldn’t believe that this was really happening. Of course everything was small, it was not a major deal, but it showed after a short time, that people were interested. And the ideas we had together were fire for our first steps.
We started touring in 2010, released our first album at Sinnbus, who were more than just a label for us. They helped us to get going and they had a really good taste in arts and music and were overall nice guys. So, we had a pretty good start but there was a lot of hardship later on, too. Boring times, when nothing would happen for months. No melodies. No inspiration. We were just sitting around, feeling dull and empty, like copies of ourselves. We are both very critical with ourselves which doesn’t make it easier but in the long run I think it is really good. We grew slowly and never had a big hit. (We also don’t know how to write one.)
Words of wisdom
If you ask me for any advice for newcomers in music business, I’d probably say only one word: Patience. You need patience. And it sucks. But it’s the only thing that works out in the end. A little zeitgeist cannot hurt, too. And rehearse! A lot! It’s also good to do other things, and not to depend on music for everything. I, for example, opened up a community project with friends. It’s a café, but also has a social and cultural approach. That brings a lot of sense into my life. Philipp produces other artists from time to time and instructs the children’s choir in his village. And try to change your way of doing music from time to time or you will get so bored! We have a techno setup, an acoustic setup and we’re currently working on something new that I cannot reveal yet. We are still here and I think the reason for that is, among other things, our persistence.
A preliminary highlight
If someone told me 10 years ago, that we would celebrate our 10th anniversary at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, I would’ve died from laughing right on the spot. But it actually happened and it was the scariest, hardest and most beautiful thing I’ve ever been a part of. The fact that we are sister and brother is also very important. We can speak without words and we sometimes annoy the hell out of each other. But most of the time, we’re just working side by side and we have the same view on life, the world and on music. We both know exactly when a song is a „Hundreds-song”.
Now, we are about to release our fourth studio album The Current. It is about movement, standing up for yourself, raising your voice and trying to fight for the good in these troubled times. We hope that we are able to create four more albums, but no one knows for sure. You cannot force something like that. Sometimes I feel like a grandma, sitting on my (imagined) porch, petting my (real) dog and talk about the times when we still sold real CDs. That is so unbelievable!
Hundreds‘ fourth full-length The Current will be released on March 27 via Embassy Of Music.