The 18 year old Berlin based singer Coco-Paloma is of a dying breed. Having moved from Munich to Berlin as a one year old, she grew up in the German capital. Rather than having moved there to start a career when the city began to attract creatives and tourists from all around the world, she is a bonafide native.
One might say Coco-Paloma carries the spirit of the city within her. She was raised during a time when it wasn’t the coolest, hippest hubbub, but a city under construction. It therefore comes as no surprise that a kid who grew up in Europe’s capital of electronic music developed an interest in techno music and raves at a very early age.
But it was at the age of 15 that the daughter of classical, world-touring musician parents began to write her own story by sneaking into techno parties with forged papers and calling about blank, one of Berlin’s most infamous House and Techno clubs, her safe place.
Paloma’s love for music and especially for creating her own tracks may not have originated solely within the walls of these sanctuaries of electronic music, but the experience sure sparked the fire. Experimenting with different genres and producers, the singer began her path into the production side of music. For the past three years she’s been working with, and learning from, a vast variety of DJs and producers. The most current one being one of Europe’s most in-demand underground techno artists, Héctor Oaks.
After moving from Madrid to Berlin and dropping his first releases on the fertile soil of Berlin’s underground, the trained sound engineer soon saw his career take off internationally. His job at the infamous second hand store The Record Loft gave him the baggage to become one of the techno artist with the widest music spectrum. His DJ skill pulled him at the front of the international scene being resident of some of the most respected clubs and parties in the circuit: Bassiani, Herrensauna and possession.
In the last three years the labels that Héctor manages, OAKS and KAOS, have set a path for the current trend of Neo-Rave and Hardtechno that proliferates in the industry these days.
The collaboration of these two artists with completely different backgrounds but a shared love for electronic music is what makes their debut EP No Hay Mañana so intriguing. Besides their liaison being a genuine manifestation of the world’s creative melting pot that is Berlin, the songs the two created induce a feeling of being lost but connected at the same time. Coco-Paloma’s lyrics are somewhat existential and dark and speak about different realities. Héctor Oaks’ production makes you want to lose yourself in those worlds; to dive in and live like there’s no tomorrow.
No Hay Mañana is also the EP’s first single release. It’s a song that starts with the question If there is no tomorrow, why would you act the same? Subsequently, it drives all your senses into unknown places by a throbbing beat and vocals that show Coco-Paloma’s variety. Her vocals exhibit facets of pop, but another kind of pop – somewhat vanguard, highly artistic and matured. The mantra-like style of iteration in the lyrics intensifies the feeling of losing oneself in a strange but wonderful world of soundscapes and pulsating techno beats. Throughout the EP these worlds are ever-changing. From the groovy, playful style of Player Three, back to the search for heights in the depth of a hard and hitting beat in Chasing Highs, and concluding in a creeping slow Danger 4 You – Coco-Paloma and Héctor Oaks are not afraid to show their ambiguity.
This is the beauty of cultural and creative melting pots, the beauty of different backgrounds, life stories and experiences: The singularity of individual human beings begins to cancel out. While still being unique and somewhat alone, we start to connect, forget our solitude and live like there’s no tomorrow. Coco-Paloma’s and Héctor Oaks’ No Hay Mañana is a tribute to that.
Hey Hector and Coco-Paloma, great to chat with you. How have you been recently ?
嘿 Hector 和 Coco-Paloma，很高兴和你聊天。你最近怎么样？
H: I’ve just come from South America and honestly it was great, still trying to beat the jet-lag. Anyhow I feel energized and motivated to ride the year ahead.
Coco:Learning, growing and full of excitement for what is to come. I’d imagine most people have experienced quite intense ups and downs during the pandemic, the toughest period personally were the last couple of months. Not losing sight of tomorrow kept me going.
H：我刚从南美来，老实说，这很棒，仍在努力克服时差。无论如何，我感到精力充沛，有动力去迎接新的一年。
学习，成长，对即将发生的事情充满兴奋。我想大多数人在大流行期间都经历了相当剧烈的起伏，个人最艰难的时期是过去几个月。没有忘记明天让我继续前进。
Hector, we know your sets and the energy behind them very well, however the collaboration with Coco-Paloma is a completely different chapter for both of you. You two met during the lockdown. How did that happen and how did it become such an emotional and powerful project?
Hector，我们非常了解你的系列和它们背后的能量，但是与 Coco-Paloma 的合作对你们俩来说是完全不同的篇章。你们两个是在封锁期间认识的。那是如何发生的，又是如何成为如此激动人心和强大的项目的？
H: I think Claudio and Club Qu should take the responsibility for this encounter. For me personally it felt just as the next natural step and it came in the perfect moment. Really enjoyed putting myself in an area of no-comfort. I think that really pushed me to reach zones that would have taken years for me to arrive alone. The production of the whole project, with videos, engineers, studio sessions. The work with Coco was actually super smooth. I think that we are both quite emotional so we just did our thing and the whole thing escalated itself.
H：我认为克劳迪奥和曲俱乐部应该为这次相遇负责。对我个人而言，这感觉就像是下一个自然步骤，并且是在完美的时刻到来的。真的很喜欢把自己放在一个不舒服的地方。我认为这真的促使我到达了我需要数年才能独自到达的区域。整个项目的制作，包括视频、工程师、工作室会议。与 Coco 的合作实际上非常顺利。我认为我们都很情绪化，所以我们只是做了我们的事情，整个事情就升级了。
We are here to share the news about your recent EP which is called “No Hay Manana”. We might think it’s dark, but the vibe still makes us feel things are getting better. How would you describe “no tomorrow” for all of us?
我们在这里分享有关您最近的 EP 的消息，该 EP 名为“No Hay Manana”。我们可能认为天很黑，但这种氛围仍然让我们觉得事情正在好转。您如何为我们所有人描述“没有明天”？
The EP is a reflection; I was in a very dark place and quite literally did not see a tomorrow for myself. Everything seemed hopeless. Giving in to these emotions and finding light in the dark is something sacred. Expressing hopelessness is always bonded by an inherent need for hope and I think our EP gives just that, a sense of light.
H:A hardpop transgressive techno manifesto trying to push the limits of ourselves and the music. Fuelled with a lot of energy and love. I think that was a great escape for such a dystopian scenario we were living in. The lyrics are deep but the message is clear. Every time I play any of the songs on the floor I still get goosebumps. And I believe that the feeling is reciproque.
EP是一种反射；我在一个非常黑暗的地方，完全看不到自己的明天。一切似乎都没有希望了。屈服于这些情绪并在黑暗中寻找光明是神圣的。表达绝望总是与对希望的内在需求联系在一起，我认为我们的 EP 就是这样，一种光明的感觉。
H：一个硬流行的越界技术宣言，试图突破我们自己和音乐的极限。充满了能量和爱。我认为对于我们生活的这种反乌托邦场景来说，这是一个很好的逃避。歌词很深，但信息很清楚。每次我在地板上播放任何歌曲时，我仍然会起鸡皮疙瘩。我相信这种感觉是互惠的。
Coco, you moved to the city when you were a child. Surely it was such an experience growing up in Berlin. We imagine plenty of stories from that time which influenced you in the process of this EP. How would you describe changes in your musical journey after the release?
可可，你小时候搬到城里去了。当然，这是在柏林长大的经历。我们想象当时有很多故事在这张 EP 的制作过程中影响了你。您如何描述发行后您的音乐之旅的变化？
My mother moved us to Berlin when I was roughly one year old. Berlin is home and has given me more than I could have hoped for. The versatility in all aspects is magical. I was given the opportunity to unfold myself without a limited horizon. Since the release I have found myself slowly manifesting my own style.
在我大约一岁的时候，我妈妈把我们搬到了柏林。柏林是我的家，给了我比我所希望的更多的东西。各方面的多功能性是神奇的。我有机会在没有有限视野的情况下展现自己。自从发布以来，我发现自己慢慢地表现出自己的风格。
What did you learn from yourselves during the creation process?
在创作过程中，你从自己身上学到了什么？
I found beauty in myself, which I did not see for a long time. Receiving the overwhelming resonance in regards to our EP, even during the creation process. Touching people with our composition of thoughts has been incredibly powerful.
我发现了自己的美丽，这是我很长时间没有看到的。即使在创作过程中，我们的 EP 也获得了压倒性的共鸣。用我们的思想组合来打动人们是非常强大的。
H: I almost never cooperated with anyone before working with Paloma and to be honest it showed me that you can also exponentially increase your effect collaborating with someone. After this record I’m totally in the mood to produce music with other artists and opened myself more to experiment with styles, tempos, harmonies, intentions and grooves
I threw several barriers that I had in my head. Anyhow this was only possible because of Paloma and the amazing team of people who worked with us who gave us their energy and trust.
在与 Paloma 合作之前，我几乎从未与任何人合作过，老实说，它向我展示了与某人合作也可以成倍地增加你的效果。在这张唱片之后，我完全有心情与其他艺术家一起创作音乐，并且更加开放自己去尝试风格、节奏、和声、意图和节奏
我抛出了我脑海中的几个障碍。无论如何，这一切之所以成为可能，是因为 Paloma 和与我们一起工作的令人惊叹的团队，他们给了我们能量和信任。
Thanks both for taking the time to chat with us. We can’t wait for more tracks from you two. What are your plans for the upcoming year ?
感谢两位花时间与我们聊天。我们迫不及待地期待你们两个的更多曲目。你对即将到来的一年有什么计划？
Coco: There is virtue in talking less and doing more, all I’ll say is amongst our plans there may be a live performance or two to look forward to.
少说多做是有好处的，我只想说，在我们的计划中，可能会有一两次现场表演值得期待。
H: Nothing to add, but yeah. Can’t wait.
没什么可补充的，但是是的。等不及了。
Interview: Grzegorz Bacinski
Track Premiere Listen Here:
