Name: Annegret Fiedler aka Perel

Nationality: German
Occupation: DJ, producer, songwriter
Current Release: Perel's sophomore album Jesus Was An Alien is out via Kompakt.
Recommendations: Gossamer – "SINK"; Perel - Jesus Was An Alien

If you enjoyed this interview with Perel and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her on Instagram, twitter, Soundcloud, and Facebook.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started writing music when I was a teenager. At that time I was pretty much influenced by German Hip Hop and Soul music. Later during college I started to listen to Indietronics, Punk and Techno that shaped my music now.

I always had a passion for music and honestly there wasn’t a point where I felt I had a decision - music is in my blood and I can’t withdraw myself from it.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

It’s similar. I mostly see colors. What happens in my body depends on the kind of music I’m listening to obviously. That’s the thing about sound waves.

My approach to music is very intuitive and I always try not to over analyze it. I feel when something needs to come out, no matter what.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

Being an artist is a never ending journey of lessons.

The most important lesson is to not compare yourself to other artists. Focus on your own unique story. Don’t be afraid of being different and don’t follow every hype or trend.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

I’m actually an introvert who seeks peace by being alone. Something surprising I realized in the last year.

When I go on stage I’m ready to give and to receive. But in terms of creativity I would definitely say I need a calm, quiet, and safe place in order to produce music.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Life itself. What you experience in your daily life with all your senses. Music is not something you can separate from other things - the code of life is music.

Listen to your heartbeat, the sound of birds, the wind, and the rain. Even every planet has its own unique sound.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I actually don’t care about that at all. I just make music and I’m beyond happy if someone out there connects with it.

Music is art and I would rather polarize than people feel nothing when listening to my stuff.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

Tool number one certainly my DAW Logic Pro, next to my fav Korg synth, Minilogue XD. I love how easy it is to produce music but still getting an analogue sound.

I mostly record MIDI notes first before the actual sound. Once I do that I’m able to focus on the sound shaping and modulation later and record everything again.

Another important tool l love it Maschine from Native Instruments which I use for beats mainly.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I don’t really have a routine since I’m touring constantly. I wish I had a routine.

When I’m lucky enough to spend time at home I get up in the morning and have a coffee, check my emails, and then usually make music.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

To me that’s not something I’m able to write down in an interview. For many reasons.

If you ask a painter what’s his / her / their creative process they’ll laugh at you or say: I’ll put up a canvas and paint. That’s exactly what I do just with sounds.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

That’s right. And I love both to be honest. It’s good to get pushed out of your comfort zone and collaborate with other people. It changes your perspective and approach on music which I think is so crucial from time to time.

I like changing lenses because quite often the invisible become visible.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

I think music is the absolute life elixir.

We connect through music, we suffer with music, we love with and through music, we eat with music and decompress with sounds. We dance to music because we like to escape from our daily routine or simply celebrate life. We work with music, we sweat with music, and eventually die with music.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

I never had to think about about it because the answer seems so obvious.

Every phase of my life has a soundtrack. Certain songs are so strongly connected to impacting events. Memories from my college time, or high school, break ups with boyfriends, parties but also completely random moments that became so big and unforgettable due to a good song.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?  

Music and science are not separate fields. Science is just a perspective from which you can examine music. It depends on the science itself. You can look at music from the perspective of a physicist, sociologist, psychologist, doctor, (sound-) engineer, biologist etc.

What can they learn from each other? -  It’s all connected.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I think some people are able to put their whole life in a cup of coffee and are able to express themselves through that. Everyone has their own personal output. There’s no limit.

I didn’t choose music, music chose me.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

To fully understand what’s actually going on we need to dig deeper in the understanding of the universe and ourselves. Our subconscious gathers information before we’re even born. Besides that, we are taught in school that everything, including humans, is made of atoms. Quantum physics allows us to take this a little further.

Essentially if you go into the inner workings of an atom, quantum physics explains that there’s nothing there except energy waves. Atoms continually give off and absorb light and energy; each with its own distinct frequency or vibration.

This is also an interesting article from Vice Magazine I can recommend.