Interview

“If you love freedom, you should get political.” | [030] Interview with Bosse

11 October 2018 · 8 min read

Foto: © Tim Bruening/UniversalMusic

We meet Bosse in the courtyard of a hotel. Warschauer Straße. On 12th October, his seventh studio album “Alles ist Jetzt” is released. And “now” the first order of business is an interview with the thoroughly likeable singer-songwriter.

A microphone check, then the comment: “Tech – so much can go wrong.” Bosse takes a breath and utters, “Good, but I’m not David Bowie.” He’s right, Bosse is not Bowie. Which is just as well, for if he were, he’d be dead. No one wants that. “Otherwise, just give me a shout and we’ll do it again,” he says. Nah, we’d rather chat, here and now. Quite fitting for his new album. Recording is rolling. Bosse sits in a corner of the hotel courtyard. Sipping coconut water through a straw, lips pursed. By the way: his last album “Engtanz” went straight to number 1 in the album charts. Then a pause. Now there are twelve new songs and a club tour from November. 11th November at Astra Kulturhaus, 20th March 2019 at Columbiahalle. Quick, an Insta Story. ‘Bosse, a message for our followers?’ “The round thing has to go in the square thing.” How right he is, that philosopher.

Bosse: “I’m not Bowie”

Your album title: “Alles ist Jetzt”. Sounds like a typical singer-songwriter album title, which could mean anything. Listening to it, though, it sounds deep, even spiritual. What do you say?

Essentially, it’s the same as “Carpe Diem”. The old 90s theme, the great theme of humanity. If my child asks me: what’s important? I’d say: Aside from love and empathy: the now. In the end, everything is now. Look after yourself, care for others, get off your backside. It’s about being happy, but also about showing some backbone in times of a rightward shift. Of all the world religions, I find Buddhism the best example. Actually, “Alles ist Jetzt” was just a song. That sort of track hip-hop artists write when they’re back. That’s how I imagined it.

Who’s the boss here? Photo: © Tim Bruening/UniversalMusic

Clubbing with 18-year-olds? “Don’t need to anymore”

You sing about the here and now. Have you missed moments? Anything you’d like to have done differently…?

I’m very content with my life. The past two years have been dominated by music and family. My biggest dreams: a healthy family, a healthy child and a guitar in hand. That was all I wanted.

As far as one hears, you make a decent living from it.

All good. I’ve worked hard for half my life to reach this point. Now I can make a living from it and provide for my family. My life never feels like I’m missing out, because I love what I do and can balance things easily. But I do need to visit New Zealand and Australia again, that’s for my next break. The album will keep me busy for another two years, then I’ll take a break, grab my family, and spend half a year in Australia.

You’re nearing 40, have been making music for 20 years. Is getting older an issue?

My best friend is just 50, she looks 32 and sometimes acts 13. Getting older has its perks, you know more, you feel a sort of fundamental relaxation. I didn’t have that back then. I’ve finished with a lot of things, I don’t need to dance in clubs with 18-year-olds anymore. At the weekend, I played a football tournament with Olli Schulz, Olli Dietrich, Bjarne Mädel and other great people for a children’s heart unit in Hamburg, that was three days ago, and I’m still aching. My body feels like Heidi Kabel’s or Inge Meysel’s.

What’s Bosse’s connection to Inge Meysel?

How do you know how Heidi Kabel or Inge Meysel felt? Both, by the way, are dead.

That’s how they must’ve felt at a hundred. My body feels the figures, but my mind doesn’t care how old I am.

The album is about inner balance. In songs like “Ich bereue nichts”. Is this just “I’ve found balance” or is there some fear of a midlife crisis lurking behind it?

Midlife crisis – maybe I’ve already been through it. I know what it’s like not knowing where everything’s heading. It does mean, too, wanting to feel young again. With me, it’s the opposite: I’m genuinely looking forward to getting older. The Swedes have a word, “lagom,” we don’t really have it here. It stands for the right amount. Better than “okay.” Sometimes that’s enough for me.

With many artists, I get the feeling they’re writing for two or three highbrow critics.

Sounds like “having arrived”: bit of a cliché. Hardly anyone’s truly where they want to be…

Arriving is a tricky word, can’t really be true. The next second, something could happen that turns everything upside down. One should appreciate what they’ve got and that it’s more than enough. Like with “Ich bereue nichts”. With all the ups and downs, every detour. It’s all right. If I’m honest: I don’t need to play in massive stadiums. How things are at the moment is just brilliant.

Midlife crisis? “Maybe I’ve already been through it”

Talking of stadiums: 100,000 people come to your tours, you play Hamburg’s racecourse.

Everything started small with me; I spent six or seven years driving my Sprinter van – I had to take out a loan to buy it off a Cologne florist. We clocked up the miles, played every little venue going. Even now, I’ll stand in a big hall, there’s two massive lorries out front, and my guitarist nudges me: “Oi, those are ours.” And we grin like kids.

Your first record deal was the reason you moved to Berlin after your GCSEs?
Yes, but it was soon gone. The deal was why my parents said: Oh well, if that’s your profession, you can go to Berlin. Look, that was ’97/’98. I hung out with older mates who already had businesses set up here. I was really cosy. I’ve always instinctively followed my friends. And I knew: I can make music here, have a cheap rehearsal space. Did some call centre work, otherwise just music. Berlin has always been the “big boss” for me.

Everyone who’s empathetic and loves freedom should become political.

It really kicked off for you, career-wise, in 2005. With the first album…

Yeah, but before that I lived a year in Ibiza. Afterwards I knew: I was fed up with bands because they’d keep splitting. Eventually I rang up old mates, they joined in. I called the whole thing Bosse. Since then, there’s been Bosse. But actually it wasn’t a proper band, they just joined in loosely.

Humanity’s problem? “Unpleasant people.”

So it’s more about having a good time, quality of life. You don’t exploit yourself, otherwise you couldn’t be this laid back..?

Bit by bit, I’m becoming more like my old man. He looks like Danny de Vito, loves his food and drink. My dad gets a tan in his caravan and heads off to the Alsace. The inner calm and enjoyment are slowly arriving for me too.

Not to sound ingratiating: how do you manage, after 20 years in the business, to sit here in the courtyard and still be a normal person?

There are lots of unpleasant people. That’s actually humanity’s main problem. My stock answer is: the biggest arses are those who think they’re better than others. Full stop. I find it completely fine if people are insecure. I see insecurity or fear in the interviews of many really nice colleagues.

More and more, I’m turning into my old man. He looks like Danny de Vito.

Do you separate private Axel from celebrity Bosse?

Somewhat. Walking through Berlin and getting stared at, at a gig or in an interview – that’s because of my music. In my private life there are people who like me as I am. I think they’re called friends. What I do is limited and I want to get the greatest joy out of it. For years now, I couldn’t care less what people think of what I do. A lot of German indie musicians, I feel, write their lyrics for just two or three highbrow critics. Those are straitjackets, and I can’t be bothered with that.

Any celeb you think is absolute rubbish?

I don’t really know any. Well… Markus Söder? Exactly. But I don’t want to insult anyone.

“The biggest arses are those who think they’re better than others.”

There’s a track on the album called “Robert de Niro”. How did that come about?

It’s a political song. It was important for me to be political and show some stance. I was in Chemnitz and Jamel. It’s time for a backlash. I think, as a mainstream artist you can reach those who vote for idiots like the AfD. With music and empathy, as a cool bloke or lass, you can make a difference. Everyone who’s empathetic and loves freedom should become political. The most important thing is communication. And education. But also sport, music, experiencing things. I have enormous hope in the younger generation.

A cheeky question to finish. You’re very active: with NGOs, collecting tents for the homeless at festivals. Is that just PR?

I’ve thought about this myself. There are three or four causes close to my heart. There, I don’t think the charge of marketing fits. If 15,000 tents are collected for the homeless at Deichbrand: why shouldn’t I do that? It’s a brilliant idea.

Axel, thanks for the chat.

And by the way, here Bosse shares his top ten favourite albums with us.