Influences: BOY

Swiss-German duo speak to Clash...

Swiss-German pairing BOY won overwhelming acclaim with the release of their debut album.

Soothing of melody yet biting of lyric, their intelligent, well-crafted songwriting was matched to a real sense of energy.

Follow up LP 'We Were Here', then, arrives with no small degree of pressure attached. Out on March 11th, Clash recently teased the album by premiering a live version of fan favourite 'Flames'.

As a follow up, we spoke to BOY about some of the broader Influences that sit behind their sound.

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Suzanne Vega – 'Caramel'

Suzanne Vega has been one of the most inspiring singers and songwriters for me. As a teenager, I listened to her records all the time and was very intrigued by her pure and honest way of singing and telling stories.

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Phoenix – 'Lisztomania'

We both adore Phoenix. They have created such a unique style of intelligent pop music. This song is just bursting with positive energy and always makes me want to dance.

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Bon Iver – 'Blood Bank'

Our producer Philipp Steinke played this song to us eight years ago, on the evening we decided to work together. We hadn’t heard of Bon Iver before and for us it was one of the biggest musical revelations of the past years. We once saw them live at a festival in Switzerland and were completely blown away by their show, the songs and their way of playing them together. What a great band.

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Junip – 'Line Of Fire'

This song produces heat. We love how it starts so pure, so soft, and evolves into something so intense and powerful. It's really inspiring.

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New Found Land – 'Only My Winnings'

I don't know why and what it is but I (Sonja) just love this song. I was sitting in a bar drinking a lot of red wine when I heard it for the very first time. And I remember myself saying to the bartender: I want to marry this song. Maybe I was a little drunk but I never get tired listening to it.

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'We Were Here' will be released on March 11th.

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