Trost
Language knows no barriers on the German chanteuse's second solo album
By Laura Leebove
Published: January 30th, 2008 | 3:23pm
The first letters Annika Trost put on paper were “ACDC.” When the German musician was 2 years old, she wanted to write, like her older brother who was always doing homework. So her mom taught her how to pen the name of her favorite band. “There are still pictures of me in my children's room and with self-painted AC/DC posters,” the 30-year-old says on the phone from an Internet cafe in her hometown of Berlin, Germany.
Growing up in Berlin, Trost was influenced by 1970s punk and rock bands like the Who, the Kinks, and the Stooges, which prompted her to pick up a pair of drumsticks and get to work. At 20 years old, she traded her set for a sampler and has spent the last decade playing and recording as one-half of Cobra Killer, an electronic punk band, with Gina V. D'Orio. In addition to her Cobra Killer work, Trost released a self-titled solo album on Valve Records in 2003, going by only her surname, and is releasing her second solo full-length, Trust Me (Minty Fresh), in the United States in February.
Trust Me’s tracks are mysterious and sexy, combining staccato vocals with bluesy guitars and a tamer version of the psychedelic electronica used in Cobra Killer's recordings. Depending on the feel of the music, the well-traveled songstress shifts seamlessly between German, English, and French. In early January, after a tour in Italy, Trost spoke to Venus Zine about her hometown, the new album, and the unpredictable adventures of Cobra Killer.
What's the music scene like in Berlin?
You can't really say because, especially in the last 10 years, it was changing so quickly. Sometimes what happens is I go on tour, then I go back and there are so many important people who just moved to Berlin, and I don't know them, so I don't really take it so seriously, the whole scene thing.
How is your solo music different from your work with Cobra Killer?
I think because Cobra Killer is a two-piece band [with D'Orio], the main difference is that Trost is me alone. It's because when I'm alone, I have completely different thoughts than if I'm with somebody, so it's more like a journey to the inside. I think Cobra Killer has a lot to do with some mental communication, while Trost is like a blues thing. I would describe it as alternative blues.
You sing in three languages. Are you fluent in all of them?
Yeah. It's because I travel around a lot on tour and, for example, if you go on tour in France, nobody really speaks English. My French is not very good, but it's the three languages I speak the most. Here in Germany there are so many people from other countries who speak English all the time. For me it's also a musical decision, because I think English and German, for example, have two different kinds of melodies. So sometimes when I search for words for a song, the language just comes out like normal, because I think it's just the musical [necessity].
When and where was Trust Me recorded and produced?
Trust Me was recorded and produced half in Australia and half in Berlin, and on the German half I had a co-producer, but the one in Australia I produced myself. For me, producing is very important. I also produce other bands. This is for me really where the fun is also. I mean, I really like singing as well, but I used to play drums and you know what people say about drummers: They can't really sing that good. But for me it's not getting the tone so much; I want to just deliver the feeling I have. But I haven't really found somebody I would give away all this production work to, because I think this is really much fun to do. It's also very rare, very hard for a woman to actually get accepted as a producer.
What are your plans for 2008?
I want to make a new record with Cobra Killer because we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year, so it has to come out this year. I'm thinking about writing a book and I have some new Trost songs ready, so actually a new album can be out for me.
What will the book be about?
I was thinking maybe about the 10 years of Cobra Killer, because a lot of strange things happened to us. Sometimes at cocktail parties we really have to break ourselves not to tell all the stories because we think that people don't really believe us anymore and think we just show off [and are] completely crazy and weird — but it's really weird what's happening sometimes.
[In June 2007] we even got arrested in Sweden — we were in prison [laughs]. This is a stupid story, but the bouncer from the club didn't like us. They thought we caused trouble or something but actually we just wanted our money. We got it, and then they were angry and called the police and said we [took] drugs. In Sweden it's completely illegal to take drugs. In the morning, I went in the hotel, and there were, I think, 25 policemen. I don't know what the bouncers told the police but it was really like in 24 or something. We got arrested. We got in cells. We had to wait very long. Then they found out we were not on drugs [laughs], and then we could go. Drugs are not always an explanation for crazy music, you know? You can't just [make assumptions about] music you maybe don't understand at first. You can't just say, “Oh, they're on drugs” — it would be too easy!
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