Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
Nancy: The music in me was just there. It is 100% a part of me. No one in the family played music or had any talent for an instrument or singing. But we listened to a lot of different music. Mother liked operettas and entertainers like Frank Sinatra etc. or German/Austrian entertainers like Peter Alexander. Father was a rock ‘n’ roll fan. And at the top of his record collection was, of course, Elvis Presley. My siblings listened to pop music and all the famous songs of the 70s and 80s. So there was a huge variety of music in the house, alternating between them or even simultaneously. A two-stage organ was my first contact with black and white keys, and it stayed with me for life. My parents didn’t understand that I didn’t want to try to learn melodies and play them back. From the beginning, I played notes that were in my head and produced others through stimulation. When I discovered the keyboards in the municipal music store, I was blown away. The owner practically had to chase me out of the store because I spent hours tweaking the keyboard sounds. I was already addicted to sounds back then. At 19, I bought my first synthesizer: a Yamaha SY-77. I had to save up and fight for it for a long time. But then a whole new world opened up for me. Now I could not only create my own sounds, but also had an onboard sequencer that allowed me to compile 16 tracks into a song.
Taess: I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember; it always felt natural and real, like a language that goes deeper than words. Even as a child, I would sit at the keyboard for hours, exploring sounds and writing stories or poems to go along with them. I also played the saxophone and clarinet, drawn to their expressive power, though never in a classical way. From the very beginning, I was fascinated by effects, unusual sounds, and the creative exploration of sound. Later on, I discovered synthesizers and, with them, the freedom to create my own sound worlds. I’ve always continued to experiment with my voice as well. I love using it to connect with people, not just through melodies, but through emotion, depth, and sometimes even through what remains unspoken. For me, music is a space beyond technique and rules, a place where feeling becomes sound.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Synthewomia”
Nancy: Of course, the greatest thing for every musician in the world is to reach as many people as possible with their art, but for me, that’s not the most important thing.
For me, it’s mainly about “making music.” I can’t help it. I simply have to.
A message, – hmm – I have so many good thoughts in my head that I turn into music. I am a friend of people and living beings. And I always suffer with all living beings in difficult situations. The many crises, wars, and misery in the world concern me and frighten me, like many others. Almost every song has a small message. The good values we should live by are listed in “Positive Vibes.” The behavior of greedy people is in “Mister Money.” “Bla Bla, and Nothing Changes” is about people of all ages and classes that we all know. They talk, or we talk to them, over and over again, but nothing changes.
So every song has a message or can be a food for thought, but I don’t mean it as a particularly message-based one.
Taess: The most important and beautiful thing for me is being able to create songs together with Nancy in such a great synergy. There’s so much inspiration in working as a team like that.
I really love sharing our music with fans and connecting with all kinds of people. That exchange means everything to me. I want to spread energy and good vibes, bring joy and excitement through our music.
When it comes to building a fan base, it’s about creating something real and growing a community around that not just numbers. I want our music to be a space where people feel something, where they can be part of the journey with us.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
Nancy: Oh, that’s divisil. I try to be influenced as little as possible by other artists. Which, of course, is almost impossible. I almost always listen to music from other genres in my private life, so that I don’t become too influenced or imitated, especially during production phases.
But the person who has influenced me the most in my life is definitely Phil Collins. His melodic style of playing drums and the songs that often mix drum machines with live drumming and percussion have fascinated and defined me. It makes me sad that most drummers these days only memorize schematic performance movements and fine-tune them for speed.
But when I feel like listening to music, Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, Pet Shop Boys, Greace Jones, and Yazoo are often there. Of course, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Genesis, Saga, and many more have been totally responsible for my musical tastes.
But I get my inspiration from out in the city. In the cafes with a latte macchiato and watching the people passing by.
Taess: I listen to love a wide variety of music. I get inspiration for my lyrics from life itself, from experiences, encounters and emotions.
Musical ideas ans vocal melodys often come to while sound designing on the synthesizer, when Im on the go or simply throgh certain moods.
But the most brilliant ideas definitley come when Nancy share her ideas with me. That is pure synergy.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Birds.”?
Nancy: Yes – laughs – without any influence, without having heard the song beforehand. Just after the first few tracks, I suddenly had the faint feeling it could be something like Grace Jones’ “I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango).” Of course, I was careful not to listen to that song on YouTube right away and continued working with a slight grin. I liked the fluffy, light quality that emerged here, and I immediately thought of birds and/or butterflies. Those fast, monotonous strings at the beginning of the song reminded me of butterflies. I was curious to see what would happen when Taess came into the studio and heard this music. And when she did, exactly what I had hoped for happened. Without influencing my feelings, she immediately picked up on this mood and shaped the vocals perfectly to my liking. She also immediately liked the idea that it was about birds and the freedom of flight. And so, in a short time, this wonderful song was born.
Taess: The message of the song is to let go and fly like the birds in the sky and live every moment of freedom
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
Nancy: Oh my God. In short? Impossible! Because the diversity. The musical freedom. The metronomic coherence. The openness to new things.
The reverence for the tried and tested. The nostalgia for new and old. The desire for more and more. The lack of fear of hard work. The joy of music. The search for new technology and more synthesizers. The desire to do everything as well as possible. The joy of sounds and their processing. The joy of beats, samples, instruments and effects and their new combinations characterizes our sound. All of this is the reason why Synthewomia exists and why new surprises keep emerging.
Taess: I think about it like Nancy. A word that would certainly fit would be synth-poetic
Synthewomia is a synth-poetic world of sound, emotion and surprises.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Birds”?
Nancy: A question for Taess I have already told so much.
Taess: While producing, it was especially important to us that the song captured exactly the atmosphere we had envisioned that lyrics, sound, vocals, and mood come together as one. We always do everything ourselves, from production to mixing and mastering. It’s challenging, but also incredibly fulfilling. When we listened to the final result together for the first time, we knew it felt exactly right.”
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
Taess: I have different messages to share, and you can find them all in the lyriks and music of Synthewomia. The most importend message I want to share is love and respect. My goel as an artist is to bring joy and courage, and to give people beautiful, meaningful moments through music.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
Nancy: The best question. Because that would be the best and greatest reward for me. But because I’m a very small musician, 1.85 cm tall, living in Switzerland, I haven’t had the chance to meet any famous musicians yet. Who knows what these people are really like? What would the harmony be like between them and me? You can only be creative when you feel truly comfortable and at ease in a place. So if all that were true, a collaboration with Vince Clarke, the Pet Shop Boys, or Yello would be something really big.
Taess: Oh, I love many artists. For singing, I have two favorites. Cyndi Lauper and Annie Lenox. Their unique vocals inspire me every day. Wehn it comes to synthesizers and sound, I really like the Pet Shop Boys and Yello.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
Nancy: Just do what you enjoy. Make the music that springs from your spirit. Don’t worry about what others say. Don’t worry about whether your music is good enough to be successful. Either you’re lucky and it is, or it isn’t. You can be wrong a thousand times and then land a hit that defies all rules and norms. But you can’t predict it. It will happen naturally if it comes from a genuine calling and joy.
Taess: These are my thoughts too.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Nancy: Hi Nancy, stop letting your family and other people distract you from your feelings and goals. Do what you feel deep down. Don’t spend a second doing what others want. Life is too short and too beautiful to spend even a second doing what others think is good for you.
Taess: Follow your path. Live your dreams. Believe in yourself and surround yourself with amazing people who love and respect you.
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