Interview: Lost In Majority

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? 

All of us have had a deep connection to music for most of our lives. We all started playing instruments at a relatively young age and felt the need for artistic expression. If we would not have gotten into music, some of us might have taken on a different artform like theater or movies.

What do you like to do when you‘re not playing music and how does that influence your creativity? 

I don’t really understand the question. When I'm not playing an instrument, I'm tapping some rhythms or thinking of some melodies. Music is somehow always there. Ok, sometimes we sleep. Not sure if all our dreams are about music too ;)

How long has your band been around? 

We had our first jam sessions back in 2002, but it was a year later when we finally entered a rehearsal room as a band. Back then, we were bloody beginners. Some of us had just started to learn the instrument they would later play in the band. Herb, who until then had only created electronic music, had some mad skills on the piano, but wanted to develop himself towards the guitar. Gerald, who could actually play the guitar, wanted to concentrate more on the vocals. It took some time until we found ourselves as a band. But it was a good mix of a lot of fun and hard work. 

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music? 

Lost in Majority is based near Vienna, the capital of Austria. 

Austria is very famous for its music. It is therefore no surprise that the Austrian music scene is very alive. There is also something like an Austrian kind of Pop/Rock/Alternative. But it is not really what we do. I suspect that the history of Austria, our political heritage and of course our political situation right now is influencing our music. 

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you. 

In the beginning, we wanted to make every decision unanimously. Anyone could veto any proposal. We always had majorities, but most of the time we did not reach any decision. We do not remember how many proposals for a band name we had, but there was always someone who vetoed them. Finally, we reached the point where we were pretty frustrated and lost in (the) majority.

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played. 

A badly played gig is always an opportunity to improve. Sure- we had lousy gigs when the club's backline didn't function, three strings snapped and the singer hurt his ankle but you know what? "The master failed more times than the beginner ever tried." and there's truth in that.

Our best show?

The next one!

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already? 

We enjoy playing in Vienna's clubs nowadays. We aren't able to tell you the one venue here that stands out.

We would like to enter bigger and bigger stages. Right now we're in the middle of negotiations for summer festivals in Austria.

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket? 

Freddy Mercury on Vocals, The Edge on the guitar, Flea on the bass and of course Lars Ulrich on drums. That is a show we would like to watch and be part of.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band? 

Make sure, everyone is on the same page regarding the goals of the band. Is it just a hobby project or are you more ambitious. How much time investment is possible and required. And of course, make sure that everyone shares and is on board with the artistic direction of the band.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be? 

You are young, you fool. Use your time for something useful, like practising your instrument. You will thank me later. Also, invest in Bitcoin and Apple.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? 

Definitely „Stranger“. When, at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, the 2 year old Alan Kurdi was washed up on the beach, it hit me hard. I had to process this in a song for myself. So I wrote Stranger. It's about a person who wanders along the beach and then finds the child lying on the beach and asks himself in an inner monologue what the reason for the escape was and what the story of that kid was.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most? 

Stranger is also a favorite fort he band to play, because of the songs tonal diversity. It can be quiet, brutal and ethereal. The most requested song is also our oldest one: Losing a Friend. 

This is funny because this song was written by herb at a time when he could not even play the guitar. But as it happens to be some of our longest standing fans love this one and therefore we just have to play it. 

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music? 

Most of our songs are written by Herbert, he normally is the one with the initial genius spark. But once a songidea is presented to rest of the guys they all contribute to our work.

If you pay attention to our lyrics, you know, that we care a lot about what is going on all around us these days. Sometimes we get asked why we do not make happy songs. Of course, cheerful songs have their justification, but if we have the opportunity to say something, then we also want it to have meaning. In our songs we try to figure out who we as humans are and in what kind of world we are living in. In recent years, the impression is growing that humanity is reaching its limits. We want to help create awareness within the scope of our possibilities. So we hope, that our listeners also pay attention to what we want to say.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music? 

Our lyrics often address depressing topics like politics, problems in our society, climate change and so on. We try to point out things that are going wrong in the world and hope to inspire some of our listeners to also think about these issues critically. It is depressing, we know, but we are at the point, where our choices are: some pain and depression now or a lot more in a few decades.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them? 

Of course there are disagreements. This is somewhat inevitable when you bring together a group of five musicians, each one with his own individual ideas. You get past them by talking and discussing calmly and finally deciding on a way forward, which is good for everyone. If you cannot compromise, do a solo project.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?

The next big event is our concert on May 15th in the Aera club in Vienna. Recording our latest EP, “the age of lies” has been rewarding but also a lot of work and we are looking forward to just rehearsing for a while and writing some new songs in the process.