“I don’t want to be the second Lady Gaga, the fourth Britney Spears, or the third Amy Winehouse. […] I want to be the first Alexandra Rotmann!”
credit: Marc Emde dokumentar-film.com
Alexandra Rotmann is a 25-year-old, German-born jazz belle, with a swanky voice and the attitude to go with it! Her father, a bass-baritone with a long, successful career at the Opernhaus Kiel has been the greatest influence on the development of her singing voice.
Her style has been shaped by her admiration for a colorful palett of artists from Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, to Eminem, Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, and then back to Luciano Pavarotti and Jessye Norman.
Alexandra comes from a long line of Ukranian musicians. Several generations of her ancestors, both on her mother’s and her father’s side already worked in the field of music, so one could say that she was predestined to become the vocal diva she is today!
But let me invite you to dive right into our interview; I think you will find it quite exciting. As preparation for it, I had asked Alexandra some questions, and below, I am sharing with you exerpts from her answers.
So enjoy, and as always, please give the article a little like.
EXERPTS FROM OUR INTERVIEW PREP:
Dr. J: What would you say are some of the milestones that you have already reached in your career?
AR: Well, I sang with the Philharmonic Orchestra in front of 15,000 people at the Kieler Woche at age 15, danced on Broadway at age 16, and completed a 3,5-year apprenticeship or traineeship to become certified in Graphic Design by the time I was 21. I grew up backstage at the opera and have had the chance to work as a director on multiple occasions. Also, I have been working with Seraphine Noir for 3 or 4 years now, and my track, “Iman” was #5 on the “State of Jazz” Spotify playlist for two weeks. And we just brought out our second cover song, “Cyber Bird.” My first cover was MF Doom’s “All Caps” which is currently at 4,4 Million Streams. And, in between, we also created songs like “Bordeaux,” “See Him Again,” “Toska,” and “Iman,” all songs for which I wrote the lyrics and composed the vocal line. But I guess the biggest milestone has been bringing out my latest song, “Habit,” that I wrote the music and the lyrics for, and that I produced completely by myself.
Dr. J: Tell me about “Habit.”
AR: I wrote “Habit” 2 years ago. It was when I realized that I was not above falling in love, and that I could care for someone so much that I would think of them 24/7, even though I knew that it was not in the stars for us to ever be together.
I didn’t plan on ever feeling for him so deeply. It just happened. And it felt like a baseball bat to the back of the head. At some point, I would check his Instagram like 40 times an hour, and check whether he had texted me, to the point that it became a habit.
Wake up – check his page.
Breakfast – check if he posted.
Do my makeup – check if he texted.
Wonder if he’s okay. Wonder what he’s doing.
And then, one night, when all those feelings got to be too much, I wrote “Habit,” in the span of like 10 minutes, lyrics and music and all. And as always, I can’t just be honest and serious about my feelings and my pain, I have to make some dark joke out of it. So the song is me, hiding behind the music. It is an expression of my anger, with the situation and with my weakness for this man.
Dr. J: At several concerts where I have heard you sing, you were presented as the new Amy Winehouse. How do you feel about this?
AR: I hate being compared to any artist, even if it’s meant as a compliment, because I don’t want to be the second Lady Gaga, the fourth Britney Spears, or the third Amy Winehouse. They have already had their moments to shine, and to make their names legendary, so I don’t want to be a second/third someone; I want to be the first Alexandra Rotmann!
Dr. J: What artists do you admire the most? And how do you relate different types of music?
AR: I love artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, but because I enjoy all types of music, I absolutely adore artists such as Tupac, 50cent, or Eminem. I love Luciano Pavarotti and Jessye Norman, especially her rendition of “Mon Cœur S’Ouvre a ta voix” from my all time favourite opera “Samson and Delilah.” I absolutely love pop music from the 2000s and just all kinds of it. I think the only music I don’t really get is Schlager.
Dr. J: You not only have a unique singing voice, but also quite a distinctive fashion sense.
AR: I think most of my style reflects the clothes I would see women wear on the streets of Kyiv in Ukraine, back when I was a child. We tried to spend all of our vacations in Ukraine, and even though I was born in Germany, I always though of myself as more Slavic, or Easter European, with family roots in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and so on. And this strong Slavic infuence can be seen in my style.
Dr. J: What are your career goals, and what do you want to make sure you do NOT end up doing?
AR: I don’t want to sell out and start doing music for the sake of streams instead of for the sake of the art. I don’t ever again want to change myself or my musical direction in order to please someone else, appease a label or radio host like I’ve sadly had to do with “Nothing,” my debut song. So now, I only do things my way, even if that means walking a much bumpier road. As for my goals, it has always been my ambition to be a solo singer and share my music with people from around the world. I never saw myself in a band or as a permanent duo, though I love working with other artists. My other goal would be to direct operas in my spare time, or to have a creative agency that focuses on design. And then, once I was done with all that, I would really love to run or co-own a jazz club / art gallery that would give “unknown” Indie artists a platform and a chance to perform their music, or showcase their art and build connections! That would be a dream come true!
Alexandra’s new song “Habit” is available on Spotify.
Here is a direct link: https://open.spotify.com/track/31aLqh…
You can also follow her on Instagram: @alexandra.rotmann or through her Youtube channel @AlexandraRotmann.
Thank you, Pianohaus Trübger for letting us conduct the interview at your beautiful, historic piano showroom.
Thank you, Clint Ashlock for providing the first question!
clintashlock.com
And thank you, Marc Emde, for the video recording!
dokumentar-film.com
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