After the embrace
 |
| Photo by Peter Tümmers |
Christina Lux is a German
musician, singer, guitarist and composer born in Karlsruhe. Since 1983 she has played
in different rock and jazz bands. In 1998 she released her debut EP called She is me and in 1999 her debut album Little luxuries. Since then she has
released four more studio albums: Pure Love (2001), Believe (2004), Coming home at last (2006) and Playground
(2012) featuring Reentko; and three live albums: Live aus dem Stadtgarten Köln (2003), Lux pure&live (2007) and Embrace
(2015) featuring Bodek Janke, her most recent release. She writes mainly in
English although there are always some songs in German. Now she works in a new album
which is supposed to be released in Summer 2017. Her beautiful and warming
voice singing her poetic lyrics will keep us company hopefully for a long time.
What
does music mean to you?
Music is like a
tool to me. I need it to bring order into my thoughts. I rarely practice. It's
more like searching for a connection through sounds and notes that feels light
and easy. I stop trying to grasp it with my mind, and start feeling it through
my heart. Mostly that happens when inspiration, sounds and words and motor
skills of my fingers come together. Words are the engine that will start the
whole thing. Without these sentences that go around in my head, I wouldn't be
making music. I was never really interested in mere mastery of the instrument.
Which
are your references in music and literature?
There are so many.
I am open for various kinds of music. If it comes close and moves me or
inspires me, then it's good. I went from Rock to Soul and Jazz to Singer Songwriter.
I like anything that's heartfelt. I started playing with all these different
elements on my own. And then there is the wonderful opportunity of
improvisation.
The same with literature: it always came to me without actively looking for it. There was always an element of approach to a deep truth and honesty, that I found very impressive. There was Rilke and Hesse and Erich Fromm. I like to quote but I wouldn't necessarily call myself well-read. There are little fragments that stayed with me and remind me of some inner truth.
The same with literature: it always came to me without actively looking for it. There was always an element of approach to a deep truth and honesty, that I found very impressive. There was Rilke and Hesse and Erich Fromm. I like to quote but I wouldn't necessarily call myself well-read. There are little fragments that stayed with me and remind me of some inner truth.
When
you compose, do you think mainly of your own experiences or do you resort to
fiction too?
My music comes
from the process of trying to comprehend or see something. A lot of times there
are inner dialogs that move me. Music and words give me courage, make unspoken
things visible and they stir up old habits and patterns. I have woken myself up
that way many times. When I manage to write in a flow, without thinking, it
often feels like something is writing through me. The mastery is not to
interrupt this flow. There are observations of people and movements around me.
Poetry is a great tool to express feelings through images and pictures. It
creates a room that a listener can enter. Ultimately he enters his own story.
When that succeeds, I am very happy.
In
"Stell dir vor" you sing "Ich weiß, die Zeit heilt keine Wunden
dieser Art" (I know time doesn't heal wounds of this kind). How do you
live the passing of time?
There are things
that never heal. I have learned to deal with that and see my scars differently.
Leonard Cohen says in one of his songs "There is a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in". I would strongly agree with that. As long
as I'm denying or fighting off what is bubbling up inside me, there is no peace
within me. The Name of my last Album was "Embrace". Embrace what you
are and what is. All of it. Songs make light fall onto weird and dark sides of
life. I believe it's a part of our task as a human in this world to keep
looking at things anew over and over again, and to choose a gentle path instead
of a hard and bitter one. The evolution of our conscience seems to be very
slow. I see way too many actions against each other and too many people feeling
like victims. The fact that right-wing populism is gaining strength feels like
things go backwards before going forward again. I strongly hope people will
realize one day that we have to work with each other. Freedom is a very
precious good. Sometimes I fear that many people actually can't handle it.
There is a book by Erich Fromm called "The Fear of Freedom" and it
keeps coming to my mind.
In your Song "Forget you" you
sing: „ Seems like I lost my faith when losing you”. Does love always lead us
to the extremes?
Love
can bring up our most beautiful side and our ugliest. It is great when love
helps to clear false concepts. Like old script books that need to be rewritten.
We all learn some kind of love through how we first get in contact with it.
Often it has nothing to do with love. Later we seek for someone to make us
happy and complete in the same way. We use conditions, manipulations and we are
afraid to become vulnerable. But love doesn't grow while we use protection
shields. We are longing to be seen and to be fully accepted. In the end it
becomes our own job. The love that has been missed in early years cannot be
brought back by anyone from the outside. They can help but we need to learn to
be very sweet with our scars and needs ourselves. When we do that we start
seeing the beauty in others more than the ugly sides. Faith and deep trust
lands safely. In my song "Forget you" I am talking about letting the
old parts of life go even though it may feel like a total loss. Then you can
start putting new seeds in the soil.
And in Playground „ Become a lover and you
will be loved”. Is it a spiritual vision of love? Sometimes love is not
returned, is it?
I am
talking about all kinds of love. I do not want to give up in believing that a
loving and respectful life opens the door towards meeting each other. If we
don't have any points of contact it is very easy to be prejudiced. Many people
who never have had contact with other cultures and folks tend to develop a
strange fear of strangers. This fear comes from thoughts only since they have hardly
met anybody who is different from them. They start believing all they hear from
populists and stop checking facts. This development makes me very sad. A little
smile is worth so much. Just keep doing it. Talk to people, get in touch.
Sometimes it may remain unanswered. That's ok. Keep doing it. Become the change
you would like to see. Take your responsibility. Once one feels like a victim
they give up being active. It is easy to find a scapegoat, stop moving and start
spreading hatred. As long as I can move I will do what I can. A child in Aleppo
couldn't choose.
Can you tell us about your new album?
I am
in the middle of writing and recording. I take my time this time. German
language kept knocking at my door since 2006 and now I decided to take the
whole step and make a complete German album. I love singing in English but I am
also at a point where I enjoy so much that the words don't get lost in the
music when I sing in German. It is very direct now. I produce the album with my
long term friend Oliver George. He and I already played in a rock band together
in the 80's.
I
started a crowdfunding campaign again which worked out very well. It is great
to be independent and able to choose how and when I release my albums. We are
planning on releasing in summer.
Have you ever thought about publishing
some of your lyrics without music, like poetry?
Honestly,
no. But it is a nice idea.
Apart music, what's the most important in
your life?
Oh,
yes, it is wonderfully romantic. Love and being a mother. To have an open heart
that let love in and out and being calm with what I do most of the times and
sharing life with people I really appreciate.
Could you tell me a dream of yours?
From
time to time I have dreams where I can't seem to set up my equipment and people
leave before I even start playing. Can't find the cables or the instrument.
That is a good sign for having lost my earthing a little. Time to slip back
into my living room which is music. A place that puts roots back into the
ground, makes me calm and offers a room to tell my stories. I love resonance
with people who listen. It feels good to open rooms and share thoughts. It is a
place where I can recharge very well. I believe these kind of places are very
important. I must not be huge. Just a place to exchange and become real. I find
it very important to learn to take good care of oneself. If you are around
people who keep belittling you, you have to leave. And when you watch yourself
doing that too, change it.
Christina Lux website www.christinalux.de
Photo by Peter Tümmers
All rights reserved