Cynthia Nickschas

I actually only write thoughts.

E-book: 1,99 €

This e-book brings together an early conversation with the singer-songwriter Cynthia Nickschas—an artist whose voice, long before she gained wider recognition, carried an unusual mix of vulnerability, anger, humor, and unbridled life energy. We met in May 2012 at the Paradiesvogel Festival in Weitersroda, somewhere between tents, grass, and the sound of guitars. On a meadow she spoke about her loud family, about music as personal therapy, and about her desire to encourage people to live their own lives. Then she picked up her guitar and sang “Generation Blöd”—a moment that left a deep impression.

The interview, supplemented by a later email correspondence, shows a young artist on the verge of a breakthrough—raw, direct, and full of longing for expression. A personal memory also resonates: of her father, Reinhard Nickschas, a valued guitar teacher and friend who is no longer alive.

What’s contained in these pages is an early glimpse of Cynthia Nickschas—before the bigger stages came, but already with all the fire that still defines her today.

Sample

The following excerpt comes from the full interview published in the publication.

Thank you!—Sounds pretty good. The thing with R. is handled nicely. Thanks for that too 🙂 Reaching a “consensus” about pretending is pretty cheeky 😛—but then again, so am I.

About the story: So the “nice” producer had something against my boyfriend; he said he was a shitty cajón player and that he had no business being in the band, etc., etc. … That was already the case in June.

Then in August he spoke with WDR—where I was already last year without him—about a filming date and registered me there on my own, without the band. He told me WDR preferred it that way.

In my personal conversation with the show’s author, whose number I still had, it turned out that nobody at WDR had anything against the band … “Aha,” I thought.

Then he showed up for the shoot and made it look like he was the hero of the strawberry field. My friends and fans were all annoyed with him.

The last time in the studio I wanted to show him videos of me WITH my band; he said he didn’t want to see them at all—I should just play it for him … He just showed his true face—maybe he thought: “Now I’ve produced her and because she’s afraid of losing this connection, she’ll do what I want …”

Yeah, fat chance—I’m not going to let myself be messed with!

After that there was another thing. He wrote to me: “Keep Wednesday, the so-and-so date, free. 6–10 p.m., you solo!”

And that was it again. So I asked him whether he wanted me solo there or whether that’s what they wanted—and he started getting snippy. I would take everything first, and when it came to giving something back, nothing would come. He’d “stuffed everything up my ass,” and now I was attacking him like this.

And if I don’t want to make music with him anymore, I should tell him differently and not in such a nasty way … For him the matter apparently had somehow already been settled beforehand.

The GEMA authorization agreement that he was going to send off for me (already 3 weeks before the “clash”), he neatly held on to—so that GEMA now thinks I’m no longer interested in membership and has instructed its staff to transfer my registration fee back to me.

Nothing’s come of that yet either, but honestly I’ve got way too much other crap to deal with to bother with that as well. Not up for it anymore.

So: Fuck GEMA. The dear producer is now making money off my music and I’m seeing none of it—and the stuff bought online, financially, goes to him too …

I’m probably not even allowed to play the songs anymore. Because then I’d be “stealing” his rights, right … So: Fuck you, Mr. Producer!—“I’ve got other songs, and I didn’t even show you my really hard-hitting hits…” or something like that …

So that’s the situation on that front. And no desire to fight— not again!

So yes, you’re right, I’m not really doing well … I get to 180 really fast when it comes to the topic.

But that’s how it is. I have to fall on my face to learn; sometimes it just doesn’t work any other way … I always kind of had to …