Off Lights Interview

Please introduce yourself and where you are from.

Julian: Off Lights consists of Thorsten (guitars), Sascha (drums) and myself (vocals & songwriter). We originally all come from Frankfurt, Germany where we got to know each other during the pandemic. 

How did you guys meet? 

J: Sascha and I already knew each other from a band project we both played in before. I got to know Thorsten during the pandemic through a musician forum on Facebook. He posted an ad there regarding the search for a singer and mentioned several bands I liked as references. I had then listened to a demo of him on SoundCloud and was immediately in love. Then everything actually went very quickly. I sang something on this demo, sent him the track, he thought it was great and from then on we made music together.

How did you choose your band name?

J: With the name we wanted to reflect the dark and light side that we carry within and that inspire us. Off fLights has no specific meaning but the off in the name stands against the Lights in an interesting way which I found exciting and fitting from the meaning. I also wanted the name to sound simple and be easy to pronounce. I was never a fan of long band names :)

How long have you been working on becoming a band?

J: At first only Thorsten and I made remote music for about a year. We sent files back and forth, worked on a few songs and when it was time to record them we knew we had to get some more people on board to make the project/ the band complete. Then I asked Sascha, who I knew from my old band, if he would like to join the project. He listened to the demos we had recorded until then, loved them and joined immediately. So the process took about a year until we were a real rock band.

What/who are some of your influences?

J: That's probably what every band says now but it's actually a bit hard to say :)

I personally for example like to listen to hardcore bands like Get The Shot, Nasty, Thy Art Is Murder or Knocked Loose, but then again I love classic radio pop and especially catchy and well produced Scandinavian pop by Max Martin (songwriter of hits by Backstreet Boys, Nsync, Katy Perry, Pink, Ariana Grande and many more). Both push buttons for me that make me feel good and inspire me. Normal rock, especially early 2000's rock, emo and new metal, I also love of course...I think you can hear that most in our music. With Sascha it's the same with the music-influence and with Thorsten it's rather only classic rock and modern rock that he listens to and what he orients himself on when writing.

How would you describe your musical style?

J: I think it can be described as classic modern rock with influences from bands from the early 2000's.

How does the creative process work within the trio?

J: Basically there are two ways we write. Sometimes I already have a complete song idea with chord progression and vocals ready, which I then record as an acoustic track and send Thorsten the tracks from it. He then builds a rock track out of it with drums, guitar and bass. Then we refine the song until it is ready to go into the studio, where Sasha joins in and adds his drum style to the existing demos.

Another way is that Thorsten makes a finished playback of a complete rock song and sends it to me...Similar to hip-hop artists who click through samples in the studio until something inspires them, I then click through thorsten's demos until a playback clicks and I then record vocals and ideas to it.

Your debut EP drops next month, what can we expect out of Back To Life?

J: It's not a concept album or anything but I think the listener will get a good impression of the whole range of themes and harmonies we feel comfortable with. From dark mystical compositions like into the night to hopeful sounding songs like man or machine to heartbreak songs like back to life, it's got all the moods that make us as a band.

Do you have any upcoming shows?

J: Yes, we just got confirmation that we will be playing the support shows for Written by Wolves in Germany in November. This includes four dates in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne. Come by if you're in the area, it'll be fun.

What was the creative direction with your single “Man or Machine” music video?

J: In real life, I am an advertising and music video film director, so it was clear to me that I also write and direct the concepts for our music videos. With the concept for the "Man Or Machine" video I wanted to show in an aesthetic and expressive way the desperation that the characters in the song lyrics experience in different everyday situations. I didn't want to simply show the situations that are described in the song lyrics, but consciously try to visualize or represent a feeling that everyone can identify with - this feeling that the machines and the digital world take us more and more and do not let go. The cables that surround the dancer and prevent him from moving forward are an expression of how trapped we have become in this world, and at the end of the video the singer faces his digital self, which in turn is a reference to our digital stamp that each of us leaves on the web.

Where can our readers stay up to date?

J: Just follow us on our socials like Instagram/ Facebook or Spotify and Youtube to stay updated about new releases, shows and everything else.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offlightsmusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/offlightsofficial/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQK8YVEQ7usOqaWui85vXZQ

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/486c1jVbf27GPO8FeXZODk?si=VbKczSpYQE2j4ewEzkrCRQ

Any additional information you'd like to share with our readers? 

J: Stay tuned for upcoming releasse. We've got so much in store for you which we can’t wait to share. Love, OFF LIGHTS