Numéro Berlin in conversation with Jon Baker and Steve Beaver
Numéro Berlin in conversation with Jon Baker and Steave Beaver
WEEKEND MUSIC PT.61: In Conversation with ALCATRAZ
“I´m not here for fun – I’m going all in and will be working my ass off until it pays off”
If you ever spot a red Mustang cruising through Berlin, chances are you just met Lenny Altaras, musician, actor, and the creative force behind ALCATRAZ moving between lively sounds, film sets, and Berlin’s chaos. Growing up in berlin as the son to a composer and an actress, he inhabits an artistic world as layered as himself. In this interview Numéro and Lenny Altaras talk about inspirations, Berlins sexiness, and how a seemingly banal Mustang can come to symbolize rebellion.
Franka Magon: You grew up in an artist family. And that clearly inspired you in some way. What was it about your parents’ artistic work while you were growing up that made it seem so desirable that you also wanted to go in that direction?
Lenny Altaras: My parents always let us approach art with caution, because of course it’s not an easy business. And the dream of a Jewish mother is always a doctor or a lawyer. That worked out well for us haha.
Art was always a topic, it was always discussed at the table. My father is a composer and I had to start playing violin when I was five, there wasn’t a single day off in the week. Today I’m grateful for that, it’s an artistic foundation I got at home, and that’s priceless.
What I find so inspiring about my mother is that, despite her personal understanding of art, she has this fundamental pragmatism, she just sits down and gets things done. She was an actress, a director, then started writing books, published six of them, and now she’s doing stand-up comedy. She doesn’t leave anything alone; she sits down, tackles it, and just does it without overthinking. That’s incredibly inspiring. You don’t have to stick to just one job in life, I think that’s such a beautiful idea. In art, everything is connected anyway. And that’s exactly how I see it too.
I’ve always floated somewhere between film and music; both are still my biggest interests in life.
Would you say that, at your core, you’re more of a musician or more of an actor?
Music is what fulfills me, but it’s incredibly refreshing to dive into the world of film from time to time. Every job eventually gets monotonous.
You’re with LIVE FROM EARTH, the label is closely connected with Berlin’s zeitgeist, just like your music. What is it exactly that makes Berlin special to you?
What makes Berlin special to me is that it’s poor but sexy. I enjoy Berlin and think it’s a great city to come back to, because time just ticks differently here. Even when you’re at a stressful intersection, at Kottbusser Damm, somewhere on Kottbusser Brücke, where a lot is actually going on. The clock ticks very slowly here. It’s a curse and a blessing in this city that you can still have a high quality of life for little money. It’s easy to lose your drive to be productive, you’re just left alone here.
What kind of mood does ALCATRAZ convey for you?
A basic atmosphere in ALCATRAZ is the longing for something you can never really reach. That’s a core vibe you find a lot in 80s music, and also a bit in the music I started with like Darkwave, Synthwave, and of course Italo-Disco too.
My next project will be called Eurotrash. For me it can be a way of living, a group of people, certain activities that define a certain lifestyle. Eurotrash is a festival nomad from central europe, ecstasy on a beach in Croatia, couchsurfing in Barcelona, playing bingo in a village pub in Albania. Half dropout, half scene kid, half lost soul, half legend.
Hedonistic, improvised, subcultural, and slightly self-destructive.
Where did you draw the inspiration for that project?
With Eurotrash, I have a visual world in my head, very cinematic. I use lots of film reference and let myself be inspired by a character or an image that I still have in mind. Then I try to transform the whole thing into music.
Your new track red mustang was recently published. What was special about the process of creating it?
I made the instrumental myself in Berlin, and then I was in L.A. in May to work on music, I was in the studio with a Dutch producer.
I had rented a red Mustang back then. I guess you could call that my American guilty pleasure.
And then he said, just make it about your Mustang. Something totally banal. I loved the idea and it really fit the song.
What does the red Mustang mean to you?
It’s about breaking away, caught somewhere between emotional detachment and vulnerability. For me, it captures the feeling of young love, passion, and rebellion.
Is the red Mustang your favorite car?
No, I don’t think so haha. A red Mustang in Berlin… I don’t know if that would work, but of course it would be very on brand if it happened. Let’s see…
We’re curious. Thank you.
