A year since they dropped their debut songs, Essen, Germany based LOVELINE are recording their first full length record and because live shows won’t happen for the foreseeable future, they have teamed up with Andel Goy to shoot their 2-track live session, teasing some of their new tunes and giving you a good teaser of what to expect from the full recording. Today, we’re giving you its first listen through the live video above, along with a special commentary on the recording and the COVID-19 situation below.
LOVELINE was started in 2018 in the city of Essen, Germany by members of several other punk bands from the area. They combine elements of screamo, hardcore and emo. It’s fast, emotionally charged, technical, melodic, vibrant and intricate music.
Their self titled debut was recorded in DIY fashion in April 2019 and is available digitally and as a limited tape edition distributed by Tief In Marcellos Schuld Records. LOVELINE’s first studio album is expected to be released in 2021. “Due to the current situation, we‘re focussing on our upcoming LP. We’re almost done recording and everything will be mixed and mastered within the next few months.” – comment the band.
“At the same time, we are working on the artwork together with the amazing Rodrigo Almanegra. He did all our previous designs too and we’re very thrilled about what he came up with. Other than that, we will continue writing new material straight away to avoid being paralyzed by the current situation.”
Asked about the creative ad production process behind the live video, the band offered: “It was definitely a challenge as a musician and “producer” since this was the first time I’ve ever recorded an entire band live.” – says MIcha. “It took us about two hours to set everything up and we played each song about 4-5 times to get the take we wanted.”
“I didn’t expect the session to be as much fun as it actually was.” – adds Bonny. “I thought that we would play the songs on the highest level of focus but during the second or third take I realized how well prepared we all were and that all of us really enjoyed playing the songs.”
Concludes Lucas: “Due to the higher risk of infecting other people while singing I didn’t spend as much time rehearsing as some of the others did, which had me a little nervous beforehand. In the end it turned out to be a very positive experience though, just hanging out with some good friends and it even felt a little bit like playing an actual show.”
To say the least, the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for many business, music related companies, but also DIY bands. Curious about their take on the unfortunate spin of things, we asked LOVELINE for their perspective.
“Our practice space is very open and can be easily ventilated so as long as we’re all healthy we’ll continue to write songs and play together. But the pandemic hit us in different ways.
Some of us have to work short-time with drastically reduced hours, others can continue working from home. All in all we consider ourselves very fortunate though, compared to many peers who live off music for example.
We miss playing and going to shows as much as anyone else but knowing so many people who were impacted by or even suffered from Covid taught us that we have to take care of ourselves and our surroundings and respect official guidelines.
Also, please don’t let this crisis overshadow other pressing issues. There are still refugees dying in the Mediterranean or in inhumane detention camps, there is still war and exploitation going on, there is still the looming disaster called climate change, there is systemic racism everywhere and we all have to do our part in boosting the voices of people that are affected by this or taking action ourselves.”
