Musical Motivation: Jan Thierfelder

German Indie group Jante have drawn comparisons to Passenger and Mumford and Sons. With an effortless breezy indie-folk leaning, their heartfelt lyrics and singability are helping them to steadily rise through the ranks of the German music industry. Having just released the sensational third EP, Blick ins Freie, which was teased by the wonderful Einfach Leichter, they have proved that with each new EP they find greater musical strength. We caught up with frontman Jan Thierfelder to find out more about what shapes the group's sound, by asking what songs make you...



Smile

Mighty Oaks - The Great Northwest

This is because of two main reasons. This song and the EP Just one Day by Mighty Oaks literally changed my whole life and made me pursue my dream of having a career in music. When I listened to the song and the EP, it completely took me away and woke the desire in me, to create such amazing music myself. That's what made me piece together Jante in addition to my alternative rock project I had at that time and brought me / us to performing on 300 stages all over Germany and Europe, let us getting to know so many wonderful people and places and left so many unforgettable memories already until now. The second reason is, that me and my girlfriend used to listen to the song a lot just after we met and it became something like 'our' song.

Contemplate

Die Toten Hosen - Europa

This song of one of the most popular German bands, Die Toten Hosen, deals with the insecure and risky journey of thousands of refugees on their way to Europe and was released even two years before the refugee crisis really started to catch the media's attention. At the beginning I didn't really know what the song was about, as I never heard of people trying to reach Europe through non-seaworthy, shabby boats before. As I understood finally, it touched me even more and maybe was the basis for us to commit ourselves to helping these people through collecting donations at concerts, making music in refugee camps and trying to reach people's hearts and minds with the topic.

Cry

Passenger - Riding To New York

Passenger is - next to Mighty Oaks - the second artist that really made and makes me believe in myself having a chance to reach any goal in music and my life I want to. His voice and the stories he is telling go straight to the heart and this in my opinion is one of the most touching ones. It is about a man travelling on his last journey through the USA to see his children and grandchildren one last time. It is written with so much heart that you get the feeling, you are the man yourself and he is telling your story when you listen to it.

Laugh

Alligatoah - Hass

Alligatoah is the greatest German poet ever in music and just on one level with Goethe and Schiller for me (controversial, I know!). I never experienced somebody writing such ingenious lyrics with so much wit, such brilliant wordplay and so many different musical influences as well. Hass is a song about the anger somebody has driving in German traffic and caricatures the rude German drivers. Very funny and the best song you can listen to in a traffic jam.

Want to work out

Rise Against - Give it all / Satellite

Rise Against was the band that influenced me the most when I started with songwriting. Back then I was writing in English and loved the anger and criticism of the modern society in their music. Until now their songs are probably the best for me to release my own anger and to 'give it all' when I do sports. But I couldn't settle on one song, so I chose two.

Reminisce

3 Doors Down - Landing in London

3 Doors Down, Nickelback and the Donots were the first rock bands I got in closer contact with when I was a kid. In that time, I always gave my cousin a list with my favorite songs and he then burned me CDs with these songs. Sometimes there was a little space left on the CDs and he filled it with songs he loved at that time, mostly these three bands. Landing in London came a little bit later, but is a special song, because 3DD released the album, Seventeen Days, just a few days or weeks before we were going to Great Britain with school. For me, it was the first time travelling to a none-German-speaking country and I was totally excited. Landing in London became my soundtrack back then and I was really listening to it when the bus arrived in the city. Still today it reminds me of the journey and the bus drive, when I listen to the song.

Relax

Hollow Coves - Anew

Hollow Coves are an Australian band I just discovered via Spotify a few months ago. I just love the way they sound, the way they take you away with their music and the vastness and depth of their sound. Anew is my favourite song from their latest and first album Moments and the perfect song to let your thoughts go wandering.

Feel Determined

Fort Minor - Remember The Name

That's a really motivating song as it is about grinding your way to the top from the perspective of Mike Shinoda. Just a great song, that motivates me a lot (and is also a good song to work out by the way).

Dance

ASD - Sneak Preview

ASD are two German rappers (Afrob & Samy Deluxe) combined in one project. Back in the day when I was listening to a lot of hip-hop, Samy Deluxe was the greatest German rapper for me. Sneak Preview came out at the end of that part of my life. I was 17/18 and partying with my friends nearly every weekend at the biggest club in the next city. We were dancing to this song week after week in the club. That's why it still reminds me of the hard party times back then and I still go crazy when it sometimes gets played in a club.