Record Making in Berlin, Germany: A K-Bust Guest Blog

by - November 10, 2017

Photo courtesy of François Nadeau

It all started with a burning desire to explore new horizons. At that time I was feeling like I had done everything possible to make it, musically speaking, in Montreal. I needed a new start. The sensation of being somehow stuck led me to make a phone call to an old friend of mine who happened to be living in Germany. Who is, by the way, a successful opera singer I truly admire. It was that phone call that changed the course of events for the better.
By the time I had made the first contact with my producer-to-be in Germany, I had no idea what direction my new musical endeavor would take. I just felt that I should explore in depth my pop-rock influences and take the plunge into a much darker aspect of my personality. It was the first time I needed to talk about my fears and memories from my past which I didn’t know how to deal with anymore.

Days were passing by fast, between long working days and writing sessions, locking myself in my room until bedtime. It was my favorite moment, when I got to shut down all the noise around, connect with my inner self and explore the topics I wanted to talk about in my lyrics, with nothing more than a pen, paper and my old acoustic guitar.

Berlin revealed itself to me as a very cosmopolitan and interesting place, full of history, new sounds, smells and a language I barely knew at that moment, making it all a very exciting experience. It’s a place of many contrasts, mixing a modern architecture with some reminiscences of a harsher past; that makes me think of it as an open-air museum, welcoming everyone to explore it, discover it and dive into its recent history.

I remember walking down the Spree, the navigable river that’s like the city’s heart crossing it from one extreme to the other. It was my favorite environment in my quest for inspiration, or the place to look for new stories to tell, always bringing my pen and notes with me. I recall that in a matter of a 20 minute walk I could be facing the government building; a place every visitor would go to immortalize in a picture, or that bohemian outdoor bar right next to the water - a must go place to taste a good German beer.

As a result of this whole adventure, I came back home with brand new ideas and a different vision about the music I wanted to make, which wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t dare to explore what a place like Berlin had to offer. I would definitely encourage every artist avid for new inspiration to travel to unknown places at some point in their lives. It makes the whole journey of making music much richer, colorful and unpredictable; an adventure and experience that could only be beneficial and memorable for those considering taking the leap. I think traveling and living overseas make some great stories to tell in a song, or in a memoir that could inspire the next generations to go discover the world.

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