SCHANZ is an alternative rock project. Or indie rock. Or maybe a little gothic rock. Thereโs certainly a bit of punk in there too. The idea of starting my own project came about in 2024 because I had a lot of song and lyric ideas running through my head. And so this solo project developed from summer 24 onwards. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Your roots can often shape your journey. Can you share a story or moment from your early life that had a significant impact on your path into music?โจ
SCHANZ: I think, there are too moments that are important for my musical path. First, as a teenager around 15/16 years I got in touch with Neil Young by a friend of mine. And so I got listend to the โFreedomโ album โ the rock version of โRockinยดin the free worldโ really blew my mind! I just started playing guitar and this was the first song I listend to again and again to get the chords so I could play it. But much more influence had New Model Army. I accidentally bought their album โGhost of Cainโ also at the age of 16/17 during holidays in Hungary somewhere on a market. I didnโt knew the band but I liked the cover with this handprint on the leather jacket. Back at home I listened several times to it without being too impressed. But the songs kept swinging in my mind. So it needed a little time to explore the songs, the meaning, the power behind. But itโs my absolute favorite band until now, I have any album they ever released and must have seen them minimum twenty times. Also no-one except me draws conclusions from my music to this band, they have influenced my way according to the music I make.
2. Did your musical journey begin with formal training, or was it more of a personal exploration? How has that shaped your unique approach to your craft?
SCHANZ: It began with a formal training on an acoustic guitar but I started playing in a band a few weeks after beginning. We wrote our own songs an figured out how to play together which is quite hard when everyone is a beginner. But I learned how important it is to listen to the other musicians youโre playing with instead of concentrating on your own instrument and voice. โจOne very important thing I had to notice: Sometimes there are songs or fragments of a melody that develop very well while working on it together but sometimes I am not able to change in any way, because itยดs perfect for me. This is the reason while I started this project โSCHANZโ.
3. Who were some of the most influential figures in your early musical life, and how did they inspire your sound? Also, whatโs the story behind choosing the name โSCHANZโ?
SCHANZ: Beside New Model Army and Neil Young there are many bands of course, but I think even important as an inspiration are The Mission, Love Like Blood, The Cure (of course).
When my debut album was nearly finished I still didnโt have any idea, how I should call the project and the album. A friend of mine with whom I play in a darkwave/ postpunk project called Pitch Black Inc. since over a decade,ย shrugged his shoulders when I whined again that I didnโt know what to call it and then said quite succinctly: โjust call it Schanz, itโs just youโ. So I called it SCHANZ which is my surname.
4. What do you believe sets your music apart? How would you describe your sound to someone discovering you for the first time, and what emotions or experiences do you hope to evoke in your listeners?โจ
SCHANZ: Difficult questionโฆ I think itโs raw and unpolished. Thereโs nothing artificial or overproduced to perfection. I would describe my sound as guitar rock/post-punk, melancholic, thoughtful and full of energy.
Of course, I hope that the listener will feel similar emotions to the ones I felt when I wrote and produced them. Depending on the song, the whole range of emotions is there, from love to despair, anger to a stubborn I donโt care, Iโm celebrating anyway. But music touches everyone differently because they associate different experiences and memories with it.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?โจ
SCHANZ: It was no different for me, I think, even though I wrote my own songs very quickly. To be honest, in my opinion you always emulate anyhow because you are infuenced by the music you here on radio, streaming plattforms, CDsโฆ Of course you create something new and you didnยดt compose like: โthatยดs a great refrain, Iยดll use this melody for my own songโ, but for sure everything you wirte or compose has been composed in a similar way by anyone you had listen to before.
6. Music often transcends entertainment. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?โจ
SCHANZ: Music just for entertainment is fine and necessary. I think this is also a cultural function of music.
But to use music to express your own opinion, political, social, whatever, is inevitable for me. The song โXโ for example is a reckoning with the people I had to work with. Its full of disillusion and anger. โVoice And Soundโ is about depression and how music can help you to deal with โ which is an important cultural/ socialย theme in my opinion.
But my songs are always just an offer for the listener. Itโs my opinion, my side of view. You can agree or disagree or something in-between.
7. Do you feel the rewards of your musical career match the energy and passion you invest in it, or are there different kinds of fulfillment youโre still seeking?
SCHANZ: oh, there are many goals that are still far out of reach. Of course the maximum dream is to reach millions of souls that like my music, and financial success would be nice too. But when I decided to start this project and to write these songs, the ideas inside my head had been the energy to go through the whole composing and mixing process. I invested everything I could. Now the album โAD/2โ has been released and every feedback, every reaction is cool and exciting.
8. Can you walk us through your creative process? From the first spark of an idea to the finished track, whatโs the most essential part of your process, and how do collaboration or external influences shape your work?
SCHANZ: Well there are different ways to start the creative process. The spark ist a melody or a fragment of words that form a lyric line in my head. If it is a melody like on โLong Distance To Goโ I crab my guitar or take the synthesizer to record this first simple idea and work on it on my DAW. In case that there are some fragments of words (like it was on Voice And Sound). But there are also songs like โThe Sunโ where I wrote the lyrics first and than composed the song on acoustic guitar before recording. โจWhen the ground is recorded I work it out on the DAW, the choir, verse, intro and so on โ and sometimes change everything again and again until it fell good for me. The next step is recording several guitar licks and melodies depending on the structure of the song. At least I do the vocals and backing vocals. After everything is done I set all the tracks at the DAW on zero and start mixing again. For me, this is the most essential process because it defines the mood of the song. For AD/2 I finished mixing every song before mastering so that the could glue together in the mastering process. During these processes external influences have been very important for me to figure out, how things work together (effects, which instruments do the main part (is it guitar like on โTimeโ or strings like on โThe Sunโ). So I listened to a lot of songs through different stiles, not only post-punk or Gothic songs. And after I finished โmy mixโ I gave it to some friends and family members for feedback. That helped a lot at the end of the process, because I was in such a tunnel that at some point I no longer knew whether it still sounded good or not. As one result of these honest feedbacks I got, I put the vocals much more in front of the songs. As a guitar player I had to learn, that they are not the most important thing in a songโฆ
9. Whatโs been the most challenging hurdle in either your personal life or music career, and how has it shaped you as an artist?
SCHANZ: I had a band some years ago that ment a lot for me. But through the years we struggled with our own goals and discussed more about how to play the show, how to act instead of just making music and I had to do compromises I didnโt want to. So there was no fun anymore โ and beside all the deep and melancholic emotions that spread our music it was always the most important thing for me to do it with a smile. At least I quit. It was a hard but necessary decision. And it helped me to figure out which kind of compromise is ok and that I never will do anything against my conviction again.
10. On the flip side, what moment or achievement in your career so far has made you feel the proudest, and why? And letโs talk about your latest release and future plans.
SCHANZ: There have been a few great live shows, for example at the Wave Goth Treffen in Leipzig several years ago. That has been one great moment to stand in front of a few thousand people and the share there feelings with you. And of course to release this album on my own is a great experience for me and makes me a little proud. In the nearby future will record an album with the other project โPitch Black Inc.โ where we transform some of our songs to an acoustic version only with guitar and contrabass.
And Iยดโm working on new material for SCHANZ. The aim is to release the next album at the beginning of 2026. In autumn I will release a single track a cover version in German language from a band from my hometown.
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
SCHANZ: Criticism is important and itโs absolutely ok if you tell me, what you donโt like. Haters and naysayers I simply ignore โ they just want attention and do harm โ Iโm too old to give a dam for these poor fools
12. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
SCHANZ: Integration with live audience! There is a special energy at a live show and I love it. It feels good to get a direct feedback while playing songs.
13. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
SCHANZ: I am very happy if someone understands the story behind but itโs not really important. When you listen to a song, it touches you in your own way, depending on what mood you are in, what emotions it evokes in you. Thatโs why everyone interprets it in their own way โ and should.
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