Today we’d like to introduce you to Sodl.
Hi Sodl, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m 19 years old and a songwriter and musician based in Vienna, Austria. Music has always been a big part of my life; I started learning the accordion when I was seven and taught myself singing and playing guitar at the age of 15. I never liked covering songs, so I started to write my own songs pretty quickly and until now I only play originals. When I was 16, I was invited to an open mic session at Austria’s national radio station FM4, where I played my song “rosemary” live. After that, Martin Blumenau, co-founder of FM4, interviewed me live at his show. Shortly after this, I started to play concerts with my friends Leo Weidinger on the Bass and Dominik Neugebauer on Drums in our hometown.
We also recorded our first EP in October 2020 “flowers on the moon” with our friend, Jakob Weber. The resonance was incredible, and I am so thankful for the people who empowered and supported me from the beginning. I then started to produce my songs by myself; in Austria, we call my method “Pfusch” but it definitely worked. In 2021, “oh, to be vast like the universe” was released and in 2022 a mini-EP named “eine farbe, schlafendes kind”. After I graduated in 2021, I moved to Vienna to attend university. Now I usually play live concerts in a Duo with my lovely drummer Matthias Pfaffl and sometimes my flattering flatmate Paulina Scholz joins us on her Violin. Paulina and I also have a set as a duo for very intimate and small sessions once a child fell asleep while we performed it. We played so many fun concerts last summer and currently we are planning for the new year and we are working on our debut album.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Generally, I’d say it has been a smooth road. No matter what you do, there’ll be things that make you worry. I think you always need a healthy distance to reality. Being an independent musician without management or a booking agency can be really challenging. And sometimes I feel like a little bird in this big music world. But there’s always been a way to bring my ideas into reality, there’ve always been new opportunities and new people who resonate with what I do – and I am beyond thankful for that.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Sometimes my songs are a warm blanket for you to feel safe under, sometimes a scary fairy-tale with mystical beings. When I’m writing music, I can still see the world like a child. I often make up half-human, half-animal creatures or write about death and the moon. Owning your body, not being ashamed of yourself and men who can’t behave are also a big theme for me. Something between “Alternative Rock” and “Indie Folk“ is probably a suitably genre, the style of the songs can vary heavily, just like I do as a person. What makes my sound special for me is the accordion mixed with electric guitar and drums. The accordion has a big range of tones and textures, I can paint a big old sailor with it or a fragile dancer, you can listen to it in “la conteuse” which is an accordion instrumental. Unfortunately, I can’t play the accordion and the guitar at the same time at live concerts, but maybe I’ll grow another 2 arms someday.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
For me, the most important thing is to stay true to yourself. There’ll always be strategies to achieve success faster and to reach more and more people, but that doesn’t mean that you have to choose these ways for your own career. I know musicians who bot their songs on Spotify or buy followers just to appear more popular than they are. What I want to say is, don’t choose a path that doesn’t feel honest to you, don’t do things that don’t make you proud. Also, surround yourself with people who support you because they actually like you and what you create. And you should know, when it’s time for you to rest and recharge, don’t force yourself to create.
Pricing:
- CD “flowers on the moon” 5€
- SodL Patch 8€
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sodlmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sodlmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOFNv9alGnRea9b8LsUVhRA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4uEmCrzbHn8nWveDxaq6G9?si=LS9iJLR-TISt14XqQ9iKfg
Image Credits
Here’s a list of all photographers included: “Marie-Therese Schrentewein” “Michael Wittig” “attheshow” “Vera Kern”
