Interview: Mellowdeath
We wrote a lot of these songs over the pandemic, also amidst all sorts of ailments and misadventures. It was a piecemeal and moody process.
Mellowdeath have recently brought out their self-titled debut album and it sees the German instrumental nightmare jazz duo of Sara Neidorf (drums) and Isabel Merten (bass, xylosynths)
explore a whole host of soundscapes on a grand cinematic scale, with the results being a continuous dizzying high. Gavin Brown caught up with Sara to hear all about the album, its creation and influences as well as what they have planned for 2026.
E&D: Your self-titled debut album has just been released, have you been happy with the reaction it has had so far?
Sara: Dave from Earsplit PR has been super helpful in spreading the word, and I’m glad that Steve from Cruel Nature Records took an interest and wanted to to put it out on cassette. Also our booking has picked up a bit in January and February, including a spot opening for Lydia Lunch, which will hopefully lead to even more momentum. We’re a band that sometimes goes on long hiatuses since we’re living on opposite ends of Germany, so it’s good to have a little kick.
E&D: How did the creation of the record go?
Sara: We wrote a lot of these songs over the pandemic, also amidst all sorts of ailments and misadventures. It was a piecemeal and moody process. We started the recording process when Isabel and I laid down bass and drum tracks with Jan Oberg at Hidden Planet Studios in Berlin in late 2021. Over the next two years we collected tracks from guest musicians near and far, who recorded their parts on their own. In 2024, Steve Roche began mixing everything in Philly. It was a long process, and many of the songs have been in our live repertoire already since like 2019, but in any case it feels good to finally have them all together and out in the world.
E&D: What have been the biggest influences on the sound of the record?
Sara: It’s very hard to say, since I think we all listen to such different things and have different experiences with different media, such as cinema, theatre, film scores/soundtracks, and even dance and performance art. I think it all informs the sound, as well as more literal sound influences like, Isabel’s pedal arrangement, and sometimes even the sound of the drums I’m playing on, since we often meet in different spaces with different drum sets that have different tunings (some kinda dead and deep, some jazzy and high pitched).
E&D: Do you feel that the equal parts menace and mischief of music really come out on the album?
Sara: That’s up to the listener!
E&D: Can you tell us about the guest musicians that feature on the album?
Sara: As for the guitarists, both of whom are badass, idiosyncratic musicians, I’ve been working with Matt Hollenberg in Sarattma for well over a decade, and I work with Marco Bianciardi in Soporose. I knew that their particular playing styles would fit well with Mellowdeath’s sound. Hekla Magnusdottir is an amazing theremin player who’s based in Iceland now. We collaborated briefly when she lived in Berlin, and it was like a dream. I really wish she could be a permanent third member. Rachel Glassberg plays in a handful of different bands in Berlin. I saw her perform with Point No Point when we played a show together and I knew her whacky and playful approach would add a ton to our sound. We also did an extended recording with her for Dresden’s Proberaum Sessions, which I’m super happy to have, and can be found on youtube. Now she has tinnitus so we sadly don’t do live shows together anymore. Jackie Perez Gratz is someone I’ve been a huge fan of since my teen years, listening extensively to Grayceon and Giant Squid. Her work is pretty unfortunately underrepresented on the song ‘Omacore’, because of some tough editing choices (which we didn’t totally see eye to eye on, but those are the tribulations of collaboration and compromise!). There’s an alternative version under our ‘Demon Slither’ (plus bonus tracks) single on Bandcamp, which you can listen to if you want to hear her unedited, full-length cello track. You can also hear Matt’s full guitar solos on ‘Atemlos’, as one of these bonus tracks.) It’s imaginative and oblong and adds another dimension to the song. And finally, Florian Juncker is a really killer trombone player who I ran into at an improv gig.
E&D: Can you tell us about the Bare Bones version of the album?
Sara: Still waiting on Isabel to do her own mix of the tracks. It’s a more honest representation of our sound, since we primarily exist as a duo. I think it can be conducive to a somewhat more focussed listening experience. It’s a different animal.
E&D: How much of an influence are horror movies on your music?
Sara: Well, I consume them all day since I’m the curator of a women-in-horror film festival.(https://finalgirlsberlin.com if you wanna know more). The rhythm, the pacing, the ebb and flow of moods and atmospheres, the drama… I think it finds its way into the music in a lot of ways I may not be aware of.
E&D: Regarding your album release show, will you be playing the album in full at the show?
Sara: Yes, we did a full run through of the album. A couple days later we played a separate show in which we played all new and old songs. It was fun to run through the whole back- and forward-leaning catalogue. It feels like we’re ready for a new chapter now.
E&D: Does improvisation play a big part in your live sets?
Sara: Always. We’re both always surprising each other.
E&D: Have you got more live shows planned for 2026?
Sara: Yes, we’re doing a live score of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at a show that’s organised by the Aesthetics Department of University of Bielefeld, at Wissenswerkstadt, January 31st. I’m super excited for that one. We’re also going to open for Lydia Lunch on February 8th at Neue Zukunft in Berlin. I’m hoping to continue to do more live scoring gigs and small cinemas around Germany, and hopefully elsewhere.
E&D: How did Mellowdeath start as a band?
Sara: I pursued Isabel, hardcore, after seeing her play a show with her duo No Chronicles in like 2015. It took well over a year before we actually got together to rehearse, but once we started, it was pretty electrifying and I knew we had something durable and worth fighting for.
E&D: Have any of your other musical projects got things coming up as well?
Sara: Sarattma will release a new album in 2026. Mad Kate & The Tide released an album this past October, which I hope we will tour around a bit. I’ll do some more improv gigs with Han-earl Park too, who’s a very adventurous player. As for Isabel, she’s got some gigs with No Chronicles and The Schnur in the new year as well. Thanks for your interest in the album.
