No Angels
Is the new album an end instead of a comeback?
The No Angels are back with the album “20” after more than ten years.
© BMG / Ben Wolf
The No Angels album “20” gives well-known hits current sounds and surprises with new songs. Is it a graduation or a comeback?
For their anniversary album “20”, the No Angels dressed some of their old hits in new clothes. On June 4th, the cult band’s album will be released, which in addition to classics such as “Daylight in Your Eyes” and “Still in Love With You” has four new songs in its luggage. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Lucy Diakovska (45) and Jessica Wahls (44) explain how it was for the band members to record the songs separately from each other and why the end result is reminiscent of honey.
Before the anniversary, did you think about making music together again?
Jessica Wahls: Lucy and I kept talking about it. There was always this feeling that things had drifted apart so quickly without actually drawing a line. It always felt incomplete to me. This is a start now, but it can also be a conclusion. That rounds things off.
For you, is the new album an end instead of a comeback?
Wahls: Moses Pelham once said: “In the end everything is good and if it is not good, it is not the end.” That applies to the situation quite well. We didn’t come together to make music together again for years. We came together to celebrate 20 years of No Angels and to give something back to the fans. We want to be there again and maybe, if the pandemic allows, play a little concert. Be it a farewell concert or whatever, we don’t know exactly yet.
Why did you decide to re-record old songs for the anniversary album?
Lucy Diakovska: We want to celebrate the music. Because the No Angels are the four of us, but even more so are the songs. I think the songs were even more formative than we as personalities. For this reason, the album was created from these songs – and not as they once were, but as they are today. I think they will be received differently today. Not just from fans, but also from people who previously couldn’t do anything with us. They hear that now and think: Wow, is that a cool song! (laughs)
You have chosen these songs yourself. What did you base your decisions on?
Diakovska: We wanted to show songs in 2021 that really come from our early years. Our albums “Destiny” (2007) and “Welcome to the Dance” (2009) are conceptually still up to date. You can still hear them wonderfully. However, in the first three albums we had this 90s, early 2000s pop sound and it was important for us to transform that sound. So it was clear to us that the songs would come from the first three albums. And then we were totally in agreement, right?
Wahls: (laughs) Well. Of course we would have loved to do a lot more songs. We then started to listen to all the singles again and think about what our hearts are particularly attached to. Just like album tracks that are important to us and our fans. The selection was quickly clear, but unfortunately there was no room for all of your favorite songs.
You sang the recordings for “20” separately from each other in the studio. How was that for you?
Diakovska: That felt strange.
Wahls: Yes, that was strange. You got used to it over time because you knew the old songs. It was easier there. But with the new songs I missed some feedback every now and then. Otherwise you would support each other in the studio when you had a bad day. That was not possible this time.
How satisfied or surprised were you with the end result?
Wahls: It all worked out very, very well. When you listen to the album, it still feels like a unity. I think that’s totally crazy. I was blown away when I heard the album for the first time.
Diakovska: I was also excited. I don’t think any of us would have thought that one day we would do something like this. That we didn’t just produce a best-of album, we recorded one from scratch, retold it, and brought all the different years and producers into line. It sounds like honey! (laughs)