2023-11-24 20:11:00
Keyboardist Christian Hummer died last September and singer Marco Wanda also lost his father. “It was just a necessity to do it,” he said.
A ballad that gives courage
Because of course there is not just this piece – an encouraging piano ballad for which the group shot a video in the mountains of Georgia – but a whole album that is due to be released next summer. “I actually didn’t want to write a record at all, but the hardship of the situation, the tragedy and the feelings that came with it, which were very difficult to sort out, forced me to the piano,” Wanda said in an interview. “But I almost don’t remember this process. It just happened over weeks and months. It started relatively shortly following Christian’s death and at the same time my father unfortunately became very, very ill.”
A pact with the public
In this phase, “the themes somehow found themselves, as you can imagine. As little as this record is conceptual, it is very therapeutic. It was just a necessity to do it,” he explained. “That was one of the many branches that I and we as a band were able to hold on to during these months.” Does this reveal anything too personal to share with the audience? “As artists, we signed a pact with the public ten years ago. We have been presenting them with deeply personal content ever since and hope that they decide what they can use from it.” Wanda hopes that the new songs will provide comfort “in times of difficulties, crises, perhaps even losses.”
Back to “Nobody Else”: While the origins of his songs are often a mystery to him in retrospect, this time he can remember everything. “I wrote the song on January 3rd of this year, following a disastrous New Year’s Eve, which, to my eternal regret, I spent without my father. It was already clear to me that I would lose him, and I wanted to, no matter how selfish that was “I don’t want to associate something beautiful with it that I would then lose for good.” So he celebrated alone and “cryed down the countdown to next year.” Then he fell into a hole until it grabbed him and he sat down at the piano.
A song like a band
“There’s a lot in this song that I wanted to say to Christian and mightn’t – not when he was alive, and not now anyway. And a lot of it I wanted to say to my father.” He was also able to play him a demo version. “He said: ‘Congratulations. This is a song in which I, but also many other people, will feel lifted up.’ I thought that was very nice,” Wanda said. “That’s how I wrote the song. I wanted to create a place where you can deal with your own grief – far beyond me, my father or Christian. The song is like a kind of chapel that everyone can make their own can.”
Bright spots in a difficult time
Despite everything, Wanda, Manuel Poppe (guitar) and Ray Weber (bass) were able to enjoy their time in the studio. “As bad as we felt personally, we had so much fun making music. That was the only bright spot for us throughout the months.” He returns to the therapeutic aspect, which producer Zebo Adam also promoted. “He felt this responsibility from the beginning and explained to us that he just wanted to create a framework in which we were protected and might exchange ideas regarding what had happened and was currently happening.” So you only recorded 5 percent of the time and talked 95 percent of the time.
Intense, violent shows
But what if you simply have to function as a musician in such a situation, for example at the many live dates that Wanda recently played? “For me it was just another rage,” laughed the singer. “Those were very intense, very heavy shows. I just got what I wanted out of the whole thing. And I can only advise that to anyone who is processing or grieving. I largely ignored the audience’s expectations. Interestingly “It really suited them,” he said mischievously. “Because: They don’t give a shit regarding my expectations.” In any case, experiencing music together has now become more important.
“A classic eye-opener”
Before Christmas, the band will play another gig in the Wiener Stadthalle, the first dates for 2024 have already been fixed and the final touches are still being made to the record. But what does he expect from the new year? “It’s another duck and see if you can get away with it,” laughed Marco Wanda. “A classic shut-eye. In a way, this album is a reboot. After everything that’s happened: it’s a different band. It’s called Wanda, will always be Wanda and will always stand for the same thing. But for For us, of course, it’s a new birth, a completely new experience. I’m just excited to see what happens now and what that means for our lives.”
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