Recently I was able to catch up with a German quartet called Letters Sent Home to discuss their new LP, Forever Undone, that released today via SharpTone Records. The highly anticipated album features recently released singles, “Request Denied” and “Elements”, alongside nine ambitious and exciting new tracks. The band is comprised of singer Emily Paschke, bassist Lara Ripke, guitarist Robin Werner, and drummer Louis Schramm. In this interview, I asked the band about their excitement level with releasing their debut LP, their touring plans, and much more. Forever Undone can be purchased here.
Can you tell me what went into the writing process for your song “Hysteria”?
The inspiration for the instrumental for Hysteria was the song “Family” by Badflower. This song immediately caught our attention because of its song structure and verses that only contain vocals and drums. We loved how the verses focused solely on the gut wrenching lyrics. So, we drew from this idea and added our own twist to it. Lyrically, the song summarizes my thoughts on social media in the postmodern days. It shows the struggle to never be good enough in the age and eyes of social media and how even the slightest misstep can make you a villain.
What was it like filming the music video for this song as well?
It was a dream come true filming with the very talented Pavel Trebukhin (TRE FILM), who also filmed and directed the video for “I hope I die first.” We had a very clear vision of what we wanted the video to look like but we didn’t have the resources to implement that vision, so we had to compromise. We wanted it to be a witch hunt and although we changed the original story, we think the essence of it stayed and we are more than happy with what Pavel was able to achieve. We filmed this video after a long video shoot for “I hope I die first.” The day before, so we were all exhausted but we pulled through and finished earlier than expected. The feeling you get after the “It’s a wrap” is unbelievably satisfying haha.
Does your band have any plans to tour the States? If so, how do you plan to craft out the setlist for the upcoming tour?
Unfortunately, we have no plans to tour the States yet but this is something we are working very hard for to be able to do eventually. To be completely honest, we always put those songs on our setlists that are the most fun to play and those that we have learned the crowd always enjoy. For the upcoming shows we are changing our intro for the first time in two years which is really overdue.
Your debut album comes out this Friday, April 12th, called Forever Undone. What are your expectations for how the material will be received by fans both old and new? Also, what is the meaning behind the title of the LP?
We think that this album perfectly describes us as a band with all our personalities and influences. You will be able to find songs on the album that remind you of the old material but you will also find new vibes and styles that we wanted to try out. Old fans will be used to us experimenting and hopefully appreciate it and new fans will be surprised by the genre variety on the album but, we hope, in a good way. The album title Forever Undone basically means that we and the world are never complete. We don’t have a finish line we will run through. There is always something in us that is undone or broken that needs healing or evolution. You’ll find this theme in every song on the album. “Request Denied”, for example, deals with depression and how it never really just goes away, so I just deal with it. “I hope I die first” shows how a love story is forever undone and never a hundred percent perfect. The trauma and experiences that I deal with on this album broke something inside of me but it also made me who I am today and that will never change. Therefore, I am forever undone.
Every band has a story to tell with their music. What do you hope people will take away most when they listen to Letters Sent Home?
We are so vulnerable with this album, we hope to inspire people to do the same. To be in touch with your own emotions. To never be ashamed of your experiences or even trauma and to always keep going. We sincerely hope that the insights on my life are relatable for some people, who then feel less alone. In general, we simply want to make people feel.