📡 So there's this one project I've been working on since 2015. Four years later I think I'm ready to set the beast out into the world officially... Here's a little story about WRTRM that you won't find anywhere else. 📡
In the past, I shared a few songs here on Steemit, mostly covers of non-English songs that I eventually plan to remaster and release as "The Ostblock EP". These songs are currently hidden from public because of this exact reason, but don't worry, you'll be able to check them out (or... At least one of them) quite soon. Trust me. Now... Where the hell did this one-woman-project come from? Why is it called WARTERAUM (aka "Waiting Room")? I'll try to answer these things and shed some light on some other facts as well.
It all begins sometime in 2015 and it's a blur. At that time, I believe I must've been going from one band to another, either as a singer or bass player. Everyone wanted to play Metal. Everyone wanted to be different. Everyone wanted to make it big but lacked the talent / determination.
It was hard to gain some authority as the only woman within a band consisting of three to four small town guys who never heard of equality in decision within a collective of creative people and comments like "Yeah, your voice is actually great, but when are you gonna dye your hair black?" were a bit out of place. Then, there was also my secret dream of leading a band in a totalitarian way. Oh, I see my personality shining through this again...
Anyway, 2015 is also the year when I wrote my first solo song. "Align" was its name, the composition was kinda light sounding and miles away from what I do now and the lyrics were still innocent... And this was the birth of WARTERAUM. In 2016 I created a simple visual identity and shot a video (which was quite elaborate for me at the time) for the first version of "Align" and successfully participated in a competition, winning a spot at an inspiring songwriting workshop in Vienna. I wrote and produced demos for five new songs within the course of seven months – Something I didn't know I was capable of – and by the time I reached Vienna, I could be considered a solid DIY-musician.
(Note on the "Align"-video: I shot it during my pre-plastic-surgery time. I weighted a bit over 80kg and... Oh, I think this is some material for a different story... I am not comfortable with sharing this video. Ever.)
But my relationship with WARTERAUM wasn't serious just yet. Yes, I must have some kinda fear of commitment. It was a fun past-time. Something to do when I wasn't taking photographs or studying. I had a rough idea of what I'd like WARTERAUM to become, but I didn't care to find my own style just yet. And to be honest, I'm not a fan of "fitting in".
At some point, I had a bunch of great to semi-ok demos lying on my shelves and I remixed "Align" to make it feel more up to date to whatever I was doing then. I guess that's when I decided to shake it up and make my music more techno and industrial. Also, I started covering songs in the WRTRM-style as a great way to inspire myself to come up with new material.
Here's the remixed version of "Align" with the 2016 single artwork. You can get a glimpse of how unintrusive my lyrics were back then:
Life went on. WARTERAUM was lurking around in the background and I had a slight thought of letting one or two people join the project until deciding that this is not what was meant to happen.
I have no idea what I was doing in 2018 besides gradually losing my mental health – I admit that this timeframe is even more of a blur than 2015 is. I kept on covering songs that I loved and came up with the concept of only covering songs that didn't have English lyrics to start with. Songs from East European artists – Yeah, I shared some of those here.
The concept of releasing "The Ostblock EP" emerged. But I laughed it off with this absolutely unproductive "that will never happen anyway"-mindset.
This year, something happened. During sleepless nights that I filled with alcohol and happy pills I found myself thinking about my long lost hopes and dreams I had when I was young. Suddenly I remembered the performance of the 10 year old me singing at a local talent show in front of a packed venue and the small interview I had with the host after the show. He asked me what I'd like to do in the future... I wanted to become a rock star... Then I remembered all the smaller performances I had... And then I realized... The only thing in my life that I do with passion is music.
I took the time and analyzed my material once again. I returned to the songs that I wrote years ago and saw an unused potential. A little spark of hope, if you like. I took my time to re-record the demos and rewrite some lyrics – I finally had a clear vision in front of my eyes. WARTERAUM aka WRTRM was thriving again and I found an activity that I enjoyed even if my depressive episodes were pushing me back to the floor sometimes.
As we're speaking, there are six songs that are waiting for me to record the vocals, but I dread that task – I am convinced that I can't really sing and that my voice is not really lady-like and a million of other reasons. But hey, these songs are called "Running Away", "Dead Space" which is still a working title, "USVSTW" (whatever that means), "Bergen", "Turn The Tides" and a love song inspired by Orwell's 1984 – "Winston & Julia". I'm currently rehearsing and making them sound stage-ready while planning out a new band-identity and a hopefully unforgettable show to bring to the people this fall.
Side note: I felt that I'm doing the right thing when my mother texted me that she found herself humming one of my melodies several days after sending her some semi-finished songs. It made me feel that my songwriting is strong enough to actually write an unconventional Pop song.
And thus, the WARTERAUM of 2019 is making Technopop/Synthpunk music with rather salty lyrics. It's a drastic change in comparison to its humble beginnings in 2015. I am scared that I will abandon this project due to my fear of not being good enough for anything... But I'm not scared of self-releasing EPs, bringing on a hell of a show and doing something I dreamed of a long time ago.
"Two is a company, three is a crowd, one is an army"
That's the motto. And a beginning of a brand new, exciting journey. If you want to, you can follow WARTERAUM on Instagram to keep up posted on whatever will happen in the near future. I'd appreciate it very much. ❤️
And with all of this being said – And I hope it was coherent... I'm gonna leave you with a song and a band that I just can't get enough of... Haha.
Take care, stay hydrated, comment, upvote and do whatever the hell you want! ✨
From Prague with love,
–Stacy, The Cool Cat