Name: Finn Ronsdorf

Nationality: German

Occupation: Songwriter, vocalist
Current Release: Finn Ronsdorf's From Mind We Arise is out now.

If you enjoyed this Finn Ronsdorf interview and would like to stay up to date on his music and releases, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in your voice and singing? How and when did you start singing?

I used to sing with my father. Folk, blues, popsongs. The point I got intellectually conscious of what it means to sing, my voice had already developed to a certain degree.

That's the beautiful thing – when there is no intention or motive behind the “studying”, it's pure action.

If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

In my childhood, the piano in our living room was part of the furniture. We placed fruits and books on it. I was the only one playing it sometimes – and only for the sake of two things: writing songs, and occupying the empty space my voice could not fill.

It is still like this today: the piano is such a wonderful instrument. It sounds perfect, right from the start. In my songs it's there to underline, but the voice is the driving force.

Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

Even speaking is singing. All language is sound. Even if not spoken – the words, the images, thoughts in our mind – that's all sound, all is sung. Who sings the song, no one knows.

When it comes to our classical understanding of it, I always loved the great singers: Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston. Brazilian singers such as Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil. Some German, some Indian, some South-African singers.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

I have never seperated these things. As far as the songwriting process is concerned, they go together. Whenever I tried to to focus on one of the three aspects, another suffered from it. With a certain groove, there comes a certain singing expression.

One of my newest songs “Let's Say Goodbye” is one of the few with drums. Here, the voice becomes part of the rhythm too.

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

Sometimes I'm touched by what some singers are able to do - the riffs, runs, belts, and all that. Especially when I was young. I was a scientist trying to learn about all the nuances of this peculiar American singing style. What were they doing with their throat?

Later I found this again in different cultures and traditions. The Indian classical singing style for example contains this playfulness too – but with a different intensity, timing and spacing.

Today, I'm overwhelmed by some singers' simplicity. When there's nothing left to prove, and the voice becomes but a breeze of longing. The sound of surrender.

How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

Usually I don't notice how I'm doing things. Like this, the physical organ is just expressing itself. As a matter of fact, whenever I become conscious of certain areas - picturing my throat, picturing my belly, picturing my head - these areas become stiff.

To not mind is true mindfulness. Otherwise consciousness is split up and imagines something that is not there.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

All the same.

Now, it is a matter of honesty. In both speaking and singing.

From whispers to screams, from different colours to dynamics, what are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

“Wherever I May” is a calm song, one in which the voice is not supposed to impose anything. Its task is to evoke a sense of devotion.

“Turn To Stone” or “Let's Say Goodbye” however are songs that might force the listener, or at least tweak a bit. There is some preachiness in the tone, some screams and even inflected speech. But that's only for the sake of a feeling. It can only do so much, the rest is on the listener.



The singing organ, like any organ, has a great sense of intelligence by itself. As soon as the brain tries to control or focus or describe, an amount of energy is wasted. This physical body works really harmoniously and smoothly. An oiled machine.

I don't know why evolution made us think so much. Our intellectual way of understanding understands very little.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

The sound of the word is just as important as the content of the word. Within the sound lies the actual content. Of course, we're translating the word, describing it, imposing images on it, and make it something it is not. Factually, there is only sound. Our mind has created the mess.

For a song, a clear and honest sound is the aim. We have to be honest. If I see myself drifting off to literary effusions, the sound becomes awkward.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

I smoke cigarettes. Like this, it gets in contact with harm before it can be harmed.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What, from your perspective, makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

I like natural reverb. Churches and big halls are great.

Other than that, I always felt like my voice is best represented through my iphone. Unfortunately, my producer friends don't want to know.