Bloodstrings are back with a new release called Heartache Radio, due for release on June 16 via Dackelton Records. I caught up with Nick, a double bass player for a band, to find out about the origins of The Bloodstrings, their upcoming album, song themes, songwriting process, and other fun stuff. Enjoy!
You can pre-order Heartache Radio HERE
Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. How have you been?
Nick: Since last time we spoke, a lot has happened! So far we are very good with the band although there have been personal set-backs and tragedies over the last two years. But that is life and we can be grateful to be alive and that we are able to finally see some actual success with our music we’ve been making for so many years now!
You started playing together in 2009, but I never stumbled upon a story about how you decided to form Bloodstrings. Can you share the origins with our readers?
Nick: Yeah in 2009 Celina and I had the idea for the first time. It took us a while to form an actual band though! I think we were both into the same music – back then, Horrorbilly, Horrorpunk und Psychobilly were very popular in our generation/friends circle unlike nowadays. We loved bands like the Nekromantix, Horrorpops, The Creepshow and the likes – despite always loving punkrock such as Rancid, Distillers etc. but we wanted to do this darker stuff with some rockabilly in it. That’s actually when I starting learning to play upright bass! So Celina and I, best friends at the time, decided to form the band and spend some time finding the right people for it. Bloodstrings as it is today did not exist before 2014 actually!
Have you played in the bands before?
Nick: We all played in bands before, but all of which were local bands. Manuel, our guitar player, was the only one with actual touring experience, but it wasn’t the first band for any of us!
Bloodstrings are known for mixing melodic punk rock with the finest elements of psychobilly and rockabilly. I love the term “punkabilly” that you use. How have you decided to blend these styles?
Nick: As I said we loved this Psychobilly, Punkabilly stuff. There was punk n roll like Kings Of Nuthin and harder stuff like Koffin Kats or Mad Sin that impressed me because none of us was ever a Psycho or a Greaser or a Rock N Roller. We are just punk rock kids that somehow fell in love with these stompy, groovy elements rockabilly has. Plus I just love my upright. For us it would be unnatural to play pure rockabilly or psychobilly. We like to play other styles, other scales, you know. I think by just doing what comes to our minds we can create a sound that’s different from what other bands do.
You started this year with a couple of singles like Don’t Die and Heartache Radio. There’s also an Ich Hab’s Schonmal Gesagt EP consisting of collaborations with The Hellfreaks, The Dead Krazukies, Death By Horse, and March. What are the reactions of the crowd to these new works?
Nick: We were really excited but also nervous about the new songs. In 2020 we released Tik Tik Tik and it was basically a pop punk song, so we were like “Oh, our old fans are gonna go now!”, but actually the opposite happened and people loved it. Heartache Radio, the title track of the new album, is a song that is very untypical for us and we feel like it’s some of our fans favorite songs. So maybe they grow with us? I don’t know, but something feels right about these new songs. Don’t Die was loved by all and I am very happy that a personal song made an impact to our listeners. The German song you just mentioned I think is super unusual but was just so fun to record! A lot of people in Germany we like “What are they doing now?” and that’s exactly the reaction we hoped for! It’s a fast, screamy song with a very on point feminist message: “No means no!” The fact that some of our best friends in music covered the song in their mother language was just awesome and we haven’t had that much fun with a single song ever!
Also, how you decided to work with the beforementioned bands? Was it something you’ve been planning for years, or these collaborations came spontaneously?
Nick: So we had the idea after we recorded the song. We knew it had to be a single and we wanted to do something outstanding with it. We did not plan the features until very late before the master of the album was due, but I wouldn’t say this was spontaneous. These things take time and you have to ask the artists early enough for this.
So, the main reason we’re doing this interview today is your brand new full-length? Can you please reveal some details about it?
Nick: I can savely say it is our best record so far. The writing process during Covid, the recording process at the DONOTS studio… everything fell into place and musically speaking I was never more proud of what I produced ever. People who know us for a while can expect that we keep having a broad variety of sounds and styles on the album: From short fast songs to melodic ballads we have it all. We stepped away from the psycho- and horror parts now, some of which were still shining through on our last full length album (that’s 6 years old now though!) I think the new album is a new start. We are playing other festivals and shows to different crowds than before and I think with Heartache Radio out, our band will have gone a different direction indefinitely and that’s a good thing!
I’ve solely enjoyed your A Part EP. Is this new material sort of a departure from the sound you presented on that particular material, or do you folks remain loyal to your roots? What are some of the innovations you introduced on the new tracks?
Nick: I think A Part was some sort of preparation. Some more lighter sounds, more major chords, more punk rock than psychobilly. If we ever had roots, we ripped most of them out. We still have the upright bass, we still having stomping beats, we still play fast AF. But the songs have involved, I think the melodies are more catchy, the lyrics more personal and therefor more relatable.
I’ve noticed that many of your previous works explore personal but also socio-political themes. What are some of the topics you covered on your new album?
Nick: With the German song we have our first openly “feminist” song. Actually it’s not even feminist because it is just about the basic decency a man should have towards a female person! We cover one very important political topic in one song – that is musicians in punk and metal who turn out to be right-wing activists and ruining it for everybody else. Some songs are extremely personal, for me and also for our singer Celina. I think we stopped thinking of a concept and just wrote what was in our hearts and minds.
Now, this is one of the questions I’ve been asking artists and bands in the last couple of years. How has the pandemic affected your work? Have you experienced any difficulties as a band during the Covid period?
Nick: As a band I think we pretty much got the chance to just really work on our sound and our new material. We did some self-recording and learned a lot about being a band. But of course the Covid times weren’t only that. For us it was very hard to “stay relevant” because we suck at social media. Also I love to be on the road.
What are your plans after the album release? Are any gigs, tours, or other activities on the way?
Nick: We are just waiting to reveal the next couple of festivals and a release tour! So after the release we wanna play as much as possible. We have some very cool things in the making and I hope I can reveal those things soon enough!
That’s pretty much it. Thank you so much for your time. Anything you would like to say to our readers?
Nick: Thanks for the questions! Our album will be out June 16 with Pre-Orders already running! If you want to support small bands, go check us out and order a record or a shirt or both. In return, we will make sure to come to all of your towns soon!
THOUGHTS WORDS ACTION 