Promoting is recent The Imaginary Life of Rosemary and Me, we had the chance to send him some questions which he kindly answered back.
Talking about a German philosopher to the main differences between Portugal and the UK, the interview's result was very soft and interesting.
For more details about his career check our previous post about Walter and his talent.
FYMS: Hello! How are you today?
Walter Benjamin: I am feeling great! How about you?
FYMS: Your birth name is Luís Nunes. Do you consider Walter Benjamin your alter-ego? Why that name?
WB: Walter Benjamin is more like a character that I created to represent me, it is my alibi to write whatever I want to and get away with it. The name used to belong to a german philosopher and I basically stole it off him. It pisses a few people off, but I was honestly fascinated by the sound of the name and its story, Walter Benjamin committed suicide on his way to Lisbon.
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| Photo by: Vera Marmelo |
WB: It is going great, I've been playing some gigs around here, had some good reactions and am very enthusiastic about the city. The music scene here is amazing and it has been a lot of fun! Being in the UK also allows me to play with my lovely austrian friend Jakob Bazora. We're constantly working on new songs.
FYMS: Your first album – The Imaginary Life of Rosemary and Me – was released last April. What’s the storyline?
WB: Well, the storyline is what's recorded in the songs, that's exactly what I want to leave for people to listen to. I have my own thoughts about this record but would rather leave them for myself, songs mean different things to different people and everyone can build their own story around them.
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| Artwork by AnaMary Bilbao |
FYMS: I’ve read you, initially, wanted this album to be recorded fast but it took you a bit longer. What do you think about the final result?
WB: I am very happy with the record, there was the conscious decision to only release the album once I was completely happy with the end result. The original idea was to spend three or four days in the studio and record everyone at the same time. But the record became something else, the songs were calling for some other type of arrangements, we worked really hard on it and I think we succeeded. It was truly a team work.
FYMS: Which were your expectations for this first work? Have they been exceeded?
WB: My expectation was to make the album I was hearing in my head. I really became obsessed with it. Now I really want to play more gigs, it is always great to see how people react to the songs.
FYMS: You write your own songs. Where do you get your inspiration from?
WB: It really depends, I might get inspired by a sentence or by something that happened to me or somebody else. This album is more like a book, these songs are part of the same story. Sometimes I am inspired by a sound of a sequence of chords, music has this power of making me travel to a hidden place in my mind. Who needs drugs when you have music?
FYMS: Before your debut album, you worked and produced several artists. Do you still do that? Is it still going to be part of your future?
WB: As long as other artists want me to! I love doing that, I was already making music as Walter Benjamin before I started producing other artists, it is something I absolutely love. My goal in life is to be involved with as much music as possible, it feels great to be around so many talented people and be part of their creative process. It is a compliment to be allowed in their own private, intimate world.
FYMS: How did music appear in your life?
WB: My mother forced me to learn the violin and music theory at the age of 6. She would take me to countless classical music concerts while I was growing up. Nevertheless, both my parents were kind enough to share their pop music collection with me, stuff like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Neil Young, David Bowie, etc. I always loved music, me and my brother would sing along to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, while blasting the speakers on our dad's hi-fi after school. Then I got into playing piano and drums and had my first band at high school. I guess buying my first 4-track recorder was a decisive point of my life at 12, school suddenly became like a blurred part of my day.
FYMS: You live outside of Portugal, but you are very into the music made here. What do you think about the Portuguese music?
WB: It is great, there are countless good things happening and people are really open to listening to new music these days. There are many good record labels, releasing different types of music both in portuguese and english. I am quite excited about the portuguese scene at the moment, despite the crisis. It is amazing to see the effort people put into music.
FYMS: Can you name some new bands that people should listen to?
WB: Yeah. People should listen to a band I just watched last night, they are called Poly Tones and apparently don't even seem to have a Facebook page for me to like. They should definitely listen to my friends Baga + The Les Big Macs, they have an amazing EP online and I absolutely love them. Minta & The Brook Trout are coming with a new amazing album, Julie & The Carjackers, You Can't Win Charlie Brown and Márcia! Aaaah... promoting the friends!
FYMS: Do you remember how you were on your first live performance? How did it go?
WB: My first performance happened when I was six, playing the violin in front of a lot of people. We had a public performance by the end of every term, and every student's parents would be there. I was absolutely terrified. I wasn't great at playing the violin anyway, the piano changed my life. The first gig as Walter Benjamin happened in Espinho, in the north of Portugal, with B Fachada playing keyboards. Just both of us, it was back in the days when Merzbau label was still active and we were making a record called The National Crisis.
FYMS: Is there any place you would have a special interest to play in?
WB: So many, I would love to play everywhere! Anywhere with a good energy!
FYMS: Although you are a very young artist, you already have a faithful group of fans. How is your relationship with them?
WB: Well, to say that I have fans might be an overstatement. I try to keep close to the people that follow my music and show them how important they are. The best thing it can happen to a musician is having people enjoying his music and I am really happy to hear some good reactions to my album.
FYMS: Do you feel any difference between the Portuguese and International public? (As an artist and as a fan?)
WB: Yeah, there are some differences. People react to music in a different way, according to their reality. In Portugal, we love go to gigs at 23:00 and in London the gigs start at 20:00. I really can't complain, I have been having good reactions both in Portugal and in the UK, it is nice to chat to people after the shows.
FYMS: Which are the next plans for Walter Benjamin?
WB: Play as many shows as possible, write more songs and make more records.
FYMS: Complete these sentences...
a) One Day...
WB: I'll make a dance music album.
b) The best thing people can say about me...
WB: ...That I'm cool.
c) And the worst...
WB: ... That I'm not.
d) In ten years...
WB: I'll be 36 and still willing to make records and play gigs.
FYMS: Is there anything you would like to tell to FYMS readers?
WB: Yeah! Listen to my record! Please.
[Special thanks to Walter Benjamin for his honesty and availability and Raquel Lains for everything.]
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