Thanks so much for joining us this Saturday for your debut live show at Public Records. We’ve been wanting to invite artists from the label here since our inception in 2019 so it feels kind of monumental to have you here since you are a key member of the Giegling Crew.

Having read about the origins of the label in the parties you and your friends were a part of in Weimar, do you feel the label was born out of a community connection?

L: “We all met during the beginning of our studies, coming from different places and backgrounds, but sharing the same love for music, cinema, art and east German romanticism. Weimar is a very open and community driven place in general. It has an atmosphere that somehow doesn’t allow a competitive energy. We always used to joke that when new people from bigger cities arrived and they were still cocky or ego driven, that after 2 weeks they would be tamed and friendly anyway, because they would realise it’s just not necessary there. Weimar can do that to people, somehow bringing out the good of them. It might sound like a cliche but it was always about sharing dreams and visions, and supporting that in each other. We didn’t really think about how to do what we did and we didn’t work towards a specific goal or anything. Everything just felt very free and positive and after we did the first small parties and festivals one thing let to another. Weimar is such a small place, where you don’t even need to exchange phone numbers because you’ll meet everyone anyway as soon as you take a walk ;). It has this very positive and spontaneous energy, where it’s easy to work on things together. Also there was not so much going on and a lot of free spaces where we could do parties and all kinds of events, without having to worry about paying high rents or dealing with officials.”

How important is friendship both creative and personal to the sound/ vibe/ concept of the label?

L: “It’s the core of everything, maybe even more some abstract family values than friendship. We went through a lot together, ups and downs and like in any other relationship it caused a few scars on the way but also glued us more and more together. Every time we meet for an event it feels like we are there because of the same reasons that didn’t really change since the beginning. There is just this nonverbal trust and connection between us, that only a long time together can bring. We already shared a big part of our lives and that created a very strong trust and bond.

Every release tells a story of a specific time that we went through as a group. It’s like a very personal group diary that might not be so obvious during the time we work on it, but looking back it all makes sense somehow as a continuous story we are telling. And even if people from the outside don’t know about all the personal details that are embedded in the records and events I believe that they can feel and relate to it on a deeper level. It’s also a kind of mystery to us, how all of this is intertwined, but I feel that when we are connected to each other and we share a vibe and a vision, everything else gets shaped kind of automatically and falls into place by itself. Then there is some sort of effortlessness around everything and all the work feels light and organic. It’s not always like that, sometimes we also get lost in complicated ideas and don’t know how to deal with certain circumstances, but as long as we have that mutual trust for each other and everyone works in their field and talent with as much love and attention as possible, everything always seems to work out.”

Do you all still live near each other? How do you usually collaborate? Is there a studio you all work in?

L: Most of us are based in Berlin, but Map.ache lives in Leipzig and Elli and I are living in Hamburg. We share a new office in Berlin that also functions as a workshop for the light and decoration crew. There we also want to build a shared music studio in the future, because until now everyone mostly works in their own spaces.”

As we see the Giegling Roster expand to artists outside of the core group, how does the A&R process work and what new artists are you excited about?

L: “It’s also much more related to friendship than to „professional“ label work. The people who join us usually have been with us for a long time in different ways. Not only playing music together but also just hanging out, helping each other or appearing in each other’s dreams ;).”

For anyone out there who is just discovering the label, what are some key releases in the catalog that you would think define the vision of the label.

L: “I would say the next record that will come out is always the best record to see where we are going, but these are my favourites for different reasons”:

Various – ‘2020’

Map.ache – ‘Vom Ende Bis Zum Anfang’

Kettenkarussell – ‘Insecurity Guard’

Lawrence – ‘Epiphany’

Edward – ‘Fortune Teller’

Traumprinz – ‘Mothercave’

Grab your tix now + Catch Leafar Legov in The Atrium
tomorrow [12.16]