Interview: Firefox AK
From the very first downbeat of the single "Winter rose", you'll realize that the Firefox AK you knew from "Madame, madame!" has transformed herself into something new. Eschewing guitars in favor of heavy electro beats, Andrea Kellerman has evolved, sounding stronger and more self-assured than ever before. As to what "If I were a melody" will bring when it's finally released later this month, we'll have to wait and see. For now, let us check in with Andrea to see where she's at.
- Avi Roig
So, I understand that the new album was mostly written while in Berlin. Did you move there specifically to work on it or was it more a coincidence of timing? Do you think the city influenced your sound?
I moved there 'cause I wanted a change of scenery and always liked Berlin a lot. But it also worked out perfectly writing-wise 'cause we were isolated from family, friends, jobs and everyday duties which created a world where the only thing that mattered was to write new songs. I'm not sure if Berlin influenced the sound, I think it has more to do with a change in life rather then the city itself. At least I try to convince myself that the album would have sounded the same even if it was created in Budapest, but then again its hard to tell how much one absorb from one's surrounding.
As far as songwriting goes, "Winter rose" has barely any guitar. Can we expect a similar electro/techno vibe for the rest of the album? Also, what's your songwriting process now- do you still find yourself writing melodies on guitar? Or are you working primarily in the digital realm?
I work both ways, the first album was entirely written on a guitar, whereas "If I were a melody" was not, I started to learn Logic and ended up doing songs more based on beats and loops. A difference between the two is also that I now recorded demo versions of all the songs by myself before me and Viktor Ginner started working on them, that gave me time to play around more and try out different things before recording them properly. The sound on the new album is definitely more electro and the melodies harder to grasp.
I don't know how much of a gearhead you are, but would you care to describe your setup? Any particular toys that you're excited about?
I'm not really a gearhead, I always just have the minimum of what I need to get by, but I love my new toy. It is a flanger pedal, I want to use it on every song! Other than that I use an Apple iBook, Logic 8 and Viktor's pre amps and some other of his stuff while we are recording. On stage I use a Fender Blues Jr, some Danelectro pedals, an old vintage Fender Mustang from '65 and a Micro Korg.
How old is your dog Bess now? How much has she changed your life? Also, does she seem to favor either you or Rasmus?
[ed: husband Rasmus Kellerman, aka Tiger Lou]
She's eight months, she's equally divided between me and Rasmus, she definitely stirred some things up and made some quite dramatic changes for both of us. Before, everything was very spontaneous, whereas now life has to be planned perfectly so Bess doesn't have to be by herself, even though she should be able to by now. But I think its good for us, to have someone else to take care of. It makes one grow as a person.
You worked with Matt Didemus of Junior Boys on this album - how was that? Was he your first choice or did you have other people in mind as well?
He was my first choice. I really like Junior Boys and listened to their album a lot during 2006, so when I had the chance to play support for them in England, I was thrilled. During that week we became friends, as Matt is very easygoing and a really nice person – so I just asked if he wanted to mix the album. I flew down to Berlin in late October and we worked almost every day for two weeks. Some of the songs sounded really good from the start and some of them needed some more work. Matt also produced two of the songs.
Besides the familiar names of Assid, Tellevika and Jimmy O, you had Özgur Can do a remix of the new single - how did that come about?
Özgur Can and Rasmus found each other last year and fell in love with each others music, so when Özgur came to Berlin to DJ at the Panorama Bar we met up with him and danced all night long to his set. I think his music is awesome, it's quite hard techno but still very melodious and playful.
Are there any other remixers you are interested in sending tracks to? Anyone else already lined up for future singles?
I've asked some of my favorite artists, but some of them unfortunately haven't replied yet. There are a few that have and are interested, but nothing is definite yet. I had an idea for the second or third single; to only feature remixes done by girls, but we'll see how it turns out, I guess the ones I've asked are really busy. I would be amazed if the likes of The Field and Ellen Allien did a remix.
So what's next then? What's the plan for the next month? 6 months? year?
The album will be released on the 27th of February and the tour starts in March, so there will be some touring for the next few moths and hopefully we'll play some festivals during the summer and I'm longing to move back to Berlin, that will hopefully happen in the next year or so...
LINK: http://www.firefoxak.com/
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/firefoxak