Many people are involved in the daily effort to keep NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION running on the quality level you’ve come to love and enjoy over the past years. Everyone is driven by a massive amount of passion and dedication since, despite the fact that this might look quite professional, we all not make a living from it. This magazine is a result of that everday passion, multiple characters and tastes in music.
To appreciate that massive amount of dedication and to give these people the spotlight they deserve NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION will introduce our writer’s staff and their personal playlists via our Spotify profile right here every few weeks. Today’s contribution to the staff playlists of our little team comes in the form of Kai Hermann. Not only is the young gentleman a lovely human being to hang around with but also one who got his heart on the right spot. There’s no better person around when you need to find high quality pop tunes with attitude and power than our beloved Kai. So, while this playlist might surprise you with a few quite different tunes for NBHAP’s usual selections but be sure it’s another strong one.
Explain a bit why you start your personal playlist with the song you picked for the first spot?
I was addicted to the song since I’ve heard it for the first time. It just blew my mind – musically and lyrically. The theme is so selfless and I could really find myself inside the artistry. There are so many people feeling lonely, wounded, thinking no one understands them – even in my circle. But I’m here. Right with them.
Which musical century represents your personal taste best?
I like our current century a lot, actually. There are no boundaries. You can have a classic singer/songwriter with those Bob Dylan-intensions, heart-bleeding artists who suffer from their emotions, or typical pop-victims seeking for attention with provocation – it’s fun. Light and heavy at once, just like our everyday life.
What’s the first music (single/album/song) you bought yourself?
Mh…the first single was Around The World from German electro-pop band ATC, single CD’s where high popular back then. First album? Definitely Britney. But not the first one. I didn’t like that. The third one, I guess. Britney.
Name three bands or artits that, in your opinion, are criminally underrated and why?
First: LOREEN. Yeah, those who still know her will associate the singer with Euphoria, the 2012 winner song of Eurovision. And God, now she is just so much better than ever before. One of the best voices out there and her thinking is so much over the edge in her newest material. That might be the biggest problem: not everybody gets it. Especially the heads of Warner Music.
Second: NATALIA KILLS. Sadly she earned most attention last year for being a total dick as a judge on some casting show. To me, it wasn’t a big surprise. I’m following her music for a couple of years now and there are good reasons why her second (btw brilliant) album was called Trouble – she has some issues…or a lot, but she’s a hell of a writer. She just released an EP a few days ago with her newest project CRUEL YOUTH. It’s great, of course.
Third: To be honest, I‘ve always wanted to add SIA to a list of undervalued artists – but since those things happened with Guetta everything around her changed. Still, she is one of the best pop-song writers out there. Plus: her earlier albums are massive.
If you could fix pop culture: What would you change? (also possible: The Burt Bacharach one from the Artist-Introducings)
Why trying to fix something that’s constantly destroying itself all over again due to capitalism? There is a serious, deep part of pop culture – but not enough people who see it. It’s not that visible and present, more hidden. You have to open your eyes. Stop being blind.
What do Hope and Passion mean to to you?
Hope is everything. You wake up with it, you fall asleep with it. It’s always by your side. Passion is for the courageous ones among us. Love what you do, do what you love. Fall in love. With life.
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