Being so caught up in the music that you forget everything around you – this is something the band knows DaWarWhat only too well. “There was something there.” One of the five musicians, who were only 16 and 17 years old, shouted exactly this sentence during an hour-long band rehearsal after he remembered the upcoming school assignment. Cleo, Samuel, Johanna, Chris and Ilja regularly perform their five own songs. Although the songs can only be heard live so far, people sing along to their performances as much as they can. How does the band manage to captivate their audience so much with indie pop?
It all started with a big school band. When, due to Corona, music was only allowed to be made within the grade level, the band DaWarWas was formed. “We got along really well and didn’t want to leave the music room at our school on Friday evenings,” says singer Cleo. Their music teacher saw potential in the band and organized their first performance outside of school. “At the beginning she even sang along. It was unimaginable for me to sing,” says Cleo and smiles. When you see her on stage now, it’s hard to imagine.
The band’s lyrics often leave a lot of room for interpretation. So the listeners have very different perceptions of the meaning. “Music can emerge from anything,” says Cleo. For example with the song “Pulp Fiction”. Samuel was at Cleo’s house, both of them looking at the movie poster hanging on the wall. Cleo spontaneously started to sing: “We’re not in Pulp Fiction here”, Samuel plays the guitar and she sings “my life is not science fiction”. This is how her first song came about. “You just saw that something can come from anything,” says Samuel.
Cleo often writes down her thoughts, everyday situations, great moments, things like that. When Cleo and Samuel are together, Cleo has usually already written lyrics from her notes, but “the song lives from everyone’s own input,” says Cleo. Samuel then plays the chords. Her first EP will be released in the spring.
The band project takes up almost all of the five musicians’ free time. For some it’s just too much. “It’s only afterwards that you realize how much work it actually is,” says Samuel. A band member recently dropped out and they had to look for a replacement. They often play concerts in the evening and have to get up early the next day because – there was something – there is still school!
DaWarWhat
Style: German indie pop
Occupation: Cleo Dietmayr (vocals), Samuel Kanitz (guitar), Johanna Schreiter (bass), Illja Haug (drums), Christian Sölch (piano)
Since: 2021
Internet: DaWarWas (@dawarwas_) • Instagram photos and videos