Gengahr - The Seeds of Pop

The release of Gengahr’s second album gave us the chance to send a few questions via email to Felix Bushe, the band’s singer and main songwriter. His answers reveal just how natural it felt for the quartet to move towards the broader sound that defines this second record compared to their debut.

You’ve said that your vision of what Gengahr should be is different from when you made the first record, and that’s clear from listening to the two albums. Was there a specific moment that defined this shift in vision, or did it happen spontaneously?

I think the change was very natural. Life’s too short to repeat yourself, so the ambition is always to do something new every time. To me, the great artists are the ones who constantly give the impression of reinventing themselves, while still making it feel just as natural as their previous incarnation. That’s the underlying ambition behind what we do.

You’ve also said that you recorded a version of the album that, in the end, you didn’t feel comfortable with, but you were confident that, with the songs you had, you’d be able to record something you’d love. What exactly didn’t you like – the sound itself, or the way it interacted with the songwriting? Did you feel the songwriting wasn’t being served well enough by the sound?

I think that, fundamentally, the record we’d finished didn’t feel natural or human enough. We had a lot of time in the studio and we were very focused on making something perfect, and that ended up stifling the recordings a bit. What we learned from that process is that imperfections can often give a song a breath of life, and that they should be embraced wholeheartedly along with everything else.

Given how important the songwriting stage is to your work, at least from what you’re saying, I wanted to ask how it works within the band. Is there a main songwriter, or do you write collectively? Do you write music and lyrics separately, or more or less at the same time?

I’m definitely the main songwriter in the band. I’ve always written the songs, but we collaborate a lot on the musical side. John, Hugh and Danny often share ideas, and then it’s down to me to take them and build a song around them. There’s no set process, and it tends to change from song to song. I think that helps keep the songwriting varied and unpredictable.

I think the main difference between the two albums, both in terms of songwriting and sound, is that this new one is more direct and more ambitious at the same time. The new songs give off a great sense of energy, positivity and self-awareness. Would you agree?

I really hope so! We’ve definitely gained a lot of awareness from our experiences with the first album, thanks to the feedback from critics and fans and from playing so many shows. Playing to bigger audiences and feeling the love we were given really allowed us to grow and feel more confident in what we were doing.

Given the style, both melodically and vocally, I think I could sing these songs, or at least most of them, in the shower or while driving. Would you like every listener to feel that way?

Haha… of course! As a singer, nothing makes me happier than hearing other people sing my songs. I love it, it’s a wonderful feeling.

I get the impression you worked hard on the tracklist, starting with the cleaner songs, moving on to the ones with a slightly dirtier, more reverb-heavy sound, and finishing with the dreamier ones.

Yes, I think there’s a general feeling in music right now that albums matter less, and that everyone just listens to records on Spotify or puts their favourite songs into playlists. Maybe we’re purists, but for us that’s still an important part of making an album. Figuring out the perfect way to take the listener on a journey through our music is definitely something that matters a lot to us.

What are your lyrics about? Was there a shift between the first album’s lyrics and the second one’s, the way there was with the other elements we’ve talked about?

My intentions for this record were pretty simple: I wanted to be more personal, hoping that by opening up more and revealing a bit more of myself, the listener would feel more directly connected to the songs.

My favourite song on the record is “Pull Over (Now)”, tell me everything you can about it.

It's one of my favourites too. I think it's the song that looks furthest ahead from where the record stands, towards what we might do in the future. I think that's why I like it so much.

You're about to head out on a European tour, and you'll be coming to Italy too - what can we expect from your shows? Will you be reworking the older songs to fit your current vision, or sticking close to the studio versions?

You always need a certain balance when playing live. We try to keep the songs close enough to the studio versions so that they sound warm and familiar, but we also try to bring a bit more energy to them, so we can deliver the kind of performance the audience deserves.

Speaking of shows, I imagine you'll also be playing some outdoor festivals this summer after the extensive club tour. Have you prepared anything different for the two settings?

They're always somewhat different situations, yes. Playing clubs is always fun - the sound is loud, you're sweating, you know what to expect. Outdoor shows can throw up a few more problems. I think, though, that we're lucky our sound works well in both scenarios.

The album is also coming out on cassette, which has become a reality again these days, and personally I'm very happy about that. There's also a seed packet for early orders. Were these your ideas, or did they come from the label?

No, these are ideas we wanted to put into practice ourselves. We were kids in the Nineties, so we remember cassettes and they played an important part in our early musical experiences. As for the seeds, we've always been big nature lovers and it seemed like a good idea to make the world a little greener!

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