.

.

Interview with
QUARTERHEAD

(22nd April, 2021)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

.

.

Released on Friday, April 9th, German natives Quarterhead delivered their first incredible release of 2021 in the form of ’Touch My Body’. Josh Tapen and Janik Riegert are still riding the wave off the back of their previous release ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes’ alongside Ofenbach which continues to be an outstanding success achieving over 320 million streams worldwide to date. The track achieved gold and platinum status in Germany, France, Poland and Austria as well as number 50  in the global Spotify chart.

The award winning duo have worked alongside a multitude of artists including Robin Schulz, Ofenbach, LUM!X, Alle Farben, DubDogz, Juan Magan, ILIRA, Benjamin Ingrosso, Gabry Ponte and The Backstreet Boys to name a few.

.

.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
When writing a song we always aim for a natural vibe. Anything that’s real will connect and resonate. If a part or a sound feels forced or isn’t true to the nature of the whole piece we’ll dig until we find something more easy. At this stage we love to dig in 80s soundscapes, disco vibes and house.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
Mac Miller or John Mayer have left some footprints! They both figured how to make music that never really ages. It’s timeless. That seems to be the holy grail of making music.

Your new single ‘Touch My Body’ has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
So the song was originally written as a 90s BPM R&B ballad. We had those chords on the Rhodes and just vibed on it. Later we experimented with the vocal and morphed it into this 115BPM dance vibe. It’s all about lucky accidents and a free mind sometimes!

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to and what can fans expect?
Corona is still canceling most our plans but we’re using the time to work on our DJ sets, doing a lot of remixes and hope to jump on stage soon. We also started to produce   some extra bits and vibes just for the life setup.

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
Probably Calvin Harris. His music has an amazing feel to it and it would blend really well with the stuff we’re doing atm. Wouldn’t mind if Jax Jones would join as well!

.

.

Do you have any long-term aspirations as music artists?
When we started we thought of ourselves more as an acoustic band, later things developed into a songwriting/production team and throughout the years our own artist profile started to evolve. It was a long process. Good things take time. We just feel to be on the right path now as things are moving forward faster and faster. Many would define success from an outside perspective checking numbers, gold awards etc. but it might really be that core thing: finding the right musical   language to move people. That’s hard to measure but an ultimate goal we work hard on.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
The connection. When a song is being created in the studio all you have is the energy in the room. Transferring this to a thousand people live is an insane feeling! One of the nicest gigs was the opening gala of the Cannes Lions. They built an amazing stage right on the beach and we got to perform during sunset.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Continuum John Mayer
Artist – Mac Miller
Movie – The Wolf Of Wall Street
Place to visit – LA
Venue to play – Would love to do a Cercle Set at some point
Food –  Sushi
Drink – Wine
Person in History –  Barack Obama

.

.

Check out QUARTERHEAD below
Website – Facebook – Instagram

.

Biography

“We have learned to trust our gut in the studio, however, this does not exclude the fact that a production is complex and that it can take us weeks to work on a song. But other times, it only takes 20 minutes, like with “Heads Shoulders Knees & Toes” – Quarterhead

With more than 150 million streams generated globally with “Head Shoulders Knees & Toes“, top positions in the global Spotify charts, gold and platinum status in countries like Germany, France, Poland and Austria amongst others, and airplay successes such as a top 10 ranking in Germany, Quarterhead, together with Ofenbach and vocalist Norma Jean Martine, mark the success of another international hit on their already impressive track record. Even though the collective’s dance track, inspired by an old children’s song, was already released last summer, it still remains on the course to success in 2021 as well! For Quarterhead, the track is another milestone and, at the same time, the perfect motivation to reach for even higher goals: “To be creative and then receive approval for your own ideas and impulses unleashes a unique power. We don’t want to repeat ourselves or make it easy on us, but rather keep pushing and exploring new paths,” the two members Josh Tapen and Janik Riegert explain. “For us, it’s all about the music. It’s what drives us. And success enables you to take it to the next level.”

Quarterhead have been one of the most interesting talents on the scene for several years now, at first, making a name for themselves outside of the spotlight with their songwriting and production. Long before they conquered charts and playlists all over the globe with their hit single “Heads Shoulders Knees & Toes”, they captivated the world with their songs for various other artists: from Benjamin Ingrosso, Alle Farben, and Ofenbach, to Schiller, Wincent Weiss, and all the way up to the Backstreet Boys. With their very own sound and style, Quarterhead have managed to win over the trust from artists around the world, who frequently request them for collabs. According to Quarterhead, the fact that such a studio session can result in a new EDM anthem with a hypnotizing hook or a club summer hit, comes down to what they call ‘structured creativity’: “We create creative spaces for ourselves and gather people, to freely explore song ideas together. In times of a pandemic, this also works very well virtually with friends and colleagues from anywhere in the world. These sessions are the birthplace of many ideas and fragments, which the two of us then take into the studio for further refinement.”

The duo from the German region Middle Hesse began writing their first songs during school days already. At the time, their focus was on pop, folk, and singer-songwriter compositions: “We were inspired by artists like John Mayer or Jason Mraz, which had an influence on our approach to writing as well,” the two songwriters and producers recap. What started off with song structuring and composition in a completely different genre, was the best prep for their next step musically: “We experimented with pop and dance influences, and the songs by Calvin Harris opened up a door to mainstream that enabled us to find our very own sound.” These early influences also explain why Quarterhead place great importance on lyrics that tell stories, capture moments and observations, and deliver emotions. Whether it’s for their own releases or for commissioned work and remixes for other artists – Quarterhead utilize the deconstruction of sounds as a tool to transcend genre boundaries and to create something that’s never been there before. Quarterhead have got quite a lot lined up for the next few months, not allowing for any kind of pressure, which a mega hit like “Head Shoulders Knees & Toes” could invoke, to arise. “There’s no way to know beforehand whether or not a song will become a success. So what we do is focus on delivering the best possible take. So far, we’ve been well-advised by our gut feeling. If you can break apart the song and remove parts – and the song still remains strong and touches you, then we’ve achieved what we set out to do.”

.

.

AMNPLIFY – DB