Image: Christoph Köstlin
Philipp Poisel is the sensitive musician with the guitar - and in front of the stage, hundreds of thousands hang on his every word and experience his lyrics with him. He talked to us about his new album and his time away from university.
UNIGLOBALE: Your new album is called “My America”. Is the USA your dream place?
Philipp Poisel: Yes, absolutely. “My America” actually begins in childhood, with radio plays like “The Three Question Marks” or series from California like “Knight Rider,” which I loved back then. For me it has always been a country where a lot happens and a lot of exciting things come from. Bruce Springsteen for example. He really impressed me back then. I also like the idea that in some parts of the USA you can set off and nothing comes for days. When I got my first car and drove off to my parents' house, it was an incredible feeling of freedom. And I imagine that you can spend weeks like that in America. Of course, my image of America has also changed. But the longer I wasn't there, the longer the longing grew.
Has the Trump election changed your perspective?
I'm trying to look at this on two separate levels. Music has always been freedom for me. I used to come home from school, just pick up the guitar and dream away. By letting my musical side resonate, I don't have to worry about some things at all. But of course, I also live in this world and, as an adult, have my own view of these things. For me, America is two different sides: one is fairytale, the other is unfortunately real. My album refers to my own artistic perception. I learned in America that it's always worth setting off somewhere, even if it might be different than you expected. Because just then the horizon becomes wider.
Your new album was produced in Nashville, Tennessee. What was it like working outside of Germany and then in the cradle of country music?
The sound that grew there opened up a new world to me. I found an approach to the blues. The cars people drive there, the girls in their cowboy boots, the bars and vintage guitar shops - we really immersed ourselves in the culture there. And it was a great feeling to go into a studio that is very historically charged. Especially in a time when the computer has something very arbitrary. Because I do the accounting with the same device that I use to record music. Microphones, huge mixing board, huge tape machine and the feeling that every board breathes this recording - in Nashville it was completely different and something very special.
Were the songs for the new album already written in Germany or in the USA?
Everything was always nourished by contemporary music that was made in Nashville at the Blackbird Studio. Kings of Leon for example. A sound that made me think: Hey, how do you do that? I just wanted to get to the secret of this studio and capture the atmosphere and performance. The interpretation of a song is always an important part for me because you put the energy you have in the moment into it.
After school you actually wanted to become a teacher. Where did this wish come from?
Through experiences during my own school days. I already had musical ambitions back then and thought I could do it well. But nobody wanted to know about it. That disappointed me very much. Taking an interest in students' passions and nurturing them, whether it's part of the curriculum or not, was an inspiring idea for me. I would have liked to become a music teacher, but I failed the entrance exam. I could never read music. So I tried to teach myself shortly beforehand. But that was rather disastrous - but for me it was no reason not to make music anymore. And who knows, maybe the chance will arise again at some point. The dream of becoming a teacher is still there.
In your songs you repeatedly address feelings such as self-doubt, pain or failure. How do you deal with it? Do you have a tip for our readers?
For me, with every experience you have where you overcome something, the likelihood that you will overcome the next hurdle increases. For me, setbacks and defeats don't necessarily mean that you grow from them. At least not immediately. But if you take your time and listen to your own pace, it's definitely possible. Then you can draw positive things from it.
How do you know when a song you're writing is finished?
Every song is different, just like every day is different. Sometimes you start the song at the front, sometimes in the middle, sometimes at the back. Sometimes there is just an idea for a guitar riff and sometimes you already have a clear idea of what the beginning and end should look like. Then it happens very quickly, it's a few minutes with the guitar. With other songs, however, you only have a sound idea with the band and are more seduced by the mood. If I had had more time, working on the album probably would have taken another five years.
You have done many tours and performances in front of hundreds, thousands and hundreds of thousands. Are you still nervous when you go on stage today?
I always have the illusion that it's over now and then I'm proven wrong shortly before the concert. Because then the pulse keeps going up. So far I have never experienced stage fright. It's still there and exciting too. But I can also enjoy it today. It gives me power for the concert.
The singer/songwriter talks about his new album "My America" and his dream of becoming a teacher.
