Sofa Surfers: Austria evolves into an open-minded country

The fine Austrian Sofa Surfers play Prague's La Fabrika on November 26. 
Our interview questions were answered by Michael Holzgruber.
 
Tell us a bit about the new record you are releasing. Also, where did you create it, and are there guests?
We worked on our new album Scrambles, Anthems and Odysseys from January to July this year at 2 studios in Vienna. It was a very intense and creative process and we are very happy about the result. Soulcat E-Phife, a female Viennese rapper, born in the Dominican Republic, performed on 3 tracks (Bread and Circuses, Scramble, Skins) and is a great counterpart to our singer Mani Obeya. Manis 16-year-old daughter Issi Honi is featured on an album track for the first time. It’s really great how they perform together on Woody’s Ballad.
Bruno Biazotto, a Brazilian graphics designer, came in very early in the production phase and was already working on the album cover artwork while listening to early versions of our tracks. He regularly sent us updated layouts, which we had on our screens while further developing the tracks. A very satisfying symbiosis, artwork and music now fit together perfectly!
 
There are several ways to buy it - regular cd, vinyl, or a special package with a studio visit - and they look a bit like crowdfunding options...
Yeah, we offer 2 special packages Born to be backstage and The Fifth Surfer which are inspired by well-known music crowdfunding options. Born to be backstage is all about hanging out with us backstage at a show of their choice, The Fifth Surfer is aimed at our diehard fans: they get insights in our production process and are welcome to jam with us. Maybe one of these sessions will become the foundation for a new song on our next album! Of course, both packages are meant to support our album expenses (we financed it from our own pockets), so the “spirit” of crowdfunding is there.
 
What do you think about all those portals like Kickstarter? is there an Austrian one?
I already backed around 15 projects ranging from games, music and comics on Kickstarter. It is really a great way to finance creative projects independently and I’m checking out new projects regularly. But the crowdfunding hype already starts to fade, not every project manages to keep its promises, so I don’t expect it to become easier for new creatives to reach their goal in the near future. A lot of people underestimate how much it takes to conduce a crowdfunding project towards success. Yes, there is a great Austrian crowdfunding platform: https://wemakeit.com
 
What is your show like nowadays?
A lot of energy and as always the awesome visuals by Timo Novotny, an Austrian film maker, who has worked with us for almost 20 years.
 
How do you approach videos?
At the moment we love to create everything on our own. The music videos for the singles The Fixer and Beyonder Girl were created by the band with some help from very good friends.
Videos are of course still important with YouTube becoming stronger and stronger, but our main focus is to create music.
 
You have done quite a lot of soundtracks. What do you like about this part of your career?
Producing soundtracks is a very different approach compared to working on an album, but a very interesting one. Creating the perfect song to a particularly scene is quite demanding but satisfying when it’s done. Of course you have to deal with a lot more people, most of all the director of the movie. When producing your own album, you have the freedom to do whatever you want. We love both aspects!
 
What is the worst and best about living in Austria?
The worst thing is to live in a country, where one out of three gives his or her vote to a rightwing party.
The best thing is the fact, that there are two out of three people who stand against it and make sure, that Austria evolves into an open-minded country.
Vienna is still our preferred city to live and work!
 
Tickets: https://goout.cz/cs/listky/sofa-surfers/nug/