Ravens Brain

Present yourself to the readers

Hi, I’m Josie Paulus and I’m a singer-songwriter from Hamburg,Germany. I’ve been making music since I was 12 years old and about 1 and a half years ago decided that it was time to get up on stages and present myself as an artist. Since then, I’ve played around 60 gigs in and around Hamburg and I’ve just released my very first Studio Album “Green“, accompanied by the single „Running Free“ which is available to watch as a video on YouTube.

What’s the story for GREEN ?

Green is my very first studio album and therefore for me mainly the platform on which is was able to discover who I wanted to be as an artist and as a songwriter. The songs on Green are autobiographic and in parts very emotional and it tells the story of me emancipating and getting over a very hard breakup through finding self-love, grace and acceptance.

Your texts and your compositions ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?

My lyrics mostly talk about me and my own story. Sometimes I like to take an idea that others have of me and adapt it as if it was part of my personality and I write out of that perspective. Sometimes I write about a fantasy of mine or a really beautiful imagery that I have stuck in my head and that I can live out through my lyrics, even if they might not be the exact reality.

Are you day or night ?

I am definitely a night owl. I don’t usually feel awake until 11pm at night.

Why did you choose this style of music ?

It’s not that I necessarily chose this style of music, it just kind of happened. I’ve always loved hand-made music, I love the songwriter culture and I love expressing emotions in detail. I’ve also been heavily influenced by country music in my early teens, which is where that style sort of came from, but my heart beats for pop music a good hooks. I also really appreciate rock music. In the future, I see myself moving away a little further from the country/
singer-songwriter aisle and more towards rock and grunge music, combined with a good pop-esque hook. But in my opinion, country music has the best songwriting, so I don’t think I’ll move away from my style of writing lyrics.

What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?

I listen to a lot of different music, from Country, Rock, Alternative, Indie to Pop and EDM. I love 60’s and 70’s classic rock like The Who, Aerosmith, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles etc. and modern rock/alternative bands like Twenty One Pilots, the Black Keys and the Arctic Monkeys. My biggest musical influence though is probably Taylor Swift, who I adored when I started making music and heavily shaped the way I write and sing music. One of my biggest idols is Janis Joplin.

What’s your top 5 albums of all time ?

1. Fearless - Taylor Swift
2. The Who by Numbers - The Who
3. Vessel - Twenty One Pilots
4. Back To Basics - Christina Aguilera
5. Pearl - Janis Joplin

In the shower or in the bath, do you sing ? If yes, your songs or those of others ?

I don’t usually sing in the shower. If I do, I turn on the speakers and sing along to other songs that aren’t mine.

What's your best live memory ? And why ?

Just a couple of days ago I played my release concert in this really awesome club in Hamburg, and about 80 people showed up who were all there for it. That was one of the best live memories for me, because it felt like all the hard work I put into this album was being recognized and appreciated.

In studio, what was the ambiance for the album GREEN ?…etc.…

We recorded Green in a studio apartment, so it wasn’t even a real studio but my producer’s private housing and it was really small and we had to shift a lot of things to make it work. I was literally recording next to his bed.

How does it work for the design of the CD ? and why this title ?

I feel immensely grateful because I’ve had a lot of people helping me out. I have a graphic designer, Sylvia Scheler, and she did all of my logo and website design and also the Cover and CD art and we had a couple of creative meetings but mostly she just really understood what I wanted and what I had in mind. The photos were taken by Michelle Orlikowska, who studies media and design but also does photography, she’s a friend of a friend of mine and so we got her to do the photoshoot, which turned out pretty cool.

How was the shooting of the clip RUNNING FREE ? and why this choice ?

We chose Running Free as the first single because we felt like it represented me the best. It shows how I write songs, it’s daring and confident and it’s fun. I always introduce Running Free as „a love-song for myself“ and it’s 100% me. It might not be strongest musically or have the widest arrangement, but it’s authentic and that’s why I chose this song for the video. As far as the video goes, we asked on facebook whether someone would be interested in doing a music video, because we didn’t know anyone who did video or film, and we found Max Schröter, who is only seventeen but extremely talented and driven and he was very professional from the very start on, brought all the equipment and knew exactly what to do with the script that we had in mind. It took us three shooting days in total to get the video done, because we had to schedule around the locations and when they could let us film there, but in the end, it was all totally worth it and I couldn’t be prouder or more content with the result.

Did you find a label ? If yes, how do you made the research ?

No, I do not have a label. I did actually have an offer not too long ago, but decided to stay independent for the moment. I want to stay in control for as long as I can and so far, it’s worked out perfectly.

With Management and booking, how do you work ? And with whom ?

I have neither management, nor booking. I book all of my shows myself and I have a close friend, Vivian Hoyer, who helps me out with management, social media and connections a lot.

Would you like to work with an artist ? If so who ?

Right now, I can’t think of anyone. Maybe a question for another time.

What would you have chosen as a job outside of music?

Honestly, I don’t know, because I’ve never really been interested in anything else but music. I do have an appreciation for literature and language, but I don’t see myself in a job where I would only do that. Maybe, I would just go for management or something.

What’s your biggest regret ?

My biggest regret is probably that I waited so long to finally get on stage and start doing what I do. I’ve played stages as a teenager but mostly school events or local youth center competitions, but I never took it more seriously, although it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It took me a heartbreak to get my ass off the couch and follow my dream.

What are your projects ?

Right now I don’t have many projects, because my album just came out. Obviously I want to shoot another video for another single, and I want to focus on playing more shows, now that I have the music out. Maybe even a little tour. But first, I’m going to be on a three-month travel through the USA.

What do you expect from the future ?

I expect to be writing even better songs and never stop evolving. I want to become the best version of what I can be and hopefully never stop making music.

What's your motto ?

If you don’t have a plan B, plan A just has to work.

Website to remember

Facebook
Youtube

What would you like to say to the readers ?

I hope you give my album a listen and please support small and local artists. We need all the support, clicks and shares that we can get, because that’s the only way to grow and reach more audience.
Local artists are the future game-changers and what’s more cooler than to be able to watch someone’s career right from the beginning?

What question, I did not ask you and would you like me to ask you :-) ?

What’s one song you wish you had written?
Taylor Swift - All Too Well :-)