T.H.E Interview – Christian Löffler

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christian loffler interview

Electronic/techno producer Christian Löffler closes the loop on a string of singles from his forthcoming album, Lys.

Delivering ‘Noah’, the third and final single of the bunch, Löffler gifts listeners with a glimpse into his orchestral mind.

We caught up with Christian and spoke to him about “Lys” and how it come about.

T.H.E – Hey Christian! Welcome to T.H.E – Music Essentials. How has 2020 been for you?

Christian Löffler – Thanks so much for having me! At the beginning of the year, I visited Japan for a couple of weeks, which was an amazing experience. I played my first show in Tokyo and it was great. Now that I’m back home, I’m mostly preparing everything surrounding the release of my new album and upcoming tour.

T.H.E – Let’s jump right into it. Your new album drops next month! How long did you work on Lys before deciding to release it as an LP?

Christian Löffler – It came together slowly and step by step. After releasing Mare in 2016 and playing many live shows I needed a break and to step back from music. I decided to go on a trip to Scandinavia with just a sketchbook and start drawing again. I came up with a few sketches but all of a sudden I got the urge to make music again because working on physical art inspired me. During that period I produced six songs, which I ultimately released in 2019 as my album, Graal (Prologue). A sketch accompanied each track, becoming the artwork. But the actual plan when I went on the trip was to eventually paint these drawings. I went on tour after releasing Graal, but only focused on my paintings when home. I went out to see many exhibitions and it was a very refreshing period for me. I was making music from time to time, and that was the starting point of Lys.

T.H.E – Which artists/tracks influenced Lys and what inspired the name?

Christian Löffler – It’s actually inspired more by visual artists like Till Gerhard, Miriam Vlaming or Robert Bisky than musicians. Getting back into art I was heavily inspired not only by working on my painting but also by music. I’m following a conceptual pattern by naming my albums after places that help me focus and enable me to be productive as an artist. A Forest, my first album, described a period in my life when I found peace during long walks through the forests close to my hometown. I recorded many sounds out there and continue to use them in my productions to date. A few years later I moved closer to the sea. Living only 300 meters from the Baltic Sea inspired me to create my sophomore album, Mare. Another very important element in my life as an artist, but also as a person, is light. In 2017, I started painting again which led me to find inspiration for new music. I realized how important light is for my work, especially in visual art. After spending a few weeks in Denmark painting and chasing the beautiful northern light with a camera, I decided to name the new album Lys, which means light in Danish.

T.H.E – This is your 4th studio album, how different would you say it is from its predecessors? Was this the most challenging one?

Christian Löffler – It’s different as I’m opening myself even more with writing lyrics and singing more on this record than I did before. My vocals used to be loop-ish and kind of blurry, like an additional instrument, but with this record I wanted to go a step further. I came up with the lyrics during the past two years. I was collecting many in my sketchbook and decided to record a few of them for “Lys”. It was challenging because I was undecided if it would be a good thing to sing myself. However, I enjoyed the process of writing and singing along to the music in the studio. It is a very direct way to transport your feelings.

T.H.E – It’s really interesting! I read somewhere that you would try and go out for a run every day, before working in the studio at 8 am. How did this influence your album?

Christian Löffler – It made it actually happen. I try my best to have this routine because I kind of need it to stay focused on what I want to achieve. It’s so easy to get lost with so many things you want to do simultaneously. I need to get out there in the morning to clear my mind and get things sorted in my head.

T.H.E – How did you go about choosing the vocalists that are featured on Lys?

Christian Löffler – I know them all personally and admire their work. The song “The End”, for example, is recorded with my friend Josephine Philip from Copenhagen. I met her a few years ago while working with my mastering engineer on Graal in his studio. I was a big fan of her band, Darkness Falls, and loved her the sound of her voice when she collaborated with Trentmøller. We just kept in touched sending ideas forth and back via e-mail and came up with our first song, “Running”. We just kept working on a few more songs after that and were lucky to come up with the idea for “The End” eventually.

Stream “Noah” by Christian Loffler here.

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