About To Make Their Impact On The UK, Berlin-Based Abby Talk To Stereoboard (Interview)
Monday, 13 May 2013
Written by Katie Territt
Berlin-based band, Abby are getting ready to make their name in the UK with a fantastic debut single and some headline shows next month. Ahead of the envisaged surge of bandwagon jumpers, Stereoboard caught up with lead singer, Filou, and synth and keys man, Lorenzo, to chat about all things Abby, including how the band came to be.
“Hmmmm, how do we put this right? We're a bunch of friends who met about seven years ago and started making music together in this constellation about four years ago. We don't follow any strict musical borders, whether they are electronic, classical, noisy or rockish. It's basically all about whatever comes out of our four heads. One more interesting thing about us is that 'Abby' is a girl and a friend of ours. All the lyrics are about her and her friends. That's why all these certain names appear in our songs.”
The band are about to launch themselves fully over here in the UK and already have a bit of a soft spot for us. “We recorded our album in London and one part of our management is based in the UK. During the last year we started playing gigs there and it turned out to be a lot of fun ‘cause people really seemed to dig what we're doing. The UK and its music has always been a huge influence for us.”
Abby’s debut UK single release is ‘Streets’ and is a good introduction to fans of Abby; both the band and the girl. “In general, the song describes the 'streets of life' that we all have to walk on, and in this particular case it's about Abby's path, with its joys, hopes and disappointments. It emphasises the will of sticking together through every moment. All our lyrics are about Abby; her life, her friends and enemies. The video for ‘Streets’ shows a part of Abby's life in fast-motion - birth, death, friendship, sex, love, music, pain and excitement.”
“Our music plays around with a lot of musical influences. I wouldn't say there is one song that reflects everything we do, but ‘Streets’ contains lots of it. We always enjoy playing it live; it has a certain energy we really like!”
As well as the single release, Abby have an album in the pipework, but it may be a little while before we get to hear it in full. “Our album is ready! It's called ‘Friends & Enemies' and will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in early July. Releasing ‘Streets’ in the UK is just the first step. It will be followed by another single and then an EP. Releasing the whole album is the next step and will definitely be done. We're still very new to the UK, it feels natural to start at some point. An EP is the right first step for us to show people that we exist.”
Another big part of Abby is their live shows, and they’ve recently been out on tour supporting Everything Everything across Europe. “We really enjoy Everything Everything and their music. Great band! We actually played together before - years ago in a tiny little club in Frankfurt. Meeting them again, playing a bunch of nice shows together was a lot of fun. We had an awesome time and played great venues filled with a great crowd.”
It’s not long until we get to see Abby live again as they have some headline shows coming up in the UK in June which they’re very excited about. “FOR SURE!!!! We have only played London a couple of times; our next show in London will be early July. We're going to announce it soon, but it's time for us to travel the rest of the UK as well. You can expect excitement, sweat, raves and funny dances!”
The band have already achieved some pretty impressive things but still have more they want to accomplish. “We played some amazing festivals last year. Playing at Dockville in Hamburg during sunset was very intense! Recording in London was so inspiring and we had a blast on our small USA tour last year, South By Southwest, New York, LA; that was pretty overwhelming for us. As for the future, there would be no bigger satisfaction than knowing your music is heard and loved all over the globe. Oh, and playing Coachella!!”
The first thing to check out that Abby have put together is their amazing mini-site for their song ‘Evelyn’. The site lets the user pick and choose what elements and instruments you want the song to use, enabling you to take and add bits out of the video. It has to be seen to be understood, so definitely check the site out. “The filming part was the easiest. Remixing the song was fun. The biggest effort was on the programming side…..at least that's what our beloved, nerdish internet-friends told us!”
To finish off, Filou and Lorenzo have a quick word for their existing UK fans. “You're great! Thank you so much for supporting us and keep on coming to our shows.”
Need we say anymore? A great, fun band with impressive talent and musicianship. A definite ‘one to look out for’ in the future and a band you won’t be disappointed by. Why not join in and discover the world of Abby.
‘Streets’ is released on 27 May 2013.
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“Hmmmm, how do we put this right? We're a bunch of friends who met about seven years ago and started making music together in this constellation about four years ago. We don't follow any strict musical borders, whether they are electronic, classical, noisy or rockish. It's basically all about whatever comes out of our four heads. One more interesting thing about us is that 'Abby' is a girl and a friend of ours. All the lyrics are about her and her friends. That's why all these certain names appear in our songs.”
