THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Frau Knotz

We have to hand it to Lauren Nottingham from New Plymouth, when she adopts her Frau Knotz electronica persona something special happens. Her songs can be lush but refined, cleverly 3D in production and her voice has a mysterious quality while still being along the axis of pop, yet almost alluringly operatic.

Her debut EP Nextraterrestrial is just one aspect of a multi-media project with animated videos which are woven together as a film (by graphic designer Halfofnothing and which suggests some transcendent future.

Recorded at home – we must assume some real smarts at work along with the equipment – the EP announces the arrival of someone worth discovering.

Let's let Frau Knotz speak for herself, her background and ambition explains a lot.

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Where did you grow up, and with who?

I was born and raised in New Plymouth with my mum, dad and younger sister Bianca.

Was music an important part of your childhood?

My nana always said at 2 years old I would point at the car radio and make noises hinting I’d like the music on, as soon as it came on I’d be singing away! I started piano lessons at 8 years old, joined the school choir at 13 which led me to a spot in the NZ Secondary Students’ Choir and NZ Youth Choir, up until I was 26. 

What are your earliest childhood memories of music which really affected you . . . 

My parents had a cassette collection that I’d always be playing on the home stereo. My top 4 tapes were from Jimmy Somerville, Madonna, KLF and The Police.

Was there a time when you felt it was going to be music and nothing else?

Absolutely. When I was 17 in my final year of high school, me and 3 boys (including Sam Thomson from Drax Project) decided to form a Jazz quartet and compete in the NZ School of Music Jazz Festival. It was the very first one of its kind, organised by Rodger Fox, bless his soul.

After months of weekly practices, we drove down there, performed and won first place for Best Jazz Combo and I won Best Jazz Vocalist of the competition. I had decided I was going to study Jazz at the New Zealand School of Music. Us kids from little old New Plymouth couldn’t believe the news, especially since we were up against all the big city schools.

That sealed the deal for me, I knew music was my only path forward and the rest of the school year was a waiting game to leave…. Put it this way, when I got sent out of Maths class for being disruptive, I didn’t wait outside to get told off, I made a beeline for the music rooms to practice piano and find my happy place.

When you started on your music career were people around you supportive or did you have to find those people?

Luckily I always had my parents show up to all my gigs and if they couldn’t they would text me good luck. They still do that, even though they’re not musical themselves. I have lots of lovely people in New Plymouth supporting me, and friends from afar, however it has been a graft to get industry support not being from a main centre. Slowly but surely I have found wonderful mentors and show hosts from Student Radio Network stations that I have developed connections with :) 

The first song of yours which you really felt proud of was . . .? And why that one?

I think the first song I ever released was the one I’m still most proud of. It’s called ‘Supernova’. I still remember the buzz that I got, putting a song out into the world for the first time. It was so much fun shooting my first music video, working on logos and fonts and merchandise with my sister after hours

My sister Bianca has been a huge part of my team from the beginning, always working behind the scenes. I felt so proud to finally start releasing music and it’s been non-stop ever since…. time to make some more music!

Any one person you'd call a mentor, angel on your shoulder or invaluable fellow traveller?

Joost Langeveld from Bigpop Studios has been my music industry mentor ever since I began the journey of releasing my debut EP, ‘Nextraterrestrial’. There have been countless Zoom sessions and phonecalls and his advice has really helped me on my way.

I met Joost because I’m a member of the Music Managers’ Forum (MMF) and reached out to him for a mentoring session from there. He just kept offering to mentor me ever since! I am lucky to have Bigpop distributing my music now so I am working closely with another member of his team, Helena Bakker (Jujulipps’ manager!)

Where and when was the first time you went on stage as a paid performer?

I performed a Jazz standard at New Plymouth’s big Christmas show at the Bowl of Brooklands (called Christmas At The Bowl) when I was 19 with my friend Daniel Hayles. We performed a rendition of ‘Come Fly With Me’ to 12,000 people and got paid.

Daniel had to write out my scat solo for me because I’d just finished first year at Jazz School and still sucked at improvising!

As a songwriter, do you carry a notebook or have a phone right there constantly to grab ideas they come? Or is your method something different?

I never get song ideas ‘on the fly’. When writing songs I have to sit down and actually be ‘in the zone’ with my studio set up, Logic Pro open on my laptop, or sitting at the piano mucking around with chord progressions

Poems flow through me sometimes so I definitely write them down in a notebook, the last one I wrote was when I was parked up in my car.

What unfashionable album do you love as a guilty pleasure?

I own the cassingle of ‘So Hard’ by the Pet Shop boys. It’s probably one of my most prized possessions. My bandmate was having a clean-out of his house and found that cassingle and gave it to me, because he knew I loved them and all of their songs, they never get old!!

Any piece of advice you were given which you look back on which really meant something?

When I first started releasing music I would get caught up worrying if it will be a ‘success’, i.e. how many streams, video plays, airplay on radio it would get etc. Then my studio engineer Sam Johnson told me ‘You have already succeeded. You have made art’.

Another one was from an MMF online seminar with Georgia Lines and her manager Mikee Carpenter. They both said ‘you can only control what you can control’ and ‘enjoy the journey’. Because this industry is so tough, you will get chewed up and spat out if your head isn’t in the right space.

I have completely re-assessed my priorities and my ideas of ‘success’ due to those nuggets of wisdom.

It's after a performance/concert and you are in a hotel room or back at home, what happens then?

I boil the jug, put my pyjamas on and drink a rooibos tea with milk on the couch, basking in the silence and reflecting on an exciting performance!

And finally, where to from here for you do you think?

I’m really excited to take a breather now and make new music without any pressure. The process of releasing an EP has given me confidence to continue because of all the things I have learnt along the way.

However, I am an artist that has a slow output compared to others, and I want to work on feeling okay with that, without letting the pressure get to me of an industry that is always wanting something new.

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You can hear and buy Frau Knotz music at bandcamp here

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