My way from secret songwriting to music production to… a punk rock band???
I wrote my first song when I was 11 or 12. By now, I have amassed several folders full of original song lyric material, including melodies. When I was a teenager I dreamt of starting a punkrock band, but the few local bands were boys-only groups with classically trained music nerds and super confident posers. Only the rich kids could afford studio time and the others played in the school orchestra or at home in their respective boygroups. I was too shy and thought too little of myself to try and ask for an audition. After all, I was „only“ a writer, not a musician. So, I kept writing secret songs in my room.
Later in life, I became a music journalist as a side hustle to my undergraduate studies. Most of the bands that my boss let me write about were also men-only bands. In my main job as writer I recited a few of my songs as poems, but never dared to sing them. Because singing without being able to play the intended melody just sounds incomplete and awkward. Plus, in Germany the entertainment industry is neatly divided into categories, so when you write stories and articles you’re already confusing the audience. Adding another artistic discipline often makes you look „unprofessional“.
But one of the good things about getting older is that you have less fucks to give. This year I finally started to build a home recording studio, take music production classes, teach myself a bit of piano accompaniment on the synth, and organise jam sessions. As soon as the studio is ready, I can fulfil my dream and start a band. Many of my lyrics deal with the topic of work and class war, others are stories about deceitful love, the impact of the patriarchy on us (yes, also men), and about female empowerment.
I’m still a writer and would not dare calling myself a musician. But I’m sick of limiting myself to one art form. For me, art is all-encompassing, boundaryless. So if you come to one of my shows in the future, it might be a mix of reading, concert, and party. Who knows, maybe I even produce a whole album when I’m done with my second novel? Or publish the songs in a poetry collection?
You can already read shortened versions of the song lyrics „Disco Love“, „Danzig Main Station“, and „The Guy wearing Makeup at the Office“ in Volume 10 of Otherwise Engaged – Literature and Arts Journal. And one day, you will be able to hear them, too.
🖤💜🤟 mk
MKAY 