They are the band of the hour, they have a huge tour ahead of them and then – Corona. Lockdown. Compulsory break. But instead of being annoyed, the young men, to whom the success did not fly overnight, but who are therefore no less deserved, behave cool and casual. Like many other artists, they record quarantine songs and delight their fans with them. Your big tour has been canceled, but you have time, you are young and can wait. In any case, the music of the Giant Rooks sounds like a piece, they playfully combine classic sounds with modern song structures. The Giant Rooks don’t let themselves be squeezed into one genre and don’t want to emulate anyone. In terms of content, the band looks into a world full of unrest, wondering about their role. The best answer is their music. Founded in 2015 by singer Frederik Rabe, guitarist Finn Schwieters, bassist Luca Göttner, keyboardist Jonathan Wischniowski and drummer Finn Thomas, they won a 1LIVE crown, seven-digit monthly Spotify listeners and sold-out concerts. The Giant Rooks apparently sell themselves off the wrist, they are probably the most promising band that has existed in Germany for a long time. In Berlin they talk to ntv.de about “Rookery” – their album – about energy and nervousness, tours and daydreams.
ntv.de: You always bring a sense of humor and a down-to-earth attitude that is carried over to the fans at live concerts. But somehow you saw that very well in your “Quarantine Covers”. Did the Corona time give you more time for the music or did you also get restless?
Giant Rooks: First of all, thanks for the flowers, what was your favorite cover?
“Life On Mars” – I’ve heard that up and down.
Frederik (middle) and Finn (2nd from left) are cousins.
(Foto: imago images/Future Image)
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Frederik Rabe: Well, I’ll put it this way: Corona has already thwarted our calculations quite a lot. We had THE tour ahead of us, three months with Milky Chance, the biggest venues in America and Europe, and we were just rehearsing. And we were all really looking forward to it. And suddenly in March it was said that it won’t work. People. What I want to say: At the beginning it hit us really hard. But then we quickly caught up again. Or?
Finn Schwieters: Yes, I think so too.
Frederik: Because we wanted to finish the debut album during this time. Then we noticed that we have enough to do that we don’t get bored. And we just kept planning.
Finn: In January and February we were in Cologne and recorded, and it was so cold. We wanted to finish the album and just kept thinking: “We’ll be in Florida soon, and then everything will be cool” (laughs).
When will the concerts be rescheduled?
Frederic: They have all been postponed to 2021! A few open air gigs went, but with blatant hygiene concepts.
“Heat Up” – cooles Video …
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Finn: Thank you. That comes from June 2019, when we had four or five songs that we wanted to record a video for. And two weeks before that, Fred came and showed us the idea. Everything was very broken down, we thought it was good, we finalized everything quickly and then got stuck with the last ten percent, somehow we didn’t finish. So we had a vision of what it should sound like, but we didn’t get there (laughs). It didn’t click until the beginning of 2020.
Frederik: We were really stuck, it’s funny that you get stuck like that. Very weird.
Do you usually agree or do you have to argue?
Finn: Don’t argue, we often feel the same, that’s the moment when something good can arise. This creates a very special energy and it drives us forward. Otherwise you bite yourself hard. But now we know each other so well that we always manage it.
Frederik: But arguing is not a bad thing – if you get along again. I think that moves you forward. We discuss a lot, but we’re basically very relaxed types.
Finn: Otherwise it would be really difficult with five people, communication is important in the group. In the end we come to an agreement.
Frederik: Not always (laughs). We also sometimes postpone decisions.
Are you nervous before concerts?
Finn: Nope, not really, I would call it “pleasant tension”.
Frederik: Or at least we won’t show it! We don’t want to address that, especially before appearances.
You are still so young and it goes off like Luzie …
Finn: That’s why I sometimes think I’m dreaming. That I wake up and there is none of it. But it is also often the case that some things become more normal. Interview situation for example (laughs). It’s funny that we can talk about what we love so much. Others don’t do that either. We love that. Most of the time it’s reality, but sometimes it jerks through me and I think, “Awesome!”
Hopefully live again soon!
(Foto: imago/Future Image)
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Frederik: I try not to think about it that much. But I think that I will really understand some things later.
Finn: We’re really thankful for that and on the one hand everything went very quickly, but on the other hand I feel like we’ve been doing this for ages. We’ve been doing it for a couple of years, five. We worked really hard and pursued our goal
Frederik: Yes, we didn’t play in front of 5 people in Hamm in the youth center one day and then in front of 10,000 people the next evening (laughs). It was continuous. It was more like 10 one evening and 12 the next. And then 20. It developed very slowly. It was therefore never overwhelming for us.
It looks a little different now … You are and take it easy. You’re from Hamm, you all live in Berlin now, but not together, right?
Frederik: No, that wouldn’t work either. We already work together a lot. We really enjoy our time without the others (laughs).
Finn: It’s a bit clichéd – finally in the big city (laughs). But for us it was just good and the right step to build a life of our own. It was time we moved home. So it was great before, but it was the right move. We also meet so many people here to work with, it’s just cool.
Frederik: We also had to get out of the comfort zone. Break out of the familiar.
Do you want to sing in German?
DISPLAY
Rookery [Vinyl LP]
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Frederik: We never talked about it, it just happened that way. We grew up listening to English-language music through our parents and somehow we may be able to express ourselves better that way. We went to festivals as children and everything was always in English. We have already come into contact with German music, Element of Crime, Ton Steine Scherben, I always thought that was great, but it was out of the question for us. Even if it was advised to us again and again. We love picture books, Annenmaykantereit, there is a great range in Germany.
In the meantime, I think we have become much more open …
Frederik: Yes, at least as far as the music and the language are concerned. It would be difficult now to name our role models, there are no more drawers. We are in the post-genre era. There are playlists, feelings, but no longer such a blatant classification.
This is good right?
Frederik: Yes, that’s so interesting. And so much inspires me. I could keep listing names all day.
Finn: If I could choose who I would like to be on stage with right now, it would be Kilani, I think every song on the new album is great.
Frederik: If I could choose, whether dead or alive, it would be Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone.
Your press release says that you often ask yourself: Who am I actually?
Finn: Yes, that’s right, that runs through our album. We write song after song, we tend to have dramatic stories, and yes … what was this getting at?
Who are you …
Finn: (laughs) That’s right, but we then realized that there were a lot of questions and very few answers, and that it was almost a bit sad. I still don’t know who I am.
Frederik: Who knows?
Sarah Abdallah spoke to Frederik Rabe and Finn Schwieters
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