Interview with The Naked Hands, recordJet Passenger of the Month in April 2015

Who are you and, if yes, how many?

We are, or were, the duo The Naked Hands, made up of Falk Louis on guitar and vocals and Wilhelm Hinkel on drums. So the answer is: No!

The Naked Hands – how did you come up with the name? Tell us the story.

The name originated from a stream of free association, “pure”, meaning the music that was in us was naked and bare, and we produced it with our bare hands.

How did you start making music?

We both had a lot of support from our parents. William started with the trumpet and Falk with early musical education. Now our parents ask themselves what they’ve done, since we can’t seem to stop with this damn thing called music. The Naked Hands began when we purely coincidentally (really!) sat next to each other at a lecture on theoretical philosophy.

How and why did you end up with recordJet?

One of the prizes of the Sound of Dresden competition, which we won in 2013, was a deal with recordJet. But of course even regardless, we would not have gone to anyone else.

The Naked Hands have meanwhile broken up. How did that happen?

First of all, we didn’t fight! We still get along! We both just musically evolved away from what The Naked Hands stands for. We got the feeling that we’d said everything we could and wanted to say with our bare hands.

Have you started any follow-up projects yet? What are they?

Falk has gone solo under the pseudonym “Louis Falk” and is trying to reconcile singer-songwriter music with the capabilities of electronic music. Wilhelm just had a guest appearance on trumpet for the Dresden-based band “Cedric“. So there will definitely be music from us in future!

What is your favorite music to listen to in private?

We like listening to The Naked Hands. We also like good hip hop, jazz, electro and the three great head bands: Radiohead, Portishead and Talking Heads.

If not music, what then?

Aside from music, we also listen to the voice in our head that says “Please answer the interview questions seriously for once!”

You’re very active in the music business. In your opinion, what is the biggest problem, and what is the absolute coolest thing about the music industry today?

The coolest thing is that the major record labels are losing influence, and you can reach your fans directly over the Internet. That’s also the biggest problem. You first have to be discovered among the masses on the Internet.

Who are your heroes and why?

The Beatles because they managed to simultaneously be avant-garde and pop in each of their extremes. And the head bands for the same reason.

What was the first and most recent album you bought?

Falk’s first album was something from the Backstreet Boys. His latest was the membership fee for Spotify. Wilhelm’s first was a Best Of from Nirvana, and his latest “Vulnicura” by Björk.

If you had the real recordJet at your disposal for one day, where would you go, and why?

To Iceland. It’s supposed to be beautiful. Or to the moon to record there.

Tell us your favorite joke

That’s something that can only be told in person because it requires a certain physical and optical performance. We can say this much: It’s very good!

Any last words? What would you really like to say that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

Ummm… buy more cassettes!!