“Just the four of us and the music”
After ten years of full throttle in the music business, more than five million records sold and countless concerts, SILBERMOND pressed the stop button, briefly thought about quitting, but then found out what was really important. The musical result is “Leight Luggage”, the fifth studio album by the musicians from Bautzen in Saxony. Singer Stefanie Kloß and drummer Andreas Nowak talk about it in an interview.
When you listen to your new record, you end up with the feeling: Wow, four of them really thought about life.
Stefanie: Yes, you could say that with this record we are coming to terms with the last ten years and dealing with topics that have really affected us. It is a kind of novel with twelve chapters, none of which should be missing. Like the song “Die Mutigen”, which is reminiscent of the time when we met for the first time, back in 1998 in Bautzen. We were still naive then, we just went to Berlin, let's see what happened, with a lot of ambition and fun. Or “B 96”, a song that shows how much the topics of home and family mean to us, especially because we can rarely be at home.
The first single “Leight Luggage” is about shedding ballast, freeing yourself from unnecessary frills and focusing on the important things. How did this realization come about?
Stefanie: After ten years of band history, we had kind of lost sight of what it was all about: the four of us and the music. With increasing success and every new record, the expectations from outside and the pressure you put on yourself have also increased. The courage and freedom from the beginning have been lost a bit, sometimes it wasn't fun anymore. That's why we said: If we make another record together, then we have to bring that back, then it has to be about the four of us again, about the really important things. That's why the boys recorded the record live together as a band, for example.
You even traveled all the way to Nashville to the famous Blackbird Studio.
Andreas: We needed a change of scenery – it was simply necessary. Nashville has an incredibly good studio culture; a lot of bands come here to record analogue, like us. The Blackbird Studio is one of the ten best in the world; the Kings of Leon and Jake White have recorded here. There we were able to really create the sound we had in mind.
Were you allowed to immortalize yourself somewhere there? On the wall using Edding?
Stefanie: No, the studio owner probably wouldn't have found that so funny. But I left a pencil with me...
“Today I have time” is about being offline and unavailable sometimes. Is that difficult for you?
Andreas: I'll pass the question on to Steffi
Stefanie: Yes, I probably belong to the category that when I wake up in the morning I check the news, see what's going on in the world and then check Facebook. That's definitely not healthy.
Why do we all find it so difficult to slow down these days?
Stefanie: We live in a time in which we all want to be super good and invest a lot. I often find myself sitting in the rehearsal room until 10 p.m. and being back at 10 a.m. in the morning. You always have to have your imaginary stop button in front of you and press it when necessary. I think it's extremely important to make time for your friends, to go out for a beer in the evening and not always say "I don't have time".
When you grow up, you're no longer as naive as you used to be - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. We all have our everyday lives that always present us with difficulties and that we have to overcome. But you must never forget that life also has a lightness. You have to maintain it and sometimes fight for it back.
Andreas: You always have to know what is important to you. Sometimes you pile up a bunch of stuff and realize that it's not doing you any good. Or maybe you have the wrong job and do things out of habit. You always have to reflect: What is good for me? Don't fall into the habit. But that is sometimes difficult.
When Silvermoon started, you were all around 20. Many of your school friends went to university at the time - did you ever think about that yourself?
Andreas: Making the band so half-baked wasn't an option for us. One might be studying in Flensburg, the other in Munich – then we would never have been able to make music with such intensity.
Stefanie: Hm, I've actually asked myself this many times, but I don't think I have any other qualities or skills
Your tour starts in May. Are your fingers already itching after a three-year break from the stage?
Andreas: Absolutely. It's just in our blood to be on stage. We're really looking forward to it!
LIGHT LUGGAGE – TOUR 2016
May 10, 2016 Hanover, TUI Arena
May 12, 2016 Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena
May 13, 2016 Kiel, Sparkasse Arena
May 14, 2016 Dortmund, Westfalenhalle
May 16, 2016 Erfurt, exhibition hall
May 17, 2016 Nuremberg, Arena Nürnberger Versicherung
May 18, 2016 Vienna, Wiener Stadthalle Hall D
May 21, 2016 Munich, Olympic Hall
May 22, 2016 Stuttgart, Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
May 24, 2016 Mannheim, SAP Arena
May 25, 2016 Zurich, Hallenstadion
May 27, 2016 Frankfurt/Main, Festhalle
May 28, 2016 Berlin, Wuhlheide Open Air
June 2, 2016 Bremen, Pier 2 (ADDITIONAL CONCERT)
06/03/2016 Bremen, Pier 2 (SOLD OUT)
04.06.2016 Schwerin, Schlossgarten open-air stage
June 24, 2016 Cologne, Tanzbrunnen Open Air
July 16, 2016 Bad Kissingen, Luipoldpark
08/20/2016 Ravensburg, Oberschwabenhallenplatz
08/26/2016 Magdeburg, Cathedral Square
08/27/2016 Dresden, film nights on the banks of the Elbe Open Air
September 2, 2016 Saarbrücken, Congress Hall – Johannes Hoffmann Platz
