An interview and exclusive video premiere! Berlin based collective: Like a Wild Beast’s Fur (abbreviated LAWBF) celebrates music, art and fashion with their sound. Today we are hosting the premiere of the new video: SAUVAGE 2! A mystical song, with a haunting sound. The collective, which was founded back in in 2014, is headed and curated by Nicholas Mockridge and is comprised of notable artists across all age groups. I had a chat with Nicholas Mockridge, Friederike Bernhardt and Berlin based fashion designer Esther Perbandt about the new video! Have a read below:
In my head, there was this very clear image of three witches. I wanted those creatures to bridge over into the future
KALTBLUT: Welcome To the KALTBLUT family and congrats to the release of your new video: SAUVAGE 2. What was the inspiration for the video we’re premiering today?
Nicholas Mockridge: Thanks for having us! I was watching Wagner’s Tannhäuser at Deutsche Oper Berlin when the idea came. It wasn’t the most modern or sophisticated production, but I was suddenly struck by a mystical and archaic vibe. In my head, there was this very clear image of three witches. I wanted those creatures to bridge over into the future.
KALTBLUT: I’m a bit in love with the sound of the new track. Who does what in your band? Who is responsible for the sound?
Nicholas: The writing is split between Friederike, Riccardo and me. I write the lyrics and give what I’ve written to the other two. One of them will come up with a melodic structure or a rhythm. Frida is amazing musically, she can turn anything into music and came up with the harmonies for the song. Riccardo created the percussion and overall structure with our producer Angelo Elle. For the live-performances the band comes together, with Alexander playing guitar and Johannes on drums.
Friederike Bernhardt: The aesthetics of Nicholas’ words inspired me quite soon to a certain soundscape and melody. We first played it live in a gallery and a year later we found a sound that was more suited for a record. In general I think our teamwork is really good!
KALTBLUT: The video for SAUVAGE 2 is beautiful! Who directed the video? And have you worked with the director before?
Friederike Bernhardt: Nicholas shot the video and so yes, we’ve worked together before! He created the LAWBF showcases and this is where we started working together. He’s always quite fast in formulating an aesthetic vision as to how he wants to realize what. It’s infectious. He’s got a strong sense for bringing people together .
KALTBLUT: For the fashion part in the video you worked with one of our favourite Berlin designers: Esther Perbandt. How did this cooperation come about?
Nicholas: Esther was at the very first LAWBF showcase at Kantine am Berghain and tore the dancefloor apart in a pair of avant-garde platform heels. Her style and personality totally got me and I decided right then and there that I wanted her to be my older sister. I think over the years she grew to accept the young cat she got to know that night and we have since collaborated on a number of different projects. Once you go black you never go back.
KALTBLUT: Let´s talk for a second with Esther about her vision of the song and the cooperation. Esther.. So I guess you guys know each other for some time and it is not the first time that you are working with musicians .. in your words what makes the sound of LAWBF so special?
Esther: It was really quite funny how Nicholas was obsessed with the idea of me being his older sister. But maybe it was a good way or the only way in which he could cope with my always very critical and skeptical side. So yes, we do know each other for some time. What I like about Nicholas is that he really burns for his ideas and then he puts all his energy in realizing them. He doesn’t give up easily. That is fascinating. And he brings together all kinds of people to make it happen. The sound of LAWBF is dark and mythical and a bit sexy. Even I would never use those two words to describe my work, although I might be attracted by them from time to time. But using mainly the color black has other reasons. For me black complements a beautiful personality like the right frame complements an amazing piece of art.
KALTBLUT: Did you design new items for the video? Or from which collection do we see your fashion in the video?
Esther: This was rather a last minute project, where I was thrown in later. In other projects with Nicholas I was part from the beginning and I created something especially for the project in the way I envision the general spirit of Nicholas ideas. But luckily, after almost 15 years of my label, I have a major archive of 28 collections in my cellar and could draw from there for Nicholas needs.
I cannot imagine just sitting in my atelier doing collections
KALTBLUT: As a Berlin based designer .. how important are such projects for you?
Esther: The importance of such projects has nothing to do with being Berlin based. One of my very first collections was called “hungry for life”. This is so typical me, in german you would call me “Raupe Nimmersatt”, a famous kids book. I cannot imagine just sitting in my atelier doing collections. On the contrary, having a “fashion” label is only one of my desires. I need to go out, not meaning the night life, but maybe like leaving your comfort zone. I love cooperations, I love to mix and match with artists, musicians, filmmakers etc. It is always enriching and inspiring for your work and personal growth.
KALTBLUT: The name of your band is: Like a Wild Beast’s Fur (abbreviated LAWBF). A Berlin based showcase that presents a hybrid art form and functions as a collective. But what does that mean exactly?
Friederike: It means that extremely different ideas bring together extremely different individuals. Things started out in the Kantine am Berghain with a series of performances. Nicholas had concepts in regards to different artists and themes, for which he would create specific ensembles. Said ensemble would attack that concept for a one-time performance. Stage, sound, text, direction, photography, dance… all different disciplines would fuse in a new show every 4-6 weeks. This gave birth and continues to breed the collective.
KALTBLUT: Your band consists of a few creative minds. So .. who is all part of your project?
Friederike: Nicholas writes the lyrics, I write the songs, Riccardo writes the electronic tracks. Johannes plays drums and Alexander plays guitar.
KALTBLUT: What brought you all together as LAWBF? Can you tell us a little bit about the way your personal life and musical journey have become connected to one another, and led up to this point?
Nicholas: The band is the product of four years of collaborating on different LAWBF productions. Alexander Scheer and Jasna Fritzi Bauer were in the first show in 2014, which was a reading of Rainald Goetz’ Rave. I played some techno records as a soundtrack. Then Friederike did a show where she composed and performed a soundtrack to Marilyn Monroe’s diaries. She brought Johannes, who she knew from Leipzig, and we then finally formed this type of All-Star-Band. Basically all of us have a theatre background or some connection to that world, so I guess that is something that links us. The only exception to that story is Riccardo. We’ve been dj-ing House and Techno together for over 10 years and he’s one of my best friends.
KALTBLUT: What were some of your early influences when you started out?
Nicholas: I was always really into classic singer-songwriters with a poetic edge like Jim Morrison, Lou Reed or Nick Drake. Artists that could work words. Then, when I was 19 that whole world was thrown into the acid bath that was electronic music. The sheer energy and wordless hypnosis of drum patterns and the way in which DJs would mash-up completely different styles and create a huge narrative. Nothing would ever be the same again. There was this song called „Flesh & Bone“ by The Hacker that sends shivers down my spine still today.
KALTBLUT: How did these early influences translate into the music that you create now?
Nicholas: Those early electro-clash days were formative in a sense that they encouraged one to combine influences and create a layered sound. Blues elements mix with Wave and Dance. There’s no dogma. The work is in unifying these approaches, creating a homogenous sound. Our producer Angelo Elle was also instrumental in that regard, he was a guiding force in the studio. SAUVAGE 2 is kind of like a blueprint. Initially, we rented out a mansion in Saxony in the winter of 2016, thinking we’d finish the track in a weekend. That weekend became a year of studio sessions in Germany and Italy.
We don’t necessarily define ourselves as „band“ in the classic sense of the term
KALTBLUT: Tell us a little bit more about the creative approach you’ve developed as a band?
Friederike: We don’t necessarily define ourselves as „band“ in the classic sense of the term. We are rather still part of the collective. When we recorded the EP a year ago we had these early sketches, which we then developed over the course of a year.
Nicholas: I really identify with bands that are more than just a group of musicians, but are rather like interdisciplinary artists. Mike Kelley’s Destroy all Monsters, Sonic Youth or the Geniale Dilletanten movement I find super-inspiring. The music is part of larger artistic picture. A „band“ is a productive entity.
KALTBLUT: Is there an album in the making? And if so what can we expect from your album?
Nicholas: Yes, we are compiling material, I’ve written lyrics and there’s a title for a 10-track LP. Like a lot of people I’m frustrated with the information age and the fact that we are being ruled by some very whack people. It’s an inferno in many ways. We want the album to be like a cycle, like a musical theatre play. I’m really looking forward to an intense creative period.
KALTBLUT: What are your plans for this summer? Are you playing at any festivals/gigs?
Nicholas: We are in talks with Radialsystem in Berlin and the Münchner Kammerspiele to present our next show. Also, the RomaEuropa Festival is a progressive platform we really like. At this point we decided to focus on the album first and as soon as it’s ready we’ll tour it. Watch out!
KALTBLUT: If you could travel back in time to any era, what would it be? And what would you do?
Nicholas: Currently I’m fascinated by this band from early 1990’s California called „The Summer Hits“. They were fronted by this extremely charismatic singer, Rex Thompson, who just personifies Los Angeles. An incredibly free-spirited legend of the West Coast, who sadly died recently. I would watch him closely and have him tell me his story, so I could turn it into a movie. If he were cool with that.
KALTBLUT: What’s the best bit of advice you could share with other aspiring musicians and producers?
Nicholas: Read „Please kill me“ by Legs McNeil and broaden your horizon by working with as many talented artists as you can!
Friederike: Work before lunch and try to stick to one idea before you get lost in 30 other possibilities.
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