Photo by J Konrad Schmidt
Four years after releasing their acclaimed debut record the German siblings HUNDREDS are finally back with new material. Their second album Aftermath will be released tomorrow – the perfect occasion for NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION to have a little chat with the duo’s female part Eva Milner about their long break, the English language and how it feels like to work with her own brother.
Your second record will be released on the 14th of March, four years after the release of your self-titled debut album. What did you do during these four years? What has changed for you?
First we’ve been on tour for two years. Then there has been a little break – about half a year- because Philipp became a father. And then we’ve also changed territorially. I stayed in Hamburg and Philipp moved to Wendland to rent an old farm. That’s where we built our new studio in and worked the last one and a half years. That’s virtually what has changed for us. We didn’t work in cities any more – like previously for the first album- but really out in the sticks, where nothing’ s happening. And I always shuttled around. For that reason the space has changed. And of course does the approach from the first to the second album change a lot. Because you’ve got – in our case – this infrastructure, in form of a label, a management and an audience. And that creates – I wouldn’t call it pressure- but you certainly know that there are people now, who count on it, who wait for it. In the first place we’ve been of course interested in making progress. And I think we’re also a bit slower than other people. But that’s not bad – at least in my opinion.
And how did this new environment influence the record’s sound?
I think – to tell the truth – when you know that we’ve recorded the album there, you can hear it. But I can hardly judge that because it’s too close to me. I don’t know what it would sound like if we had recorded it in Hamburg. In this way I always had the possibility to roll through the meadow, to go for a walk or to go swimming in between and in total quiet. And that’s of course not possible in a major city. Therefore I think it has been a much more focused work and that you can hear it.
What does the title ‘Aftermath’ stand for?
It’s a word I came across a long time ago. It’s part of one of my favourite songs – from KASHMIR. I just liked the word. I’m generally a word-keen person and write words down which delight me – especially in English. I look up the word and just really liked it and never forgot it. Then we wrote the song Aftermath. It was obvious that the song would be the album’s title-track. And that it involves our new sound – everything which is new and that it also builds the bridge building between first and second album. We just thought we could name the album like that – unless something better came to our minds. We tried different names, but this one always won out. Literally it means ‘reverberation/ afterpains’ – so it can bee seen as positive or negative. And then it also means, very simply – I think in old English- ‘grass clipping’. Thus when you’ve mowed the lawn, what remains afterwards. [laughs] It fits somehow. And it generally fits into our story – thus this long, extensive touring and then needing to recollect oneself and trying to find out: where the journey goes next.
You already mentioned that you’re writing in English. Is there a special reason for it?
I’m actually listening to a lot of German music. I really like it. And of course I tried writing in German but I realised, no, I can’t play around like in English. English is a kind of building kit for me. There are so many words – so many great words – and they all sound a bit softer and it’s easier to draw and make comparisons, I think. Especially drawing pictures, using metaphors. I just like it better. My German attempt really remained one attempt. I’m telling you, it was horrible. [laughs]
So we can’t expect anything in German from you, in the future?
No, no, under no circumstances.
You just talked about the fact that you like German music. Do you have any favourites?
I am – of course you can’t hear that in our music – a big TOCOTRONIC fan. Especially since the White Album. [laughs] I think they are brilliant. I like their gestures, I like their lyrics- I just like them. They’ve accompanied me half of my life. And – let me think – I like GUSTAV – a woman from Austria. Previously I listened a lot to DIE STERNE – ‘Hamburger Schule’, everything imaginable up and down.
And generally, do you have a favourite LP or artist at the moment?
At the moment I actually listen a lot to HAIM because it always makes me cheerful. At the beginning I didn’t like the record and then somehow it’s just always has been on and somehow it sneaked in. But it’s more for butt-shaking than contemplation. It has a lot of motion in and is really sunny, I think. Apart from that, I think JON HOPKINS is great. I listened a lot to ALT-J. And I need to catch up on some stuff that I missed out on in the last half year. I still have a lot to do with regards to this. ARCADE FIRE, for example. I didn’t listen to their new album yet.
Brilliant record.
I already have tickets for Dresden, but didn’t have any time to listen to it yet. But I want to take the time for it. They are one of my favourite bands. I’ve listened to them for a long time as well. Anyway, thanks, you’ve confirmed it. [laughs]
Photo by J. Konrad Schmidt
What’s the main inspiration for your lyrics? Do you write them on your own or together with your brother?
My brother is my editor who looks through it when I’ve finished the first draft. But I’m writing them. Aftermath for example is a story about a long-term friendship of mine. And the story is a bit more abstractly composed, so that everyone is able to understand and relate to it. Most of the time it’s things that concern me or a theme which currently affects me – nothing special. Or simply something which totally burdens or delights me at the moment. Actually the themes pretty close to me but I always try to take a step aside and find a special way to get there.
How does it feel like to make music with his own brother? Is it easier because you know each other pretty well or is it sometimes just annoying?
Both. I never had another band, so I can’t compare it to anything else. I think it’s super and also that you can be more honest without destroying anything. More honest and more direct, so to speak.
What do your sessions look like?
They’re always the same. We’re sitting together in front of the piano, Philipp plays one of his ideas to me, for example, or we’re writing an idea together and searching for a vocal melody – sometimes he’s already got one, or I’ve got one which I like, or I also wrote something and then we’re assembling it. And every song starts with piano and vocals. That’s always the basis: piano and vocals . Then I write the lyrics, Philipp starts producing and we’re always meeting while the song’s developing itself and I’m showing him new drafts. He’s saying: ‘What do you think of this bass drum?’ And I’m saying ‘Awesome’ or ‘Horrible’ and then he’s looking for another one or we’re arguing about it. It’s not a strict writing session in principle, we’re doing everything kind of simultaneously.
How has the collaboration with the British producer David Pye been?
It was pretty virtual, we never met him in person. We just skyped with him. [laughs] It was a great collaboration, a lot via e-mail – we uploaded every track and worked with every song what we imagined and desired. But the songs were almost ready by the time he received them. He also just produced about half of the album. I would almost call it mixing. Thus he mixed and produced. And he added single elements. It was pretty good to let it go and that somebody else puts his mark on it. It really benefited the music, as I think. The collaboration has been a bit strange because we’ve never seen each other but therefore it worked out really well. He’s a very friendly guy who did his best to do everything how we’ve imagined. He really ploughed without end for three weeks.
In which genre would you sort your new album respectively your music?
I think I’m leaving that to you. [laughs] That’s one of those things.You can write electropop, but that doesn’t feel quite right. I think it’s totally difficult to classify it.
You’re touring through Germany in March. What can fans expect from a show? I’ve seen you on your first tour and back then you’ve worked a lot with visuals. Will those play a part in your live show again?
Yes, but they’ll change of course. On stage, we’ll be a trio, we have a drummer for the live-shows. And the stage-show will be next level, I would say. But I don’ want to say what we’ll be exactly doing. It’ll be brilliant in any case. We’re in the brainstorming-phase at the moment- things are built, designed. Currently it’s a pretty exiting time and I’m totally looking forward to this new stage-show. It will be awesome! [laughs]
Do you prefer the studio or the stage?
That’s such different conditions. Spiritual conditions. I feel extremely comfortable on stage, I really like it. That’s a very pure moment, when you’re entering the stage. You know that there are people with whom you can share your new music, or whatever. That’s a pretty special moment that I love. But of course the thrilling thing about the life as a musician is that you’ve have these two extremes which are almost a bit schizophrenic. On on side you’re somehow sitting for a year and half in the studio and never see the sun – okay, it could be a lot worse. You’re just working. And then this other extreme, you’re living on the motorway for weeks, jumping from one concert to the next, which is also exhausting. Both are extreme situations, as I think. But that’s what is always thrilling about the profession.
Are there any special rituals before you’re going on stage?
Yes, we’re all meet backstage. The light-man, visuals-man, sound-man, Philipp and I. And then we build a circle and put all our hands on each other and everyone’s screaming at once : ‘Now it’s getting tropical!’ [laughs]
“Tropical?” Where does that come from?
I actually don’t exactly know. Some crazy idea in some city, I can’t remember. [laughs]
What do hope and passion mean to you?
On one hand, that question is very private and you need to think a lot about it. Very thrilling. [thinking] My passion is 100% in this project. And I have passion for many other things. Passion is a motor. But that sounds like a simple platitude and therefore I’m struggling with it. And hope is a motor as well, as I think. Both are motivating forces. And I think you need a healthy amount of both in your life.
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