Interview

Alpine Rapper: Melancholy with a Mask | Arkan45 Interview

15 October 2018 · 10 min read

Foto: © Promo

Away from the Alpine country and into the urban jungle – that was Arkan45’s idea. The Austrian rapper lives on Leopoldplatz in the edgy district of Wedding. The real big career bash lies ahead of him. On 7th October, he released his single ‘Fühlst du mich?’ (‘Can You Feel Me?’). It’s set to be one of his first steps in the right direction. We met Arkan45 in his neighbourhood and spoke to him about his writing flow, negative emotions, and the current state of his artistic work.

Hi. I’ll go straight in with a question that’s important to me. What does the perfect environment for writing lyrics look like to you?

I like to write lyrics when I’m moderately out and about during the day, meaning, not fully in a rush or completely chilled, but in a good balance. For example, outside, at an inspiring spot for a painting session or just soaking up emotions and vibes. Then I go home in the evening, open my wine, roll a herbal cigarette, and turn the speakers on. I also can’t write with headphones—that’s probably just a matter of habit. Best of all is when something’s weighing on my mind or when I feel restless.

Does it calm you down in the process or does it not always work?

It doesn’t always work, sometimes I struggle to find the right channels to actually use music as a release.

First a glass of wine, then the rhyme

Do you always write with the beat in your ears?

I always write directly to the beat. But for me, that’s usually a problem, because I just don’t really connect with the right beat producers. Not exactly the ones who have the same spirit as me and want to create their own sound.

Always remember to breathe through the mask. ©: Noah Insam

Do you only know a few or have you not found anyone at all yet?

So the whole process works like this: I pick the beats from Paris, from a producer called ‘Itam’. My producer, or really my mate, Bernhard Fetz, does the final polish and adds various elements, brings a bit of freshness, and makes it crisp and lively. On the one hand, it’s obviously not ideal if I can only write to beats that already exist because I’m lacking them, but on the other hand, it’s positive in that it lets me better adapt my vocal tone and flow to the beat elements, to focus on the details in the beat. That just makes it all sound so much more rounded.

Even artists stumble sometimes

Have you ever been in a place where your head was full and you wanted to write something, but didn’t have any beats?

Yeah, often. That’s always a struggle. I usually resort to YouTube beats, but then I can’t release those—because of the rights, you know. *laughs* I’ve got quite a few notes on my phone that are still unreleased. They’re just waiting to come out. So those are raw snippets or even full but unreleased lyrics, simply because I’m missing the foundation.

How many are there?

So before my last phone packed it in, I’d stored 200–300 on there. I tried switching to paper for a while, but I quickly realised I’m not much of a hand-writer, as I think faster than I can write. So it’s usually just random scribbles on the page, where the next day, sober, I can only make out incomprehensible marks. So all a bit counterproductive. That’s why I rely on being able to save my words digitally.

Come with me to adventure land

Is there a place you call home?

Personally, I’d actually class myself as a drifter, still searching for the right path. For where I’m meant to go and where I want to go.

So you don’t call anywhere home at the moment?

I know where my house is. But not where my home is.

I certainly wouldn’t say so. I know where my house is: in Austria. But not where my home is. To know my home, I first have to find myself.

You live in Berlin and you’re active here—so you don’t see this place as home either?

I see it all as a kind of jungle, a jungle of inspiration and diversity. Like an adventure land for creative kids. But not really my home. I do feel pretty comfortable here, though.

Welcome to the urban jungle

In what way do you feel at home in this big city?

As a small-town kid, it’s definitely strange to experience and live at this pace day-to-day. Everything moves so fast and goes by so quickly. Sometimes it definitely gets a bit much for me. But of course, no one’s forcing me to go out. *laughs* On days like that, I just stay at home, if that’s what I fancy. I paint with acrylics, write songs or create other things in my little world on Leopoldplatz.

So can you escape the city a bit that way?

Exactly, in my little area, I can retreat when I’m not in the mood for this rush—or for people in general.

How do you define the word “tragedy” for yourself?

I talk about that in my track called ‘2015’. The whole thing is based on a phase of my life when I went through a lot of negative events. There came a point when I said to myself, ‘Okay. That’s enough. I want to draw a line under all this.’ I’d simply had enough. I marked and ended that phase by getting the word ‘tragedy’ tattooed on me, and I also named my last EP after it. I think it’s good that, on the bright days, it helps to remember the bad ones. That way you’re much more grateful and appreciate the good times all the more.

War of the worlds

Which worlds do you mean in the line ‘There are worlds between us two’?

Well, the other person I’m addressing lives by routine. With them, even tomorrow is already planned. And with me, it’s just that I do what I do and see where it takes me. No fear, you know. And so long as I’m keeping my head above water, I’m not afraid to keep going one step further. Into the unknown. What I mean is, my world is rare, as long as it’s always changing. And it keeps changing as long as I have no commitments. So, let’s see what happens. How my world will look in a few years. I just don’t know where I’m headed yet. So there’s really a lot of room for new things.

Your art gives off quite a bleak and introverted impression. Do you fancy making more cheerful music at some point?

The thing is, I started making music as a way of using it as an outlet. I started as a teenager, though of course it wasn’t particularly sophisticated music back then, but that’s always how I used it—to package up emotions, especially the negative ones. I do, for example, paint genuine happy pictures. But when it comes to music, it’s definitely the sadder and more burdensome content. And it’s just much easier for me to process my issues like that instead of simply talking about how awesome I am. *laughs and lights a cigarette*

Dark vibes, dark space. ©: Noah Insam

Oh, do stop moaning then

Solitude, searching for yourself—you can see that in your very few features, or does it just come across like that? What’s the reason?

Phew, I just really can’t be bothered at the moment to share my beats with anyone else.

What does “realness” mean to you?

When someone simply tells me how it is. Realness for me means brutal honesty. Completely unfiltered. Depends what it’s about, but when I think of people, all I want is to talk to the person, not their façade.

‘I want to feel the green in the Garden of Eden.’ What do you mean by the green?

It’s less about the colour for me, and more about the metaphor. The search for home. The place where I want to end up, ultimately.

East of Eden

Where do your videos come together, then?

Partly in Berlin, partly in Austria. There was the first video at Hoo – shot with my best mate now, Noah (shoutout!). Ever since then we’ve done everything together, trying to push ourselves every time. He’s definitely a pillar of the whole project. Same goes for Bernhard Fetz, who then applies the finishing touches. I also record everything with him. He’s basically the second pillar.

And your label?

I don’t have one. So, I try to run the whole thing myself. Even though it does take its toll, of course. But in the long run, it’s so much more profitable. And I don’t really want anyone getting too close either. Since I have these few cornerstones, I don’t really need anyone else involved. Except, still, a producer.

The first coins are rolling in

A bit of a blunt question: Are you making any money with your music yet?

I make a little bit from it. The music distribution platform Spinnup is actually pretty kind to new artists. I’m hoping a bit more will start coming in soon, of course.

Do you want to make good money from it one day?

Yeah, definitely. Because if I don’t make money from it, then of course I have to figure out how to earn money some other way, and that then takes up the energy I actually want to use for writing lyrics. Of course it would be great to be able to just make music. But right now, a lot of time and energy goes into keeping my head above water. That’s exactly what my single released yesterday is about; that’s basically its main theme. In it I say, ‘Early twenties and I can’t hope anymore without seeing in black, I’m a product of the state, I can’t count sheep at night.’

So do you only want to rap?

I mean, this rap thing actually opens a lot of doors, meaning I can develop further. Wherever this path leads, it’s leading me somewhere.

So the side gigs you do now, you wouldn’t actually do if you didn’t have to?

Exactly. But that won’t be for much longer.

Are you happy during the writing process?

Yeah, when I actually have enough time for it. I want to fill my soul with good things, but I can’t do everything at once. There’s not five of me. But I guess it’s the same for all young artists without anyone backing them up.

Fast food for the soul

Yeah, otherwise it’d be boring, wouldn’t it.

Definitely (laughs). But still, the struggle is real.

How did the video for the new EP come about?

My video producer and I thought the night before about what we could do, but in the end, we just went out the next day with no plan at all. That’s always how it goes for us. Spontaneous. We never have a plan. He always flies over from Austria, too. That gives it even more meaning for me. It definitely adds to why things are the way they are, and to the quality as well.

Where does the quality of your new single lie?

I’ve put a stage of life into it. Like with almost every song. It always depends how big and intense a phase of life is. I really felt this last one. The song and the video are already over a year old. It was meant to be an EP with a few songs, and I’ve still got the others lying around, but in the end I just told myself, this really needed to come out at last. I didn’t want to drag it out any more. There’ll be more from this project soon as well.

Thank you very much, and best of luck on your journey ahead.