Introducing #176 - Eva Brooks
Let us introduce you to German newcomer - Eva Brooks, who has just released her debut track ‘Smoke’. The classically trained musician tackles complex emotions with her own take on dark pop, pushing it’s boundaries fully to create her own unpretentious sound. She took a moment to talk to us about her music.
Hey Eva Brooks, how are you? You have just released your first track - how does it feel to have it out there?
I am very excited to see “Smoke” out there! I have basically let my intuition choose this track as a first release – and I am actually quite happy with it now, because it kind of sets the mood for the songs to come. Although they are quite different musically, there is an somber yet powerful atmosphere in all of them.
It is titled ‘Smoke’ - does that have a certain meaning?
There is this saying: “where there’s smoke there’s fire”. Smoke can be alarming, disorienting, uncanny – you know that something dangerous is happening, but you don’t know what exactly, so you can get lost in it. That is the emotional scene behind the song.
Where was the track recorded? Any behind the scenes stories?
We recorded this track at Deku’s studio in Cologne in April 2020 – right after the pandemic hit Germany. We could neither work nor meet people and nobody knew what was going to happening… It was good that Deku and I were at least be able to meet at the studio every day. The music probably reflects some of this looming darkness we all felt at the time.
Where are you from and what is it most famous for?
Actually, I have many tiny roots in different places – my family is half Swiss, we have a strong connection to Sweden, I grew up in the Ruhr region and I still work there, but I have been living in Cologne now for almost a third of my life. I think I am drawn to places where there is an openness for culture and where people are direct and curious.
What are your key musical influences as an artist?
Growing up, we listened to a lot of punk and indie music. In uni, it was more jazz. But I find thinking in musical genres a bit artificial. When I listen to music today, I tend to focus much more on surprising harmonic arrangements and the particularities of strong female voices like with Björk, Portishead, Alice Merton and Amy Winehouse.
Now the debut track is out there, what next for Eva Brooks?
The next song “Minotaur” will be released in January! It will be surprising to some listeners because musically it has a very different vibe. In the next year, there will be more singles to come and an EP that I can – hopefully – present live. I just love playing concerts and this past year made me long for it all the more…