Ansa Sauermann - "I come from a country that no longer exists." - mica

2023-06-14 07:18:00

“You get what you need” is the name of ANSA SAUERMANN’s third album, which will be released on June 23rd, 2023 on LOTTERLABEL. During a melange at Café Rüdigerhof, the singer-songwriter talks to Dominik Beyer about working with producers, why this album isn’t provocative and about little death. There is also speculation as to whether the future will be retro or modern?

How important is the choice of producer for your music?

Ansa Sauermann: Of course that plays a big role. Apart from the sound and the ideas that the producer can incorporate, it’s all about togetherness. How to work together For example, what time do you start? Can you smoke or not? [lacht] The producers I’ve worked with have very different ways of working. But they are both very beautiful. It’s also about the sound, of course. One is very affine when it comes to miking or programming synthesizers. The other might give you more time to try things out. This is how you can develop. You also experience phases yourself. Of course, everything has its time and its pros and cons.

Did you already decide on a certain sound beforehand?

Ansa Sauermann: I knew that compared to the first albums, I always wanted to be reduced. There are five of us on stage. And the song shouldn’t have more tracks in the recording than we could play live. In short, no overdubs. That would of course be too radical. But that was pretty much the direction I wanted to go in this production. I didn’t want to fill up every gap with some instrument. Similar to old ones Stones productions. There was a lot of air to breathe. But that also requires courage. The innermost drive always wants to pack more in. At some point you have to hold back very consciously in order to let what is already there have an effect. Of course, you have to have something like that in mind when writing.

Then you would describe the sound of the album as reduced rather than “retro”?

Ansa Sauermann: Yes, that’s it retro. Especially the mix. It’s more mono mixed. This makes it very warm and approachable. That’s a decision that you have to make with the producer Herwig Zamernik [Fuzzman; Anm.] meets. The studio is also filled with old instruments. Hammond organ for example. We’ve stuck to a selection of instruments for this album. On the previous album “Trümmerlotte” we chose from a huge range of instruments. On the current album “You get what you need”, the chosen instruments return again and again. That gives a red thread or also signature sound.

The typical topics of our generation are not addressed in that way. Does the past inspire you more than the present?

Ansa Sauermann: Already the present. In “B-sides”, for example, I’m already the Western European who celebrates himself from his privileged situation. But it’s true that it’s not a particularly socially critical work.

“I don’t want to be the privileged Western European who is simply pissed off by the consumer-oriented meritocracy.”

A conscious decision?

Ansa Sauermann: Completely automatically. The next album will certainly be more critical and political again. But that still has to mature. I don’t want to be the privileged Western European who is simply pissed off by the consumption-oriented, meritocratic society. I’m just not angry enough right now. Love got in the way of this album. Just because I was and am in love.

In the “One from Zurich“?

Ansa Sauermann: Exactly [lacht]. I’m happy right now. You can already hear that on the album. But it wasn’t a conscious decision not to write a critical album.

“It was just a declaration of love.”

Wouldn’t that be so absurd nowadays?

Ansa Sauermann: I know what you mean. I know that from my family. Topics are left out for the sake of peace. But that wasn’t the case with the album. It was just a declaration of love. The next album won’t contain a single love song.
The “lullaby” is about a good friend and alcohol. It played a bigger role during the lockdown anyway. Once the cashier from the supermarket around the corner asked me: “No Pernod today?”

Small alarm bell in everyday life. What is meant by “little death”?

Ansa Sauermann: Little death is the orgasm.

“B-sides” is also rather subtle. Is society too stuffy for you?

Ansa Sauermann: Not necessarily too stuffy. Rather too smug. You want to experience something and are constantly afraid of missing out on something, even though you’re already a very fed-up company. Added to this is supposed moral superiority. That’s what I mean by “we celebrate the shit from up here, from the most beautiful perspective.” We presume to judge and judge the world. We give big speeches and are the major war opponents in the Ukraine war – rightly so – but we also supply countless regions of the world with weapons and earn our living stupid. As soon as a topic affects us and becomes “woke” in a certain way, we have the one true opinion. I am in no way condoning any form of violence, but I can understand the antipathy towards the arrogant West.
But why you might be confused about the song is that the lyrics were created in collaboration with Adrian – my guitarist. If I had written this myself from beginning to end, it might have come out clearer. But in the end it was a conglomerate of ideas from us.

What does the line with the “dance of the misjudged geniuses, scoundrels and thieves” want to express?

Ansa Sauermann: Marco recently hired me from Wanda also asked who the scoundrels and thieves are. We all are. I would perhaps better forward the question to Adrian Röbisch. In any case, I identified with the line.

How dynamic can a whiskey bar be?

Ansa Sauermann: A whole life can be newly created or ended in it. Conversations, sympathies, beliefs, or sexual tension can come and go very quickly. I find that to be a dynamic place.
Also, I initially wanted to call the album “Young, dynamic and unsuccessful” and write three songs to go with it. A craftsman once brought the saying to our flat share. He just wanted to read the meter, but smoked another one with us and then saw our instruments. Said statement was about his own time as a musician when he was younger. I thought it was mega, but in the end I bowed to the majority of those who didn’t find this title very suitable and looked for another. The three songs “Jung”, “Dynamic” and “Erfolglos” are still on the album.

“I think the next big export will sound modern.”

A final speculative question. What does the next big music export from Austria sound like? Will this be a retro sound or modern?

Ansa Sauermann: I believe that the next big export will sound modern. I have three candidates for this.
RACHEL I trust a lot. A lot will definitely happen there. Go Morts from Linz is an absolute listening recommendation. “Filter” is a great song. And Bibiza will definitely make a big leap.

Especially in uncertain times, the longing for the conservative good old days cannot be ignored. Something like that could also be reflected in the music?

“Everything was better before?” – That’s the worst saying. I was just born in the GDR – but you can still hear this saying from the mouths of concerned citizens. I can’t hear him anymore.

How old are you?

Ansa Sauermann: Born in 1989. I was born five months before reunification. I still had a GDR child ID card. I can make retro music [lacht]. I come from a country that no longer exists.

Thank you for the interview

Dominik Beyer

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Live:
09.08.23 – AT – Feldkirch, Poolbar Festival (solo)
10.08.23 – CH – Bern, Buskers Bern Festival (solo)
8/25/23 – DE – Berlin, Zitadelle (Support for Element of Crime)
09.09.23 – CH – Dallenwill, Hofair Festival
10.09.23 – DE – Hamburg, Crushed
11.09.23 – DE – Hannover, LUX Club
09/12/23 – DE – Hall, Object 5
09/14/23 – DE – Leipzig, New Drama
15.09.23 – DE – Dresden, Tante Ju
09/16/23 – DE – Erfurt, museum cellar
09/28/23 – DE – Berlin, Maschinenhaus (Kulturbrauerei)
29.09.23 – DE – Stuttgart, clubCANN
09/30/23 – DE – Freiburg im Breisgau, front building
05.10.23 – AT – Graz, PPC
06.10.23 – AT – Vienna, Flex (Hall)
07.10.23 – AT – Linz, Stadtwerkstatt
11/03/23 – CH – Zurich, Dynamo (Steiner & Madlaina Support)
11/04/23 – CH – Bern, Dachstock (Steiner & Madlaina Support)
14.11.23 – DE – Bremen, Tower (Steiner & Madlaina Support)
15.11.23 – DE – Hamburg, Knust (Steiner & Madlaina Support)
16.11.23 – DE – Berlin, Columbia Theater (Trio – Steiner & Madlaina Support)
11/17/23 – DE – Leipzig, Täubchenthal (Trio – Steiner & Madlaina Support)