Our manager Michael Pagnotta put us both in touch. And after a zoom with the 3 of us, Kid Moxie and I met up in Berlin to get creative. We were motivated by our mutual love of soundtracks and a desire to do something a little bit different. The concept of doing a sexy duet was appealing because I hadn’t done it before. We have a lot in common and we bonded very quickly with lots of laughs.

The EP was mostly produced in Athens with producer Hristos Lainas aka Franklin. You and Elena exchanged feedback and vocal ideas online. How would you describe the work on this project?

Creatively, it was a very exciting time for me and also a great psychological escape in the midst of the pandemic! I really enjoy working with other artist. You always learn something new, so I’m very grateful for the opportunity. With everyone being in different countries, it was a bit challenging to be immediate as there were also different time zones to consider. Lots of late nights and sending ideas back and forth but it kept the buzz going. We later got Radio Wolf on board because he came up with some really nice guitar and extra sounds that worked really well for the final versions. When ’Italians Do It Better’ became interested, Johnny Jewel’s visual guidance really helped form the concept. Meeting him and Megan (Desire) in LA was a dream come true! They are such cool people with great ideas.

You also shot high-quality videos for "Lust", "Crime" and "Devotion". How were the recordings for you?

Filming ‘Devotion’ was a lot of fun. The director was Joe Rubinstein and we shot at a range with horses running around. Unfortunately, they didn’t make the cut ;-) Elena and I wanted to have a sci-fi ‘Blade Runner’ type of video where we cruise around the LA streets at night being chased by cops. A little bit of flirty tongue ’n' cheek in our performance, too. We enjoyed that playfulness!

‘Lust’ and ‘Crime’ was extremely exciting, because I had never been to Athens and I really enjoyed working with the director Paige Von Bank, who is a young visionary with great attention to detail. I love the mysterious and sultry world she created! We worked until the early ours of the morning but the whole team was very focused and patient. I got to smash in a bust with a big badass hammer, which was quite liberating lol.

High-quality videos have always been an integral part of your work. Unfortunately, music videos have become rather uninteresting for many artists these days, how important are they to you?

I think the visual component to music has become so much more important to the music business than ever before. YouTube is one of the most influential platforms regarding new music discovery. If there is a possibility to have visuals with music, I think it’s smart to embrace that opportunity. It’s very difficult to get it right but you must try your best. I always like the idea of making music videos that are short films. I love cinema!

Another project is your collaboration with Ricky Wilde. You released a great album in September with "Scala Hearts". Can you tell us something about the development of the album project from the beginning to the release?

Ricky had ideas for songs, originally intended for my next NINA solo album. At the time, I was going through some creative changes and wasn’t entirely sure what stylistic direction I wanted to take. The ideas with Ricky felt like an independent project with its own unique identity. There was so much of him in there, so I thought it should be a collaboration album instead. What sealed the deal for me with this approach was when I heard Ricky sing the demos with his powerful vocals. It became very clear to me that this was the destiny of “Scala Hearts”. It felt good to share the spotlight with him. We started writing in 2021 and wrapped the whole production in 2023. It is very inspiring to work with Ricky. He’s a rare talent and a great guy. He’s someone who always stands by you through a tough time and cheers for you. I cherish my bond with him. When we made our music video for “Videotheque”, I was with his wife Mandy borrowing great vintage clothes and sharing inside stories and jokes with both of them. Honestly, it felt like I was with family. Special thank you shout out to Lee Bennett for introducing us and being such a great supporter of this album.

In September you accompanied De/Vision on their 3 shows for their 35th stage anniversary. You've known the guys for a long time. What was it like for you to finally be on stage again and then at these special shows?

I was so grateful to be invited again to open for DE/VISION. I love them and have so much respect for their incredible career. It was quite scary for me at first, because it was my first live show after a 4-year break and I had a new live band to showcase. There was a bit of pressure. However, during our soundcheck, we got a few encouraging words by DE/VISION and they reminded us to have fun and enjoy the ride. 

Nerves always kick in right before you step out on stage but when the music starts and you see familiar faces in the crowd, it all comes together. You feel like you’re right where you’re meant to be.

After so many years as a fan, it was finally time for me to see you live on stage. Your show was great! The new songs make me incredibly curious about new releases from you! I would also like to emphasise how admirable I found it how well you have grown as a team. Firstly, the short preparation time, the short sound check and being back on stage after such a long time. Is it fair to say that you have found your dream team in Oliver and Lucia?

Definitely! It was a dream to finally play live with Oliver aka Radio Wolf. We had toured together twice before in the US and Canada, while he was playing in Parallels, but we were performing separately. Being together on stage just feels right. Also, being able to play our songs ahead of our collaboration album was pretty magical. Lucie was a total blessing. She’s sweet, supportive and funny. Oh and a fellow Libra, which always works great ;) She has a really lovely voice too, so maybe she can back me up on stage next time. I hope to be able to play many more shows this way and I’d love to expand the setup by incorporating a drummer.

You are currently working hard on new material with Oliver, can you tell us something about that?

We started working on our album in late 2019 and we are only now just finishing in late 2023. To me, it’s been one of the most liberating and daring experiences of my life. It’s a very ambitious record. There’s so much raw expression in the lyrics, melodies, and overall sound, unlike anything we’ve created before. Oliver knows how to extract the best in me. He motivates me and knows exactly what I need even before I do. He never pressures me do anything, he inspirits creativity and invites me to be as bold as I want. 

On top of that, it helps that he’s a musical genius, which makes the whole writing and recording process so much more exciting and fun.

Stylistically, I don’t want to give too much away but our philosophy has always been to push the boundaries of our abilities. Lyrics, melodies, sounds, production, guitar playing, everything… One general hint: we are mixing elements from different genres and time periods, while aiming for something that is modern, original, and maybe even futuristic.

Oliver has now become one of your most important supports. How do you inspire each other and what is important to you both to simply get away from the daily grind?

We often inspire each other by thinking laterally and embrace an almost unconscious approach to creating our music. Our best ideas come to us in the moment and we try to not overthink anything. We’re very natural in reacting to one another.

To unwind, we always try to make an effort to spend time together with romance and laughter. We’re both very playful and sensitive souls. We live near the woods, so we sometimes take walks amidst the trees to reconnect with nature before coming home to watch scary movies with our cuddly cats.

Let's do a quick round of questions and answers

 
Which song is currently the most played song in your playlist?

‘Always Will’ by Cannons

The current favourite of your own songs?

‘Fade Me Out’ from my album with Ricky Wilde “Scala Hearts’

One of the most beautiful German-language songs for you?

It’s a toss between:

Münchener Freiheit - ‘Ohne Dich (schlaf’ ich heut Nacht nicht ein)’ and Falco – ‘Out Of The Dark’

The most beautiful place in Berlin?

Pfaueninsel

BRAVO or PopRocky magazine?

Bravo!

Let's switch briefly from the 80s to the 90s, what memories do you have of this decade?

The 90’s was a very influential decade for me. As a teenager, I discovered music that helped shape me as an artist. I started to record my vocals anytime I could and I started to write lyrics and poetry, as a way to escape difficult times I’ve had in High-school. I was a bit of a dreamer and a hopeless romantic.

I loved TV shows/movies such as “Contact”, “Twin Peaks” and “Thelma & Louise” and I really got into horror movies as well… my favourites were ‘Poltergeist’, ‘The Fog’ and ‘Pet Sematary’.

My fondest memories are going to record stores and buying albums, listening to music on my Walkman, renting VHS, and going to the cinema.

I loved finally meeting you too. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your do for the NINA Fanclub. I can’t wait to see you again at the next show!

Synthians, thank you for shining my way!