Ten Minutes, Ten Questions with rekkorder
Back in business with their blistering second album ‘One’, German / Colombian act REKKORDER show no sign of letting up. Carrying on where their 2016 debut ‘Breaking Silence’ left off, the band’s mainstays, vocalist Nina Lucia Medina Munoz and guitarist Bernd Bloedorn, have crafted an album which combines the core elements of metal, alt-metal and nu metal and blends such a diverse range of influences into an interesting and cohesive body of work. The songwriting and delivery is exquisite, and seventeen songs zip by in a fluid and exciting sixty minutes. Nina Lucia Medina Muñoz’s delivery calls to mind Evanescence’s Amy Lee at times, especially in middle-order track ‘Broken’, but her virtuosity creates a number of vocal styles which complement the range of the material the band serve up.
So, here we go – ten minutes, ten questions, with Bernd and Nina...
Q1 – can you give me a quick history of the band, please?
“Nina and I founded rekkorder back in 2015, and late in 2016 we released our debut album ‘Breaking Silence’,” says Bernd. “2017 and 2018 saw us in Mali where we played several concerts as part of the MINUSMA mission [a UN peacekeeping effort] there, in front of an international audience...”
“Then in 2019 we played in Jordan and Kabul, as well as gigs and festivals in Germany and, at the end of February 2020 we made another trip to Afghanistan to play for the German and other nations’ armies,” adds Nina. “We were probably the last rock band to play over there. Because of the Corona pandemic we’ve had to cancel or postpone all tours and concerts but we obviously aim to catch up as soon as possible. But we used the time to finish the second album ‘One’ and make some videos for some songs off the album.”
Q2 – and how did the name come about?
“As a young boy my parents gave me a small tape recorder that started me actively listening to music,” explains Bernd. “After a brainstorming for the band name I came up with the ‘kk’ to make it as unique as possible.”
Q3 – what did you set out to achieve when you write and recorded ‘One’? And do you think you achieved it?
“‘One’ is a collection of our best ideas, that are not directly related to each other. Each song tells its own story,” suggests Nina. “And what we want to achieve is to write great songs and that people like the music. Time will tell...”
Q4 – the cover looks great. Whose idea was that?
“The cover art was made by Christian Bröhenhorst, a brilliant graphic designer,” says Bernd. “We gave him some ideas and he was able to bring it to reality in a great way.”
Q5 – how does ‘One’ compare to ‘Breaking Silence’?
“Though ‘One’ contains many more songs – seventeen in all – the writing process didn't change,” replies Bernd. “But we wanted to have more control over our artistic perspective in the album ‘One’. So we had no other musicians except Nina, me and an external drummer. And unlike ‘Breaking Silence’ we mastered ‘One’ by ourselves after testing some other mastering studios.”
Q6 – how do you decide which songs to perform in English, and which to sing in other languages?
“To be honest,” laughs Nina, “I have no idea. It just happens.”
Q7 – rekkorder is an extremely diverse band. Lazy journalists love to pigeonhole groups, but you’re quite hard to pin a label to. Is that by accident, or was it your intention to confound writers who might not know how to describe you?
“It’s our plan to annoy journalists,” laughs Bernd. “But to be serious: this music is just what comes out of us.”
“We make music as genuine as possible,” adds Nina, “and how others label it is a natural thing to happen. We love what we do together.”
Q8 – what are rekkorder’s strengths as a band?
“Bernd and I are a good songwriting team,” says Nina. “And we are able to perform live so that we can reflect the energy in our songs.”
Q9 – what’s next for the rekkorder?
“We are preparing for live shows and tours,” Bernd replies, “and will also produce some more music videos.”
Q10 – whenever I see a moving car with a dog poking its head out of the window it puts a smile on my face. What makes you laugh?
“Bugs Bunny!” says Nina.
“Often my own dog makes me laugh,” says Bernd, “especially when he starts howling every time an ambulance passes by.”
rekkorder’s second album ‘One’ is released on Deaf Dog Records on 24 September
Video clips: 'End It All' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQkZoaFnSEU / 'Gravestone' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6oETdU-usI
John Tucker August 2021