I didn’t wanna write songs, but rather create sound collages with text fragments, pieces drawn up from dreams, from places deep inside of me, and from beautiful or strange encounters with people. Somehow, I ended up making songs. ‘Ten Easy Pieces’, my eighth Mobile Ethnic Minority Soloalbum. Despite of the titel, those pieces might not be the perfect soundtrack for a nice walk in the park on a sunny afternoon, but rather a trip into the wild, exploring the jungle of our desires, passions, fears, doubts, mistakes, aberrations. I wrote the lyrics like a diary, without even listening to the music. Only later, word by word found it’s way into the tracks, an invisible hand being my co-author. All the songs evolved from improv, decorated and enhanced as open and dynamic as possible. Electric guitars, soundscapes, an acoustic guitar here and there, a heavily distorted chord breaking in, drums produced by pounding the lower strings, silence, a gentle, ambient-like pulse, room to breathe… In the center of the picture, my vocals. The lyrics are pretty upfront and explicit, yet quite baffling and head-scratching at times, even to me. I like that contrast, and I like melancholy. Sometimes a harmony or a little choir is added. ‘Ten Easy Pieces’ took nine months to make. My goal wasn’t to create perfect harmony or beauty, but rather an atmosphere of vibrancy and honesty – including chance, flaw, and mistake. That’s why there is rumble, noise and buzz all over the place – just like in real life.

– Mario Knapp