Interview: Carnival Kid – We Used To Shout At You

German artist Carnival Kid delivers an impressive release, titled ‘We Used To Shout At You’.

Discovered via SubmitHub.com

Where are you based and how does this affect your writing?

I’m living in an East-German city called Erfurt, which is a beautiful town with a fantastic medieval city-centre. But I actually grew up in a village in a pretty poor working class area of Germany during the 1990s – a massively problematic time right after the Berlin Wall came down, with lots of unemployment and an unprecedented rise of hatred and racism among the working class people. Lots of my writing has been affected by the experiences I made when I lived there. But my life in Erfurt also had an enormous influence since both of my kids were born here. All the responsibilities that came along with being a dad are also reflected in some of my songs.

Where did the idea for ‘We Used To Shout At You’ come from?

I actually wrote the song back in 2009, while I was abroad in England. My parents always had the idea, that I would come back to my village, build a house somewhere next to my parent’s house and settle down with my family. But at that point in time, I had absolutely zero desire to come back to that place, because I finally understood how friendly and colorful this world actually is if you are not living in a small town full of old people and racists. So I kinda had this image of myself standing at the entrance of my hometown, shouting at it full of anger. It always felt like this place wanted us to leave, as if we got kicked out by the lack of any perspective.

How long have you been making music?

Since I was 16 I have always been playing in bands or by myself. When I left home for university I started a band called Jovernanté and we played lots of gigs in Germany. Due to personal reasons (moving abroad, starting a family,…) we split up in 2009 and got back together for a few shows and some recordings in 2018. That was about the time when I started thinking about starting a solo project.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

My top pick of 2019 has definitely been Sam Fender. But going through my latest Spotify favs I’m into many female singer-songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers, Sharon Van Etten, Jay Som, Courtney Bartnett, Margarethe Glaspy or Angie McMahon. I also love everything Pinegrove is doing. When I’m looking for some danceable stuff, Jungle or Khruangbin would be my top pick. But I’m also listening to all my all time heroes like Bruce Springsteen, Thees Uhlmann or Oasis.

If you could curate a music festival, who would the three-weekend headliners be?

If I could wish for unrealistic things, it would definitely be Oasis. But in the real world, I would love to curate a small festival with some local bands. Headliners would be Fibel, Garda, Die Höchste Eisenbahn and probably my brother’s band Well-Known Pix.