Musical dynamo Konstantin Gropper has been threatening to rock the alternative music world for a while now, gaining rave reviews in his native Germany for his work. Five years and three EPs later, debut album Rest Now Weary Head, You Will Get Well Soon is finally unleashed. We caught up with Konstantin to find out a bit more about his eclectic musical background and precise musical engineering.
We've just missed your birthday - did you do anything nice for it?
Just had a little bit of whiskey last night! In the evening we just drove through the night. We had a gig in Hamburg on Friday and took the ferry to London with one stop in between. Sunday, we got to London - not much to do, so we just had coffee! Pretty relaxed day so far...
Let's just talk a little bit about your musical background now. What are your influences and when did you first embrace music?
Music was always around me. My father was a music teacher, it was a very musical home, it was always the main focus. He's classically trained and played a lot of instruments - piano, organ, trumpet, to name a few. I started playing music (the cello) at the age of six.
You're obviously well schooled in the classical arts. When was the first time you were in a band?
My first band was called Your Garden and I set it up when I was 14 with mostly school friends. It was a punk and grunge era - very loud! I think I just wanted to emancipate from the whole classical era, though I was still playing in the orchestra and singing in the choir. When you turn 14, it's not that you prefer rock music but that you want to experiment with youth culture. We probably still exist, but we haven't played together in over 4 years. I think there will be a reunion.
So, you left Your Garden behind and you started making music by yourself.
After I finished school I moved away. I then started producing music, mainly electronic actually and quieter stuff. I was a bit tired of the whole electric guitar thing and tried something else, which is when Get Well Soon came into being, almost five years ago.
Tell us about Get Well Soon and the process of making the first album.
Some of the songs are over five years old. We made some EPs which were never really released - we just sold them on concert stands. I worked on producing the album at home, in my bedroom. I was dividing my time between studying Philosophy and Literature and actually working on the music.
What would you say has influenced your music the most? Were you ever tempted to sing in German?
Actually no, I've been influenced by music sung in English. When I was in Your Garden, we were listening to bands like Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth. That's when I started to write lyrics and music. When I decided that I wanted to do something other than just rock 'n roll. It was people like Leonard Cohen that made me see that there's a lot more range to music. I like to put stuff together that doesn't really fit - there's a lot of classical influence and a folk side to it. It's all about combining and contrasting.
You've had some good reviews in Germany with this album, but what's the reaction been like in the UK?
The album was released in the UK about six months after it was in Germany. The media everywhere has so far been pretty good, I was really surprised about that. We do get people at the gigs who have been maybe been influenced by the media and didn't know the stuff, but there are people who do seem to know it, although it's not really sing-along music!
What's next for Konstantin and for Get Well Soon?
I'd like to do a concept album at some point, as I really like the idea of them, but for now it's four more dates in the UK as we continue the tour.
Thanks for chatting, Konstantin!