Artists Recommend: Bad Hammer
Artists Recommend: Bad Hammer
The Berlin dream pop duo hint on their upcoming record and recommend formative vocalists and funeral picks, from Mariah Carey to Fleetwood Mac.
Johannes Badzura and Lisa Klinkhammer have been crafting warm, sentimental synth melodies as Bad Hammer (get it?) for almost a decade. After a while of playing together for fun and working out their creative synergy, the Berlin duo put their respective solo projects on hold to compose and release their debut five-piece Extended Play in 2019. Since then, they have expanded upon their sonic palette — lustrous, velvety pop that evokes the idea of a Beach House that gaze at their shoes less and maybe wear more face glitter instead — on their 2022 album End of an Age and their latest, self-titled EP, unveiled this past spring.
For the second installment of the “Artists Recommend” series, I received Bad Hammer’s (wonderfully emphatic) comments over email, on their cinematic sound, the amplified dreaminess of their upcoming record, and their music recommendations of the moment — from Mariah Carey to Fleetwood Mac.
This interview has been lightly edited for context, clarity, and uniformity.
Evi: Please give us a basic introduction of yourselves!
Bad Hammer: Hi! We’re Lisa and Johannes aka Bad Hammer, from Berlin.
Evi: How would you describe your sound?
BH: Dreamy alt-pop.
Evi: How did you get into making and releasing music?
BH: When we met, we started jamming and then, later, organically decided at one point to release music… but that was after hanging out and jamming casually for two years. ;)
Evi: Is there a feeling or message you would like listeners to take away from your music? Any goals that accompany your process?
BH: A cinematic feeling of life filled with warm melancholy and a little bit of DRAMA.
Evi: Share a little bit about your latest or upcoming project!
BH: Our latest release, an EP we named after ourselves, Bad Hammer, is a collection of four songs that are definitely more upbeat pop with more electronic elements. At the moment, we are working on a new record that will sound a little bit different again —more guitars, live drums and dreaminess. We haven’t recorded the songs yet, but will go to the studio next month and are curious how it’s gonna sound — big SURPRISE.
Bad Hammer Recommend:
Stephane Sévérac — “Hold On”
Lisa: I only discovered this song last summer through a DJ set (I forgot who DJ’d). I heard it in Cologne and have been listening to this song EVERY DAY ever since. The funny part is that the person, Stephane Sévérac, doesn’t exist. The song was written by two German producers in the ‘80s and they only released, I think, two or three songs under that name. It’s a gem!
Mariah Carey — “Without You”
Lisa: Throughout my early teenage years — until I was probably 20 — I used to sing Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Céline Dion songs every day. I know most songs of these three ladies by heart and that’s how I learned to sing. It’s so relaxing and fun and meditative to sing these ballads and I still do that today.
Vangelis — Blade Runner (Music From The Original Soundtrack)
Johannes: The whole soundtrack is a masterpiece, but “Memories of Green” is one of my favorite titles on the album.
Fleetwood Mac — “Angel”
Johannes: Should definitely be played at my funeral.
Cass Elliot — “Disney Girls”
Johannes: Lisa and I both love Cass Elliot’s version of “Disney Girls” and it has become a tune we often play in our occasional DJ sets. “Well, reality, it’s not for me and it makes me laugh…”
Keep up with Bad Hammer on Instagram, YouTube and their website. Check out their music on Spotify and Bandcamp.
You can find all music mentioned on “Artists Recommend” in the “Of The Moment: Artists Recommend” playlist:
Check out the series’ previous installment with Atlanta R&B musician Ety, here. Interested in more ramblings from me? Have a look at the archive, here.
