Weekend Music Pt. 73: Simone Antonioni
"I always thought fashion would be a good place for the way I think about music and…
WEEKEND MUSIC PT. 74: PAULA HARTMANN & BERQ – “GEGENTEIL VON GLÜCK” EP RELEASE
Melancholy and hope often sit very close together in your music. Is that a place that protects you or challenges you — and why do you keep returning to it?
Felix: I’m not sure you consciously “face” melancholy, or whether life simply brings things your way that you either engage with or avoid. When I’m doing really well and I’m happy, I don’t sit down at the piano and sing about how great my day was — it’s usually when something hasn’t gone the way I hoped that I end up writing.
You both work very intuitively, yet in your own distinct ways. What is something you’ve learned from one another without ever saying it out loud?
Paula: From Felix, I’ve learned to approach the musical side of things more intuitively — and to let myself fall into a musical feeling at times, not only a lyrical one.
F: I’ve mainly learned to approach gut feelings more systematically. Systematic in the sense of working on a text when the whole point is to simply write down what you’re feeling in that moment. That actually goes against my nature, but it led to very beautiful results and ultimately captured exactly what we wanted to express from the beginning.
When was the last time you felt that you surprised yourselves — musically or personally?
P: By being open to new melodies and to collaborating with more people in the creative process. Until now, I had always been in the studio only with my producer Bistram. Working with Berq and his team was a new experience — and one that I really enjoyed.
F: At the end of November, I played three orchestral shows. The entire orchestra, my producer David (Bonk), who wrote all the arrangements, and a team of wonderful people helped bring these songs to life in a completely new way. I was genuinely surprised by how beautiful it all turned out.
Is there a line, an image, or a sound that feels like a recurring thread throughout your work?
P: I’d say that what connects us most is our shared passion and dedication to music. It’s not a literal motif that runs through both projects — but in our collaboration, it’s definitely the most important thing.
F: “I never want you back, we were the opposite of happiness.” It’s a line that captures a lot of the pain I deal with in my songs — very precisely.
What fascinates or irritates you most right now about your perception of the world — beyond music?
F: This may be a very small-scale perspective, but at the moment, the Berlin traffic during my practical driving lessons irritates me massively.
If you had to choose one feeling for 2025 — something that follows you or drives you right now — what would it be?
P: My 2024 felt like shaking the foundations of things I thought were constant. In my personal life, that was unexpectedly warm and beautiful — but when I look at the world, I feel deeply concerned.
F: I have to say: for how intense my year was, it felt surprisingly light. I found a balance — between myself, my private life, friends, and music — that I hadn’t found in previous years. That’s something I really want to carry with me into next year
