Fantasy: Christmas decorations will not take place until December

As far as the Christmas season is concerned, fantasy have their principles: the house is not decorated before the 1st Advent, reveals the Schlager duo.

Six years after the last Christmas album "Christmas with Fantasy", the Schlager duo Fantasy is back with new songs for the holidays. Fredi Malinowski (49) and Martin Hein (49) will release the new long player "White Christmas with Fantasy" on November 20th. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, the two singers revealed how fantasy is preparing for the festival of love, whether it is baked and decorated and what they want from politics in the corona crisis.

Her album is called "White Christmas with Fantasy". Are you hoping that there could be snow this Christmas?

Fredi Malinowski: Yes! Sure, that would be great! Christmas in the snow would be great, but three days of snow are enough for me. I would like it to snow only on December 24th and on the holidays, after that it should be warmer again.

Martin Hein: I definitely hope that it will snow this year. Unfortunately, if you look at the past few years, it is unlikely. But maybe I'll be lucky, because I'll be spending Christmas in Austria in the mountains this year, I'm really looking forward to that.

Your fans have long wanted a new Christmas album from you. Why was the time now for it?

Malinowski: With the lockdown, we simply had more time this year to concentrate on songwriting and arranging. We used the time and since we knew that our fans had been wanting a new DVD for a long time, we thought a Christmas album would be great for that. Super nice Christmas videos were made. We hope that our fans will be happy about it, especially now that you are at home a lot, a DVD evening with fantasy is a great thing in the Advent season.

"Last Christmas" is probably one of the most hated and most loved Christmas hits at the same time. Why did you want to publish a German version of it?

Malinowski: We really wanted to know what the song sounds like in the fantasy sound. We love the song and it was a great pleasure for us to record the track with German lyrics.

Hein: For me the song belongs to Christmas like a Christmas tree to Christmas! I've always wanted to record a German version of it, finally the time has come.

"In the Christmas Bakery" can also be found on the album. Do you also bake yourself?

Malinowski: If you have to. (laughs) To be honest, I like to bake cakes every now and then, but not cookies. At home in Croatia we have such a great baker just around the corner, so I prefer to buy the cookies there.

Hein: No, my biggest hobby is cooking, which I do almost every day. Unfortunately, I have no idea about baking.

When do you start preparing for Christmas? Are you decorating your home?

Malinowski: Yes, we will decorate the house, but only from the beginning of December, before that I find it too early.

Hein: Basically I have decided that I will always put up the decorations on the 1st of Advent. I'm not a fan of eating gingerbread hearts at the end of August.

How do you spend the time now in November? What do you especially miss when you are away from the stage?

Malinowski: First and foremost, we're looking forward to the release of our Christmas album on November 20th. We are currently on a promotion tour, which is not that easy this year either. Unfortunately, we cannot visit editorial offices or radio stations, but rather only give telephone interviews. Our fans are so close to us, I miss them very much. Therefore we are currently using the time to plan our tour in the hope that it can take place next year.

Hein: Of course we want to show everyone our new Christmas songs. It's a shame that we can't meet any fans at the moment. In addition to our fans, I generally miss the social contacts. I would love to go out with friends again.

The music industry in particular suffers from the partial lockdown in November. What do you want from politics?

Malinowski: All artists want to be able to resume their work. I would like faster help for all those affected, the people have no income since March and now Christmas is just around the corner. Politicians should see as quickly as possible that the cultural sector needs quick and unbureaucratic financial help.

Hein: A little more support, especially for young artists.