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I am a big fan of darkwave and was delighted to learn that I would be interviewing Cold in Berlin, a band I had only recently discovered, but whose fusion of gothic and metal I greatly admired. In this interview, the British band looked back on their career, from their early days as Death Cigarettes in York to their maturation in London, undergoing a musical evolution that began in post-punk/darkwave and reached the intensity of doom and metal.
First, it’s an honor to be interviewing you guys from COLD IN BERLIN, a band I’ve been following for a while. So, just to kick things off, could you tell us a bit about how you got your beginnings in the music scene, what bands/projects you’ve been involved in, and stuff like that?
Adam (Guitar): Maya and I started making music together when we were at university. We recorded anti-folk songs at home just to see if we could. But soon we wanted to make a louder noise so we started playing with friends at house parties.
The band started out in York as Death Cigarettes and later became Cold in Berlin when you moved to London. How did this change of name and city influence the band’s musical and lyrical identity?
Adam: It made us grow up. Death Cigarettes was about wild, punk, fun. The kind of shit you can only get away with when you are a student. We quickly learned that in London, if you don’t get your shit together, you’ll be out on the street.
When I first heard of you, I loved the 2010 album “Give Me Walls,” which had a Siouxsie And The Banshees vibe, and then with “The Comfort of Loss & Dust” in 2015, there was a shift towards a more metal sound. How was this change in musical direction?
Maya: We never wanted to make the same album-our sound evolved naturally between albums, hopefully each one is different enough to be interesting but still very CiB.
Adam: Just another natural progression. In between those albums is And Yet from 2012, which was more gothic rock, than post punk. After 2012 we started listening to Sabbath and Electric Wizard more – two English bands that never played by the rules – and we were enjoying playing slower, heavier music.
I read that you listen to Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard. Who else influences you, musically?
Lawrence (Bass): We listen to all sorts of sounds, which I think is evident in the records we make. Sabbath and Wizard are definitely on regular rotation in the van, but at the other end of the spectrum we listen to a lot of electronic acts like The Knife. When making this album we talked about Krautrock all the time, the idea that you could throw away traditional structures and genres and just experiment really appealed.
By the way, I have listened to the new singles, and despite the more metal approach, there are many elements from your darkwave era. How would you classify your music today?
Lawrence: It’s tricky to classify. We are using sounds borrowed from doom metal to do things that don’t have much to do with metal. There’s darkwave, gothic, krautrock and post-punk mixed up in there, but really it’s just music for fans of dark and heavy music.
You have mentioned that you stopped performing live for the first time in order to focus exclusively on writing “Rituals of Surrender.” How was that experience? Did the creative isolation help or hurt the process?
Adam: That was just a result of recruiting a new drummer, Alex, who is now our permanent and longest serving drummer. We managed to acquire a practice space for a year, so we would just hang out there for long hours jamming slow heavy riffs and long atmospheric Doom-scapes.
I was reading an interview/review of “Rituals of Surrender” and noticed you recommend a lot of feminist books to complement the songs, especially when it comes to topics like sexuality and love. How much does this kind of literature influence your music?
Maya: Feminist literature definitely inspires me and helps me to make sense of the world as a woman. So naturally it will be evident in our music. I always wanted CiB to reflect the stories and strength of women and to tell stories from the female perspective away from the male gaze. ‘Wounds’ does that for me so I am happy to share that.
Following on from the previous question, for a while now, some people have been very vocal in saying that “music and politics must not combine,” which I personally disagree with. Even though I’m not the most vocal person when it comes to the phrase “everything is political,” I believe bands and songs can have an important political role. How do you see this relationship between art and politics?
Adam: Rituals of Surrender was recorded amongst the environmental protests of 2019. At that time politics wasn’t abstract. It was in your face. I think it inspired the Rituals track Sacred Ground.
Lawrence: Maybe all art is inherently political, I’m not sure how you would remove it. The themes of our songs often have very political undertones but focus on personal experience and stories. Specific life experience can be more powerful to relate to than a vague anger at the man.
“Wounds” marks a new era for the band. Where do you want to take Cold in Berlin’s sound from here on out? Will you continue to explore these elements of krautrock and electronica?
Alex (Drums): It’s honestly not a discussion we’ve had yet. We’re in full ‘Wounds’ mode – crafting a new set, and doing a lot of non-musical admin. So there’s not a lot of time to think about writing. But there is more new music in the pipeline.
Lawrence: All bets are off! I think we’ve proven we don’t need to write within genres to produce our best music.
We are a Brazilian music website and would like to ask if you know or like any Brazilian artists.
Adam: I’m a 90s metal kids, so Sepultura have a special place in my heart. It was cool to meet Igor Cavalera while recording our EP The Body Is The Wound. The EP producer Wayne Adams shares a music project with Igor – PetBrick. Wayne and Igor also turned us on to Deafkids – awesome band.
I’d also like to ask, what artists do you recommend and what have you been listening to lately?
We made a Spotify playlist for that! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6fSIX8KA6kOAqVfu9XJF3W?si=82f69f8d4b674a10
I want to thank you very much for the opportunity to interview you, so this is your space to leave a message for our readers. Let’s go.
Maya: ‘Wounds’ is a call into the darkness, the strength and the strangeness we carry with us helps us to find each other and lift each other. The noise is the place we call home. I hope you love the album like the wounds you carry- what you carry, makes you stronger. Play the songs loud and find yourself welcomed home. xx
Related Links
Official website: https://www.coldinberlin.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coldinberlin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coldinberlin
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/coldinberlin