scris de Catalin Rulea

Rooly: Dear Kirsten Hahn, I was at your concert in Orange Concept Store on 14th December. You performed there only with a drummer and a Stratocaster (if I remember well). From other interviews I understood that you use all sort of musicians for recordings and live performance. Who is Kitty Solaris?

Kitty: Kitty Solaris is my artist name, but also the project name.
I play in different constellations: sometimes solo, only voice + electric guitar, most times together with Steffen Schlosser on drums, and sometimes we have got guests on second guitar and keyboard or base. It’s important to be flexible, so that the music suits to the space, we can be flexible and play in small bars and bigger stages as well.

Rooly: At that concert and after that home I had the feeling of “good vibe” :-), I felt like home. Is your life as peaceful as your music… and when I ask this question I’m thinking that you have also a label. How do you manage?

Kitty: I’m glad that the music felt like home! I write songs at home in my kitchen, mostly in the evening or by nighttime, with a glass of red wine.
I just have to relax, everything is quiet and I feel connected in a way; like some kind of meditation. Although we have some more rocky songs, that I like a lot, the main feeling of the music is homy and relaxed.
Even if it sounds peaceful, there are lot of different feelings in the music, such as anger disappointment, despair, doubt, loneliness, love, desire and loss.

I’m happy to have this life, but it’s not peaceful all the time. I went through times of depression and fear; and now that I found myself founding this label, it’s much work and sometimes it costs a lot of nerves to deal with business affairs.

I founded the label Solaris Empire to release my own music, to have an official release with distribution, to make the record available in the shops. I’m happy that it all went well. On the other side we have this crisis in the music-business and people buy less and less CDs in the shops. Especially for small labels it’s hard to survive.
I’m curious how it will develop.

Rooly: Trends are so funny, don’t you think? A lot of people refer to some music as indie… Do you feel the pressure of major labels, are you against or you would be happy for a contract with Polydor (for example). Do you think success is a trap?

Kitty: It depends, all labels, major or “indie”labels are concerned by the fact that less and less CDs are sold. Usually bigger labels have more money or a bigger promotion apparat, so they can afford to push their artists; pay for articles or advertisements, etc..
On the other side, they take a lot of the money, so the artists don’t get that much at the end, it always depends on the contract. If I would get a good offer from a major label I would think about it, I guess.
Success, It depends how you define success for yourself!
If you expect to get rich and famous with music it can be a trap.
But if you live your life like you want to, without being in this retrace for fame or popularity and appreciate also the little steps, and don’t forget to enjoy the little things, it’s not a trap at all!
The main thing is that you are content with yourself and the things you do.

Rooly: My last question is about innovation. My feeling is that you don’t have this pressure. A lot of bands and composers are in search of strange sounds, strange rhythms. How do you treat this subject?

Kitty: Is there anything new? Isn’t it all a repetition of something that has been there before?
I don’t know! I think I have my style; it’s simple and direct.
It is based on the voice + guitar + melodies and songs. I try to keep it simple, or maybe I’m just a little lazy? Of course I like some bands like Honey for petzi (it’s an art to play like that) or Shellac, it’s also interesting how producers can influence the sound, or how artists like Madonna work with different producers and sounds.

Interview with Kitty Solaris (Berlin) by Catalin Rulea (The Pixels)
09.01.2008

http://www.kitty-solaris.de
http://www.solaris-empire.de
http://www.myspace.com/kittysolaris

PS: I like Bucharest! Been there just for a short time, but it seems to be a very interesting city and the people we’ve met are extremely nice! I’m interested how the music scene will develop there!

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