Sie hat die Musik im Blut, denn schon ihr Vater war Musiker. Selber hat sie früh diese Gene zu spüren bekommen. Sie lernte Geige mit 8, mit 10 Jahren Klavier und seit sie 14 ist, spielt sie Gitarre. Geboren wurde Hanna in Connecticut, hat aber die letzte Jahre in Kalifornien gelebt, bis sie seit sechs Monaten ihre Zelte in Berlin aufgeschlagen hat. Ihre Songs, die sie alle selber schreibt, handeln vom Nachhause kommen, stets begleitet von der Frage, wo zu Hause denn nun eigentlich ist. Und sie weiß, dass es eben der Regen ist, der den Regenbogen ausmacht.
Hanna, you were asked to open a concert of Angus and Julia Stone. What is so great about Driftwood-Travelling that you are here?
Yes, I was asked to open their concerts in Munich and Berlin this week. But Steffen had asked me first, so I had to say no. But you know, living in Berlin, it can be such a dark and wild city, it's like a machine. And it's nice to get a break from the urban environment and get back to nature and connect with things like waves and the wind and to disconnect from the attachements of what we think is important in the city. Here, in this environement I can really work on my songs with little distraction. At this point in my career I think this is more important.
What inspired you to write the "Rainbow" song and what does the sentence "the rain makes the rainbow" mean to you personally?
Rainbow was the first song I wrote in Berlin. I had no real intention on moving here, it just sort of fell into place, and at the time I was pretty overwhelmed with my impulsive decision to leave my lover and go live in a foreign city on my own. As feelings of fear and longing arose, instead of resisting them, I chose to write a song about embracing them, knowing that this passing suffering can be worth the change of color you paint into your life. So yeah, without rain, there would be no rainbow.
Tell me something about the guy on your arm.
I have a tattoo of Schroeder on my arm from Peanuts. I think one of my favorite records of all time is Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas. I guiltlessly listen to it year around. When I flex my bicep it looks like he is actually playing, which is pretty fun.
What inspires you for your music?
Oh, well everything. But more often than not, the books I am reading, the relationships I am in, nature and her beauty and harshness. They all seem to be an underlying theme. But when I write, I feel like I don't have a choice. Often times I even don't know what I'm writing about until it is finished. Then I see it in its whole, and find out I knew what to say and feel without thinking very hard. And that to me is music.
So what is your connection to surfing?
Well, I lived in California, so I did some surfing there. I never thought that my music had anything to do with surfing. But I keep on getting asked to play at surf related events and Reef started to give me shoes to wear - and by the way, I actually really love them, most comfortable shoes to date. Anyway, for some reason my music seems connected to surfing for other people, or maybe I am just hanging with the right crowd! Yeah, but also, there is reference to the tide, or the sea, or water in almost all of my songs. But I am not Jackie Johnson!
Hier könnt ihr Hanna zuhören:
Mehr über Hanna findet ihr unter www.hannaleess.com
Das Interview führte Julia Kottkamp
www.juliakottkamp.de
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