Germany Germany is Drew Harris, an electronic artist based in Victoria, Canada.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. My name is Drew Harris. I live in Victoria on the west coast of Canada. I make music under the moniker Germany Germany, and my day job is working at Bandcamp as a software engineer.
How did your interest in music begin? I was in some pretty terrible emo bands as a melodramatic teenager. As I gradually matured into a slightly less melodramatic teenager, I became more interested in indie rock and electronic music. I played in a couple of bands in high school and started playing around with electronic production but really only started when I got to university. I have always loved music with a lot of feeling, and I’ve strived to do that in everything I make.
What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? In January I decided to form a band to play my music. The band grew from one-piece to two-piece to a full four-piece band—I play guitar, synth, and sing, and I’ve got some of my good friends playing guitar, bass and drums. It’s really been an awesome experience performing songs I wrote on my own with the creative influence of other people. Really enlightening. We just released an album together—a 10 song LP that has fairly minimal electronics—this is the indie rock record that I’ve been wanting to make since I was a teenager.
If you had to explain your music to a stranger, what would you say? Emotionally driven electronic indie pop music with a decreased emphasis on vocals. One of the hardest parts to explain is why I don’t have more lyrics in my songs—I grew up loving the instrumentation of music and never really thought that vocals were required to make a good, heartfelt song that feels good to listen to.
If you hadn’t become a musician, what do you think you’d be doing? Probably the same thing but with less interesting life opportunities. So many of the things that I’ve done in my life that I’m happy about have come from music in one way or another.
What kinds of music/what musicians are influencing your work right now? Phil Collins. He is such an inspiration to me. No Jacket Required is a flawless album, cover to cover. There’s also this great This American Life episode where the host interviews him about breakups, and it was so damn good. Phil Collins feels the same way that I do about stuff!
Do you get fan mail? What’s been the most exciting thing you have received from a fan? Sometimes I do, and it’s pretty neat. Always puts a smile on my face. I’ve received messages from people before about how my music has affected their life in a positive way. That is so cool.
What was the last show you went to that stuck out to you? I saw The Postal Service last year, and it was amazing. Dntel is a huge inspiration to me, and Give Up was the soundtrack of my growing up, so it was pretty fantastic. I am so glad that I got to see them on that tour.
What is your beverage of choice when recording? If it’s during the day, an espresso and a glass of carbonated water. If it’s at night, a strong west coast IPA.
What do you do when you’re not working on music? I make cool stuff at Bandcamp, I hike and ride my bicycle, and I try to be a skillful home barista. Coffee is one of my favourite things in the world.