Features

Bad Hammer

Interview by Carolina Calgaro
Photos shot by Julia Feige in Berlin, GER

Lisa Klinkhammer and Johannes Badura are a new Berlin-based band called Bad Hammer. After taking shape in Neukölln, the duo are ready to leave their initial chapter behind them, nailing it shut with a debut EP. Don’t get fooled by the name – Bad Hammer is an ‘adult only pop-rock’ duo combining synths, guitars and Lisa’s dreamy voice, echoing an idyllic world. We met one morning for what turned out to be the first interview for us all, and talked about music and how good it is to just have fun.

When was the first time you met and decided to make music together?

J: I met Lisa through a friend. It was 2015 and she just moved to Berlin from Düsseldorf. We talked once and decided to jam together. We didn’t have a rehearsal studio, so we just met at my house. Not knowing each other was a challenge, but it also help ed us to focus on what was important at the time: playing together.

Not knowing each other at first was a challenge, but it helped us to focus on what was important: playing together.

When was the first time you called yourself Bad Hammer? And why did you chose this name?

L: It’s a combination of our surnames…
J: At first, we just used it because it sounded stupid, but we actually started to like it. I think we were both interested in the non-clear image that the name creates. It doesn’t say much about our sound. Some people have come to our shows and been like: ‘I thought I bought a ticket to something else!’
L: People assume Bad Hammer’s a heavy metal or pro-rock band – there’s actually an Austrian metal band called Bäd Hammer – and then we come on stage with our synths, all dressed up, and that creates confusion. We think it’s funny, and other people think it’s funny too.

Is Berlin an important component for your creative process?

L: In Düsseldorf, there’s electronic and experimental music playing most of the time. When I moved to Berlin I could just step out of my front door and go to a cool pop concert.
J: Neukölln is a very lively neighborhood. People think of Berlin as the city of techno and electro music, but whatever sound you could imagine takes place here.

In the ‘Forever’ video you guys are on a rollercoaster. Why did you choose to film it in that location?

J: In May, there’s a small fair located in a park in Neukölln. We liked the idea of doing it there and just having fun. There’s an ultimate nostalgia about these fairs. They make you think about your past but also about what entertainment has become. Entertainment’s changed a lot, but these fairs are still the same. In a way, I see some connections with our own music: we definitely have nostalgic sides and a fascination with the good old days. Music can take people to a place where they normally don’t hang out.

Berlin DIY show and party promoters Shameless/Limitless spotlight some of their favourite new bands out of their city, presenting Bad Hammer in a co-headlining night with Soft as Snow in Klub 470 at Goethe-Institut Niederlande, Amsterdam on Friday, 6 April.