The German-native indie rock band consists of singer Frederik Rabe, guitarist Finn Schwieters, bassist Luca Göttner, keyboardist Jonathan Wischniowski and drummer Finn Thomas.
The album consists of a 14-song tracklist. The band is currently in the middle of their How Have You Been? World Tour.
How do you feel your music and your approach to making music has evolved since you first started as a band? Are there any particular challenges or highlights that have shaped your journey?
Giant Rooks: Yeah, when we first started this band we had absolutely no idea how to write a song. So we would just be in the rehearsal space and play anything and we did that for a year or so, it was trial and error. Before we wrote our first song I think it took about two years before we had a proper song with lyrics and everything. We really got more confident in what we were doing and developed our skills as songwriters. Now we have an idea how to approach songwriting which we didn't have when we started out, we had no idea at all. Now we do have the skill set to get in the rehearsal space and write a song. Still, it's trial and error, there will be days you start something and it just doesn't work and at the end of the day, you think why. Those days are so important for songwriting, for the actual outcome and the results of the good songs. All those days where you are not able to write a song are so important for this one day or one moment for this one hour when you have that day where this is actually what you want to do. We got more confident in songwriting and music production and everything like that. At the same time, it's still a rollercoaster, there are some days when imposter syndrome kicks in and I have no idea what I'm doing right now. There is no recipe for making a good song.
While being on tour what is something that you have to do before going on stage?
Giant Rooks: We do a lot of vocal warm-ups together. It's important to be in the right mood for the show. To have a day or the day before the show to have a social day and explore the city. This was really important for me to have a free mind and to be able to play a show with full energy. Not hanging out too much in our dressing rooms backstage, we did that on our last tour and we were always depressed and devastated and not getting any sunlight or having a life besides the show. I think that it's a really good thing that we are now exploring the city and places.
Which one of your songs would you tell a new listener to hear in order to get a feel for your sound?
Giant Rooks: It’s kind of hard 'cause our songs are different from each other, so I don’t know if there is one song that could sum it up. I think there could be maybe 4 or 5 songs maybe. I feel like ‘What I Know Is All Quicksand’ is still one of my favorite songs that we wrote because it still resonates with me and it's one that we love to play live. From the new record, it's probably "Flashlights" and "Brave New World," but I don't know, maybe let’s pick "What I Know Is All Quicksand" and "Somebody Like You."
What was the most challenging song to write or put together?
Giant Rooks: "Somebody Like You," as well. It’s funny because we wrote that song in our rehearsal space. The base we wrote in about 3 hours and then we finished the song and demo in 3 days. The demo already felt great and it was hard to take that demo and record it in a studio and make it better. Sometimes it's an easy process in the beginning and then can get very hard to finish it up and get it in the exact right spot. We had so many discussions about that song, even in the master. You do the production and the mixing and in the end when you have the final wave it gets mastered. You can still change and equalize the song, you can boost the base. We had a lot of discussions on the master which we never had. We would play so many different masters that nobody would hear a difference. We got lost in the process.
What have been your favorite venues to perform at?
Giant Rooks: I love theater rooms, especially in North America. There's a ground floor and then a balcony and its theater style and I love these venues. In Montreal, we played at the Beanfield Theater and in Toronto at The Opera House - we both like that. Normally I'm a huge fan of a modernized venue because it's kind of chill and you have good catering and it's luxurious, to be honest. But when it comes to the actual show it's very nice to play in a very nice and beautiful-looking room. Of course, the ancient theaters are the most wonderful in the US. There is one in the US called The Wiltern and I loved it.
Have there been any special moments on tour?
Giant Rooks: When we played in London, we played this very beautiful theater called the Shepherds Bush Empire. Since I was a child, I had a favorite songwriter Ben Howard. He's from the UK and I saw him play at this beautiful venue and I was so in love with his music and the venue. I always wanted to play there and it felt like a full-circle event for me and a dream come true to play in this venue.
Listen to How Have You Been? HERE