Henriette
Interview conducted on December 10, 2020
by Dan Locke
What is your upbringing?
I grew up in a one-horse-town named ‘Merzig-Brotdorf’ in the west of Germany. ‘Brotdorf’ means ‘The village of bread’ – which is pretty unique, cause there’s only a ‘Village of bread’. Not a ‘Village of cheese“, not a ‘Village of sausage’ – only a ‘Village of bread’. Can’t believe how many times I wrote this. Makes me very proud, hahaha.
Three important things my father – creative, nature-loving, spirited guy – and my mom – homegirl, book lover, wonderful soul – taught me for life: Be grateful – Think freely – Act kind.
I had an amazing childhood until I was ten years old, then my parents got divorced and the road got a little more rocky. As soon as I found my own wings and traveled the world to become a musician, life got easy again somehow.
How did you discover music?
It discovered me.
How did you start to write music?
As soon as I saw Leonardo DiCaprio on the big screen, I wrote him a song – hoping he would listen to it and marry me. Didn’t happen yet…
Describe your music
Ocean breeze meets hot chocolate meets wandering soul
How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
To be honest – I’m more of a piano girl, started playing my Dad’s cherrywood baby grand at the age of six. So yes, I have a guitar, but it’s not my first instrument.
What was your first performance at like?
Fun! You know, in West Germany we have a tradition called ‘Karneval’. It’s usually taking place in February. There’s a big parade where people masquerade as honey bee, pirate, princess or a character of their choice. When I was six years old, my Daddy and I sang a few songs on the big stage there. It was the best!
What makes a good songwriter?
Bob Dylan said: »I’m not making it up, I’m writing it down.« Spot on!
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
My very first song was the one I wrote for Leo; it didn’t have a title, I think. I still remember the chorus, gets a bit blurry when it comes to the verses though… No, unfortunately I didn’t’t record it. Maybe I should after all those years.
Tell me about the release of “Dream Boy”?
“Dream Boy” was the first single taken from my self-titled debut EP “Henriette”, it had been released on September 20th, 2019 via Dr. Music Records. It’as a song about the kind of freedom we can explore in a relationship – in terms of supporting each other’s dreams, giving each other wings, and to appreciate people for who they are. Not always easy, but always worth a try.
You have decided to release three new singles this winter. “Remember That”, “Never Go Back” and “Masterpiece”. They sound like these songs are songs of the time?
Yes, I tried to create three completely different emotions for the next three singles. “Remember That” is the most personal song I’ve ever written, “Never Go Back” talks about the moment before the very first kiss and sounds a little bit like ‘Tarantino in love’, “Masterpiece” is my grown-up song, born out of a bullying experience. Very excited to share those with the world!
Why did you write “Remember That”, it seems like it is a love letter for your father who passed away during Christmas 2017?
I’d say it’s more like a homage to my Daddy. He passed away one day before Christmas 2017. The first melody he ever taught me on the piano was “Silent Night”. My Dad had a very deep connection to music and was mesmerized by its magic. He always used to say, »Henri, no matter how bad things are, no matter how sad you feel – sing! As soon as you sing, the world will be a lot better!
After he was gone, this message got stuck in my head, but it didn’t want to come out for a while. That changed when I had my first songwriting session with Adam Ollendorff in Nashville in 2019. Adam absolutely loved the story, so we tried out a few things and came up with this pure, powerful, personal song.
Was the song “Come thou Fount of every Blessing”, about Christmas past also?
No, that’s an old Irish/Scottish Christmas Folk Tale, written by a preacher man in 1700.
How do you stay healthy while performing?
Doing my vocal exercises, going for a run-in nature every day, avoid too much alcohol, trying to sleep more than 6 hours.
What are you feeling about streaming music?
Like everybody else, I guess. Somehow, it’s cool to do it and somehow it absolutely is not. Sometimes I miss the days when you were sitting in front of the radio, empty cassette tape in the recorder, waiting for your favorite song, hitting ‘rec’ as soon as it started, dancing around the living room because you finally caught it, then hearing that voice of the radio host, screaming at him to shut up, hearing the bridge fade away, next thing you know is the song is over and the news are about to start, which drives you wild because you only got half the song. And then you waited again. Aaaah, those were the days…
How can people forget about the origin hashtag # Sharp in a musical score?
Right? Terrible! I think we should create a new hashtag to support the Sharp.
Could look like this: ## But then again, we have to explain that ## actually is D. So, we need another hashtag called ###, and then… you know, never ending story…
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital all day, vinyl all night.
You are actress also. How is that coming along?
That’s true, f.e. I played Wednesday Addams in Andrew Lippa’s Broadway play “The Addams Family” on the G-S-A tour. Tons of fun! Theatre is a great world which I love very, very much. But my truest heart belongs to my own music.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
“Thriller” by Michael Jackson. During Covid, I thought about becoming a mortician. (yes, I really did!) Over here in Germany you need a diploma for pretty much everything – but not necessarily to do a job as a mortician. So, I thought – why not try it?!? When I told that on an interview yesterday, the guys played “Thriller” afterward. Also, it might be one of the greatest songs ever.
Both Pfizer and BioNTech have conclude Phase 3 Study of the Coronavirus vaccine. With the vaccine it takes two shots. How many people do you think will take it and how many will forget to take the second shot?
Best question ever! Well, I don’t know how many people will forget to take the second shot (I will for sure, I’m always forgetting things). The most important question now is: What will happen when you forget to take it???
Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Let’s try to see the positive side of it: Covid is asking so much from us all, that I hope people will be hungry for music and art as soon as this madness will be over. And hopefully, many of us will still be there for them
.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Writing about 40 new songs. All those thoughts had to go somewhere. 😉
You always give away song snippets of what is coming up?
I do, but usually only a few days before releasing a song.
What was 3 countries, 4 hours at the studio and 5 million reason to love?
My producers Jay Tooke, James Robertson and me recorded new music across the ocean during Covid, so: 3 countries = Germany, USA, Canada; 4 hours = the time frame we needed to create my new song “Never Go back”; 5 million reasons to love = can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to record new songs during those crazy times with those incredible human beings
Have you discovered any new hobbies?
To be honest – no!
95% of people said that they have changed the way they watch television. This includes people who don’t have television and using their computers to do streaming of programs and movies. Which is your favorite streaming channel?
Really? I had no idea! That’s a lot! For me it’s Netflix for English speaking movies / shows, TV now for German speaking TV.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on livestreamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will includes [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
I think that there will be a brand-new platform overnight which still allows such things and Facebook will be dead within a week.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Let’s do it!
If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
Trying to do music. Or living on a farm all alone in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sheep and trees.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Well, this was the most fun and interesting interview I’ve ever had. Thanks for putting a bunch of cheeky smiles on my face during those crazy times. To everyone out there: Be safe, love each other, drink beer (not too much!). I hope to see you very, very soon!
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