The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Conny Ochs

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Even with various works in composition through various projects, I feel myself being, at first, a songwriter. The filtering of my own reactions, emotions, as well as the stories of people I meet and the picturing of situations I encounter is the base of a song. In a song try to distill these elements into an emphatic moment of sharing, both to inspire and reflect, and hopefully transmit my understanding, that through sharing life it can become something more than a single but a universal experience. To me, this has become a strong medicine in the face of, sometimes, struggling with it. I hope it can do the same to others. Finally, I believe the transformation of consciousness, much as shamans once did, keeps us all sane, emphatic, curious, and very much alive.

Describe your first musical memory.

I remember my father playing me children songs by my bed, when I was very young. At that moment, through the music he played, he become something more than the father figure I knew, but a medium. Like a window that led beyond the world I knew.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

That would be writing my first own song with my best friend, around the age of 15. Before that, we had only played the songs of bands we liked. At that moment I felt all the possibilities that were given through means of communicating, and how it changed what I had thought I knew about myself. I never stopped following that road after that.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

When we started to work with a label for the first time, there were many suggestions made by third parties regarding sound, songwriting, also outfits and so on. We had to defend ourselves in front of people who had been in the music business early on, especially regarding our stage shows, which have been quite intense I guess. That was not always appreciated. Yet we did what we thought was right and true to us, with the consequences that it brought which did not exactly make is easier for us to release our music. But we stuck to our thing all the way though.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I hope it leads to having the chance to meet and work with a whole bunch of awesome people, keeping an open mind, continuing to be curious about the ways of the world and understanding how to be a free person.

How do you define success?

Transforming what you think and feel into a medium that can be grasped by others.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Can´t really think of something here, need to pass that one.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I would very much like to become a good cook. Actually just become a cook at all, to my shame I rarely take up on cooking. Then the things i´d like to create would be anything apart from pasta and eggs, that would be something.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

I believe art is the universal language that can connect human beings across cultural, intellectual and political borders. It can bring us back to our own truth, unveil what we hide from ourselves and what is hidden from us. It keeps us young and curious. Right now, I feel a lot of art has become just a means of making money and gaining fame. Which I feel actually does not make it art anymore, but maybe some sort of craftsmanship because the spirit is missing. Yet finally the function of art is what you allow it to be to you.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Right now in these blurred, confined times, I am looking forward very much to see my family and friends again. Also spring, that is just arriving, and a summer that hopefully can give us all some room to breathe. I am looking forward to simple things that we can all share again. Like throwing a good old party finally.

http://www.connyochs.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conny-Ochs/112536815501097
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de

Conny Ochs, Doom Folk (2019)

German singer-songwriter Conny Ochs is no stranger to a place between genres, and he would seem to be acknowledging that with Doom Folk, which has been unveiled as the title of his upcoming long-player to be released next month on Exile on Mainstream. Ochs, also known for his collaborative work alongside Scott “Wino” Weinrich in the duo Wino & Conny Ochs, is the kind of performer with whom it’s really easy to be on a first-name basis as a listener. “Oh, there’s a new Conny out,” and so on. His work is intimate and personal, but as Doom Folk shows, he’s branching out as well in terms of arrangements, giving a more complete feel that’s a departure from some of his earlier guy-and-guitar fare while still tied to that work obviously through his stellar and always heartfelt vocals. Still, that organ on “Hammer to Fit” is a nice touch.

Ochs will play Roadburn in April as part of Exile on Mainstream‘s 20th anniversary showcase. Info on that and album details follow here, all courtesy of the PR wire:

CONNY OCHS: German Rock Icon To Release Fourth Solo LP, Doom Folk, Via Exile On Mainstream On February 8th; Trailer + Preorders Posted

German songwriter, rock ‘n’ roll vagabond, and seasoned performer, CONNY OCHS, will release his fourth solo album, Doom Folk, through his trusted allies at Exile On Mainstream on February 15th. Preorders for the album as well as a trailer have been posted, and several new videos are on the verge of release preceding the album’s street date.

CONNY OCHS believes that the best stories are always the ones yet to be told. He seeks to envision signs of the world that are concealed to most others, and to explore them in a more detailed and higher density. On his new album, Doom Folk, Conny follows different pathways to those which he has forged before, channeling his observations into narratives driven by two powerful forces, fervor, and vulnerability.

OCHS’ previous albums Raw Love Songs (2011), Black Happy (2013), and Future Fables (2016), illustrate his evolution from a blues/folk troubadour to an accomplished singer/songwriter. In his early days, he traversed the globe as a cliché of the lonesome rider, armed with a rugged dreadnought guitar. Doom Folk closes a bracket around it’s three predecessors as well as the two records CONNY OCHS recorded with Scott “Wino” Weinrich (Heavy Kingdom in 2012 and Freedom Conspiracy in 2015), which were also driven by a stripped-down attitude in musicality. While the inspiration is still clearly apparent, the bittersweet hymns of dark melancholy across Doom Folk feel new, refreshed, diverse, and with a slight touch of urgency.

CONNY OCHS has also expanded his musical repertoire to include, bass, drums, percussion, and organs which all find their way into the sounds of Doom Folk, adding tonal urgency, distortion and volume. The album opener “Dark Tower” ignites a surge of emotion, paying tribute to the tragic death of Chris Cornell. “Hammer To Fit” cultivates a sense of hope and optimism while the guitar shimmers in engaging clarity across the tundra, recalling American stalwarts Howe Gelb or Rainer Ptacek. OCHS pays further homage to American songwriting with his eclectic and uncompromising country track “Gun In The Cradle.” While “Drunken Monkey” is a rare pop song amidst his otherwise more familiar flair and radiance counterbalanced by the darkness of the almost-anthemic “Waiting For The Pain” and the shadowy blues of “All Too Bright”, which recalls the morbid prurience of Nick Cave.

Melancholy, insanity, attrition, and hope, are nestled into OCHS’ loud/quiet dichotomy, which is carried forward by clean tones, nuanced instrumentation, and beautiful, authentic singing, before erupting into distortion and dissonance. With twelve anthems packed into thirty-eight minutes, fans of William Elliot Whitmore, Steve Von Till, Wino, Scott Kelly, Woodie Guthrie, make sure to check out CONNY OCHS’ Doom Folk.

Doom Folk will see release on LP, CD, and digital formats through Exile On Mainstream on February 15th. Find preorders and view the album trailer RIGHT HERE.

Doom Folk Track Listing:
1. Dark Tower
2. Crash And Burn
3. Hammer To Fit
4. King Of The Dead
5. Drunken Monkey
6. Moon
7. It’s All Too Bright
8. Crawling
9. Gun In The Cradle
10. Oracle
11. New Ruins
12. Sweet Delusion

OCHS is booking live performances in support of Doom Folk, including the Exile On Mainstream 20th Anniversary Parties this year, April 4th through 7th at UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Germany, and on April 13th at Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. The Leipzig show will feature a full band while Roadburn will be blessed with a intimate, solo show. Watch for more widespread tour news to be released in the weeks ahead.

CONNY OCHS Tour Dates:
4/04/2019 Objekt 5 – Halle/Saale, DE
4/07/2019 UT Connewitz – Leipzig, DE @ 20 Years Exile On Mainstream
4/13/2019 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NL @ 20 Years Exile On Mainstream

http://www.connyochs.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conny-Ochs/112536815501097
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de

Conny Ochs, Doom Folk album teaser