Germano
Brazilian pop artist Germano has released his new single "Cool".
The self-written single was inspired by his friends and the city of Los Angeles.
"You might not realize at first that the lyrics are about escapism and depressive self-destructive behavior because they're disguised as pop melodies. And the same concept applies to the music video where my friends and I are (literally) killing each other while I'm wearing some dope outfits, so it's cool,” expresses Germano.
The new single follows the debut single "Lost Crowd" released last year.
Exploring topics such as mental health and growing pains, the LA-based artist will be releasing his debut EP The Lost Crowd this Summer.
“Cool” is now available on major streaming platforms.
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I was born and raised in Brazil until I moved to Los Angeles at 15. At 6 I learned how to play the piano by ear and soon after started writing songs. While I continued to develop my songwriting skills I began posting covers of pop songs online a few years ago. That was until I started writing this EP, The Lost Crowd and realized that those songs were worth putting out and that I should focus on that.
You've just released your new single "Cool" - what's the inspiration behind this song?
Much like the rest of the EP, “Cool” was inspired by my friends and the city of Los Angeles. I just observed how everyone around me in this city acted a certain way, it’s quite a unique place to grow up and become an adult.
Who helped you create this particular song? When did you start working on this song?
I wrote the song by myself back in 2017, but it wasn’t until a few months ago that I recorded the demo and connected with a producer on SoundBetter who helped me finish it.
What did you feel when writing this song?
I wrote “Cool” at a time in my life when I was feeling really sad and so were my friends, and we were stuck on a cycle of trying to numb that feeling by doing things that would give us a rush of excitement – sweeping it under the rug.
What can you tell us about the music video?
The music video is sort of a continuation of my last video for “Lost Crowd” but this one has more of a narrative. The song is about self-destructive behavior, not just mine but my friends’ too. And one way to look at it is as we’re slowly killing ourselves and killing each other by engaging in that behavior, which the music video depicts in a literal way.
What made you want to release "Cool" as a single?
I didn’t plan on releasing Cool as a single until revisited it at one point last year and started having ideas for a music video. In my mind, the concept of the music video gave the song a new meaning or simply a new way to listen to it, which got me excited to put it out.
What is your goal for this new single?
I hope that people connect to it and maybe they’ll realize that they’re doing the same things I was doing when I wrote the song, and rethink their actions. Sometimes you don’t realize what you’re doing. Everyone engages in self-destructive behavior and thoughts in one way or another, it’s like that phrase “We are our own worst enemies.”
You have an EP coming out this summer called The Lost Crowd. How would you describe this project?
I think the EP is really honest and raw because I didn’t have the intention of putting any music out while I was writing it. I wrote it between 2017 and 2018 when I was going through a weird phase of finding myself as a person and young adult, so this EP captures that part of my life and what I was feeling in a very unpretentious way.
What does it mean for you to be an artist?
Creating music and art, in general, is a need for me. I found so much of myself through acting and going to theater school. The same way I learn so much about how I’m truly feeling at the moment from writing a song. My writing process is very subconscious and sometimes I don’t understand what I just wrote until months later. So being an artist is basically how I understand myself and my brain.
What's the hardest part about being an artist? And what is the best part?
The hardest part of being an independent artist is sometimes not having enough resources to produce the work that you want and the best part is finding other ways to do that and discovering something new and exciting that you wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.
What biggest lesson have you learned since the beginning of your career?
To appreciate every stage you’re in. Sometimes I get impatient and want things to move faster but I believe there’s a reason why I am where I am at the moment. As time goes by, I am more and more grateful that I didn’t get “discovered” and signed when I was 18 like I wished back then… It would’ve been a disaster, I wasn’t ready at all and didn’t really know who I was or what I wanted to be as an artist.
What advice would you give to anyone suffering from depression and anxiety?
What I do when I’m feeling overly anxious is try and step out of the situation and see if it actually requires so much concern and energy… Most of the time it doesn’t. Sometimes I get so fixated with one specific idea and sometimes, when it doesn’t go my way, I panic. So I’ll take a step back and take my time accepting that things won’t always go my way, and everything will be fine in the end and I’ll find another way. Also, going to the movies or any type of entertainment helps take my mind off things when I need to.
What are your thoughts on today's current fight against racism and the Black Lives Matter movement?
I think it’s a beautiful thing that people are coming together to demand justice, and it’s infuriating the fact that racism is still so present in the world. What I truly hope is that we as a society stay fighting even when media coverage dies down.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
I believe change starts from looking in and recognizing when you’re wrong and what you can change in yourself to evolve as a human being… We live in a very ego-driven world, and ego is the root of a lot of the issues we have right now, so I think putting it aside and looking in is a step towards becoming a better person, which would consequently lead to a better world.
What message do you want to give to the world?
I hope I can bring a message of inclusivity with this EP. I have a song on it that is about feeling like an outcast and in some ways, I still feel like I don’t fit in… But as I grew up I realized that owning everything that makes me different is what sets me apart as a person and as an artist, so I hope I can make other people feel good about themselves.
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