Welcome to the ‘Gritty Artist of the Week,’ where we bring you the next-gen up-and-coming musicians that DON’T sound like garbage and ones you should be tuning into each week, sharing with people at next year’s summer event and this year’s holiday parties. This week we found German pop-artist, Katharina Boger.
Today, “anyone” can be a music artist—but not everyone is recognized as a ‘musician.’ With mainstream media today, it’s difficult to discern quality from just straight up garbage music that has somehow made it to the radio. I don’t care what anyone says, but songs where an artist just “talks,” instead of testing the limits of their vocals—garbage.
But not Boger. With her, you’re entering into a dimension of fire, fiery, passion, and love.
SPOTLIGHT: Katharina Boger
Boger, a German pop-artist, recently released her brand new single, “Have It,” and her summer EP, “Angels & Devils.”
With over 160K followers on Instagram, Boger’s fans can definitely feel the power of heaven and hell in this work of art. I’m not talking angels and devils in the traditional sense…I’m talking fire and fiery in combination with a hard-working, passionate musician.
Born in Ksyl-Orda, Kazakhstan, Boger has been in love with music since the beginning. By the age of four, she and her family moved to Leipzig, Germany where she grew up bilingual in Russian and German.
After graduating university, Boger attended Johann Sebastian Bach School of Music where she learned to play the piano and began writing her first songs. After several demo tape recordings in Leipzig, Hamburg and Osnabrück, she went to London to produce some of her songs professionally.
In 2017, Boger released her first EP “Bad Girl,” and decided to relocate to Los Angeles, California, where she started working with music producer and singer/songwriter, Nicholas J. Turpin, known for his ongoing work with Justin Bieber and David Guetta.
We spoke with Boger and wanted to know where she found her grit.
Grit Daily: How did you get started with music?
Katharina Boger: Ever since I can remember I have loved music. I already loved singing and performing in front of my parents when I was a young kid. I never took it to the “professional level” because we my family and I had a lot of movements—from Kazakhstan to Germany. So, the extent of my music was done at school as part of the choir.
GD: When did you start to focus on the “professional” journey of your career?
KB: Of course, when I became independent. I began learning how to play the piano, took vocal and musical theory lessons at the pop academy in my hometown of Leipzig. From there, I couldn’t stop. I began writing songs and tried to connect more with my audience.
Branded By ‘Heaven & Hell’
For those reading this piece, you know Grit Daily is all about “branding.” The power of branding is what is transforming the music industry into an entirely new beast of writing, recording, production, and distribution.
GD: Share with your audience, the importance of your brand and how it falls in line with your music.
KB: I write and perform music that involves experiences I’ve had, or how I view and perceive the world around me. Mostly my lyrics deal with women-empowerment and with my feelings when it comes to love or when love failed—how I felt in these situations and how I handled them. But with this, I also try to break with some stereotypes, like I did with my newest song, “Have It”.
This translates over and falls true with my latest EP “Angels & Devils.” On one hand, I’m the cute girl—but when you get to know me, you learn what it means to play with fire. I’m the girl with both the “angel” and “devil” on her shoulders, who fight with one another on how I should handle and react to situations before me.
It’s like you know that you have exams next day, you should learn and stay focused but your little devil tells you about a party where you could meet your secret crush and you go for it!
“I Never Told You, You Can Have It”
GD: You just released your newest single, “Have It”—what can you tell us about it?
KB: “Have It” deals with the breaking-with-stereotypes-thing. It’s about a girl who just wants to have some fun with a boy, without thinking too far. But the boy gets more and more clingy. So, she tells him “I never told you, you can have it”.
This song is written with a little wink to show that it’s not just the boys who have the power to decide whether the relationship is just for a “good time” or more meaningful and a “serious relationship.” Have It” should motivate girls to realize that they can take their time to prove to themselves, whether that boy is just “cute” or a real “love” interest.
It’s a constant reminder that as a girl or woman, we don’t need a boy (or man) to feel strong and confident—but when we do, it’s an unconditional love.
GD: You released your first EP “Angels & Devils,” earlier this summer. How did you come up with the name?
KB: My most recent EP is called ‘Angels & Devils!’ I chose this name because it shows my character in the best way, I feel I can present it. On one hand, I can be a bit sensitive and hopeful in ways to be loved and to give love back—but on the other hand, I’m the fighter who never gives up if something isn’t working out. Like those miracles we each believe in, I try to find a new way to perceive that scenario. I’m not scared of going through hell to get what I think I deserve! So, I think at the end of the day, I have a mix of a ‘sassy fighting’ personality and this soft, cute girl who doesn’t want to hurt anybody.
GD: What do you want first-time listeners and fans to take away from your EP?
KB: With “Angels & Devils,” I’m trying to introduce people to the things I will bring up more and more! In the broadest sense, all my upcoming songs will deal with the “Angels & Devils” theme.
Some of my songs will show my sensitive, cute angelic side that’s inside of me—but in other songs, I’m going to be showing that fighting, sassy little devil, which I am when I want to achieve my goals.
I think listeners will resonate with this album because we each struggle with the “angel” and “devil” within ourselves. Many people try to be nice as a human being and want to help one another—but we also end up in crazy situations and respond weirdly.
GD: What’s your favorite recording off the EP and why?
KB: My favorite one has to be “Single,” because I love the beat and the phrase—“Tonight I’m Single!”
I think individuals can have a lot of fun with this song, and play around with the words, because it can be interpreted in so many different ways. On one side, someone is single and waiting to get to know a person—or someone chose to be single only for a night, enjoying life, and maybe doesn’t view it as cheating. I love the twist!
In The Studio
GD: What’s an average day like in studio for you?
KB: It’s always a bit different. Sometimes I come up with a topic I want to write about—sometimes it’s simply an idea for a hook line, or sometimes just with a cool melody or styles of music I want to play with. Once I have an idea of where I want to take it, my producer and I start to brainstorm, and we go from there.
I always write ideas for new songs down in my phone, so when I’m working on a new song in studio, I refer to those notes and figure out how I want to structure the song—what do I want to talk about? How did I feel that day when I wrote that note? What’s the feeling of the beat for this recording?
Creating music can be very seductive at times, where I sometimes need to calm myself down and not put my entire life into one song and risk the possibility of confusing or overwhelming listeners.
GD: What’s your routine when you sit down to write?
KB: Usually, I start every session with a large cup of cappuccino. I really should stop doing that because I’m even hyper without it! Ha!
Anyway, as I’m drinking coffee, I’m listening to hundreds of songs and playing around with some melodies that I feel would be a fit over the lyrics I’m referring back to in my phone. Some melody pieces work out perfectly with lines I’ve collected in my lyrics folder, and slowly, step-by-step, a new song comes to life.
GD: What’s your favorite music platform and why?
KB: YouTube is my favorite platform because I love to see people when they perform live. But I also like Spotify because I can put music on a playlist and listen to it while I work out!
GD: Where can listeners find your music?
KB: My music is available in any online stores where you can find music such as iTunes, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and many more outlets.
