Life right now seems increasingly surreal. For me, the current corona pandemic has resulted in a long period of isolation. I have the privilege to be able to work from home without much trouble, but it is a strange feeling that I haven’t met my colleagues in real life since mid-February. My sense of unreality becomes even more evident by the fact that my wife works as a nurse in palliative care. While some of us are locked in, others are out there working harder than ever for our sake.
To top it all, my mailbox and social media are filled with ads saying that I should exploit my involuntary isolation by being creative. According to these advertisements, the global lock-down creates an excellent opportunity for musicians to write new songs, produce new music – and to buy new products for their home-studios. To me, these ads are mere provocations. Ok, I may have more spare time than usually, but who can be creative with a mind full frustration and worries for loved ones and friends? My guitars will remain in their cases for a while.
That being said, I am glad that Southside Café is actually prepared for some time of un-creativity. We have three new songs ready to be released, three Fridays in a row, starting on April 10. The songs are very different from each other – but they are all very much in the style of Southside Café. Hopefully, these songs will bring some light into this dark and unreal situation.