Dresden leads to FREEDOM

I was born in the mid-80’s in the former GDR, and I have been living in Dresden, on the river Elbe, for more than 20 years. For many years I tried to make a living as a professional musician. For about 15 years now, I have also been working part-time as a social worker in a residential care group for young people. It is not my passion, but especially since the pandemic I have really appreciated not being financially dependent on my music. It gives me a certain freedom. I don’t have to make music that sells well or fits into the mainstream.

I have been influenced by Portishead, The Cinematic Orchestra, Radiohead,

The Müller-Hoffmann effect

I got into drums through my older brother. That was in the 90’s. I had a lot of different teachers because I was always hungry for input. Of course I played in many bands during that time.

In 2010 I met Ralf Müller-Hoffmann. We started jamming together, and within a year more than 30 rough pieces came out of it. We then developed the pieces, collaborated with a singer, and eventually started producing the music ourselves.

I learned a lot about producing through Ralf. But the most important thing was not a particular technical skill. I learned that the sound is more important than all the technical refinements. And I don’t think it is about being a professional either. It is about something inside you starting to resonate. If a sound or a piece of music touches me, that is more important to me than whether I have done something technically perfectly. Later this became Søjus1. We made two albums and played a lot of live shows.

Working with silent films also changed the way I looked at music. At some point I started composing and producing more my own music. With 1467kHz I finally created a project under my own name.

Der Klang

If you ask me about my musical influences, I must say Great Britain first. I have never felt particularly connected to German music. I never found the German language very beautiful in music – even though my own English is certainly not perfect.

Musically, I have been influenced by Portishead, The Cinematic Orchestra, Radiohead, Tim Hecker, Nils Frahm, Arvo Pärt and Nick Cave. Stylistically, I come from different places; trip-hop, ambient, electronica, jazz, and film music. The instruments themselves are also very important for my sound.

I like the sound of drums from the 60’s and instruments from the 70’s – Minimoog, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes, double bass.

I don’t think I am really looking for a particular genre. I am more interested in a certain sound and atmosphere. And in the end, something must resonate with me. That is more important to me than whether it is jazz, electronica, ambient or film music.

Increasing limitations

Currently I use almost exclusively instruments and equipment that create real, physical sounds; a Minimoog, a Mellotron, a Technics 1210, an EF-X2 tape echo, a Roland SH-101, a Fender Rhodes 88, and my drums – Gretsch Broadcaster and Ludwig Classic Maple.

With the Minimoog, I am not interested in programming the perfect sound. I want to touch the controls, play, search, and at some point, find a sound that touches me.

The Rhodes is especially important because it gives my guest musicians a space to play. The same goes for the piano. I also work a lot with samples from records and field recordings. And I record my drums myself.

I don’t need that many instruments or plugins. Too many possibilities can even get in my way. Having some limitations helps me make decisions. Sometimes I need fewer possibilities to make more music.

Tune into 1467kHz

In the 1980’s, my grandmother listened every morning to a radio programme broadcast on 1467 kHz. At some point I got hold of the old intro of that programme, and I used fragments of it in the intro of the EP. And somehow the frequency also fits the project: the EP is a bit like a radio programme itself. Voices, music, sounds, samples – you tune in and you don’t really know what is coming next

1467kHz is in some ways a continuation of the first Søjus1 album, but at the same time it is a step in a different direction.

In 2023 I started developing my own compositions. I had bought a Minimoog and a Mellotron and initially just played around with the keys, looking for sounds that touched me. At the same time, I was composing grooves.

In 2024 I invited many musicians to sessions. I collected samples, grooves, melodies and sounds and then work with that material afterwards. I take things apart, change them, sample them again and distil the music from them.

That is how 1467kHz came about. And it is important to me for another reason too: at some point I was tired of hiding behind a project name. I didn’t want to be Søjus1 anymore-I wanted to be Simon Arnold.

Ultimately, I don’t want to tell the listener what film they see. Everyone must see their own film.

Creating your “inner film”

I feel a film noir energy in some ways. Yes, I think the film-noir feeling fits quite well. With Søjus1 I scored two silent films- The Phantom Carriage (1921) and New Babylon (1929). Both are black-and-white films, and I really enjoyed that work. What I find especially challenging is the question: What feeling does the music have to provide to really embed the image?

You see a scene, but the music can give it a completely different emotional direction. I find that extremely exciting.

With 1467kHz, there isn’t a specific film that I scored. It is more like my own inner film. The music is partly rough and dark, while the samples and field recordings create certain images.

Ultimately, I don’t want to tell the listener what film they see. Everyone can see their own film.

“auditory narrative”

I don’t think the individual pieces necessarily have to tell a traditional story. The story comes more from the EP as a whole.

It starts with a lot of suffering – on a larger scale, with war and things we have absolutely no influence over, but also on a smaller scale, in our relationships with other people. It is about having to constantly protect yourself, so you don’t get hurt.

At some point there is the question: “Where is Jesus?” And at the end, the Lord’s Prayer is spoken. For me, this is not a religious message that I want to give to anyone. It is more about letting go. I can’t control everything and I can’t put the world right. What remains is the longing to find some inner peace and to be free – even if the world itself is not free.

The music doesn’t have to explain all of this to me. It should make something happen and create images.

I can’t control everything and I can’t put the world right. What remains is the longing to find some inner peace and to be free – even if the world itself is not free.

unplanned dialogues

The samples aren’t just decoration for me-they are part of the story.

For example, I collected BBC radio programmes dealing with children and their experiences of war. I took fragments from them, distilled the stories, and processed the sound.

Another example is Brynhilde Börner. I gave her some of my own texts and recorded a whole session with her. Later I combined these recordings with other texts of mine, spoken by a computer voice like Stephen Hawking’s speech synthesiser. The funny thing is that I didn’t write a dialogue. They are both speaking their own texts, but through the editing they suddenly start reacting to each other. It became a dialogue without me planning it.

Then there are field recordings – the city, the forest, bells, and things like that. Sounds like these can create a space or an image very quickly. And Paul Vetter played a very hard guitar session in a strange key. I then played the material backwards, slowed it down and changed it-suddenly it created a different atmosphere.

Signs of life and beyond

I wanted 1467kHz to be a sign of life.

And I am already sitting down every Tuesday to compose new pieces. About eight weeks ago, after many years, I happened to meet my old double bassist Christoph from the Matthias Rethberg Trio in town. We had completely lost touch. We arranged to play together, and he recorded a session for me. Afterwards I worked through the material in detail – and it really moved me: There are new pieces coming.

I think everyone should have the courage to be authentic. I am fighting for that for myself. And when it comes to my music: Maybe you must let yourself get into it. So, give it a try.

SIMON ARNOLD