When German newcomers SENNA first started writing and playing together as a studio side project, they never intended for the band to end up where they are now. Started as a simple musical outlet, bandmates Simon Masdjedi (vocals), Tobias Stulz (guitar/vocals), Marcel Dürr (guitar), Fabian Cattarius (bass), and Leon Dorn (drums), never felt the pressure to produce or create music for the rest of the world to hear, and because of that, they found total musical freedom and a perfect outlet to really experiment with their sound without feeling boxed into any specific genre. The result? The band’s recently released debut EP, A Moment of Quiet, out now on SharpTone records.
With A Moment of Quiet out now, we caught up with SENNA guitarist, Marcel Dürr to discuss the writing process, the formation of the band and of course, plans for the future. Read more and listen to the EP now below.
Prelude Press: You guys just released your debut EP, A Moment of Quiet this month on SharpTone Records! Looking back on it, what are some of your favorite things about the EP?
Marcel Dürr [guitar]: We love how outside of the box everything feels. Each song is so drastically different from the others, but it somehow still makes sense as an EP. The songs can be super dramatic or emotional at times, but we also love to have some cheeky riffs to keep it fun and light-hearted. We also absolutely love the artwork, Sandro Rybak really knocked it out of the park!
SENNA started as just a studio side project, which eventually morphed into what it is now. When you first started playing together, what were you hoping to get out of this project?
Initially, we wanted to write music just for the sake of writing music. We were all still playing in other bands, playing live shows, rehearsals, all that. With SENNA, we could really focus on the songwriting process without having to deal with the usual annoyances that come with playing in an actual band.
What ended up becoming the catalyst to take SENNA to the next level, so to speak? What made you want to start releasing music and pursuing more with this band?
Honestly, the positive feedback from our friends and other musicians. Everyone we showed the demos to pushed us to pursue this more seriously. It took us quite some time to get into the headspace of becoming a full band. Knowing how capable everyone in the band is also gave us the confidence boost we needed to start the band.
Do you feel that the lack of pressure when you first started writing and playing together allowed you to tap into something that you wouldn’t have otherwise?
Definitely. I always felt restricted when writing songs that are supposed to be played live. This time, we kind of did it the other way around: the songs were already finished, and we had to figure out how to make it work live afterwards. But I like to think that we pulled it off!
How do you feel you’ve grown or evolved as musicians while working on the EP?
I used to listen to a lot of very technical and progressive music. While that helped my guitar playing skills, I never really learned how to write good songs. Our producer Manuel Renner from Überlärm Studios had a huge influence on me in that regard. There were so many parts and ideas that were fun to play on guitar but weren’t really adding anything to the song, so we scrapped all of those! He really helped me to focus on the songs as a whole rather than just a sequence of cool riffs.
What was the most rewarding or exciting thing about working on it?
Every time we had a studio session, we would eagerly wait in our group chat until Manuel posts the work for the day and then everybody would go nuts over it. Also, there were a ton of people who reached out to us to support SENNA in whatever way possible. Everyone seems to be so excited to be a part of it.
Lyrically, was there anything that you wanted to touch on with the songs on A Moment of Quiet?
A Moment of Quiet deals with personal struggles that anybody can relate to. The loss of a beloved one, fighting your inner demons or a rocky relationship with a lot of ups and downs.
What would you like for listeners to take away from the EP?
Just enjoy the music, no strings attached!
What’s next for SENNA?
We are already recording our first full-length album, but we are also trying to play as much as possible. We played some of the unreleased songs live and the reactions were amazing. We want to prove that we’re not just a studio-internet band!
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for having us! You can find the band on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all the usual streaming platforms. We’d love to have you along for the ride!
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