Get moving!

Lin Baker

"I move you, you move me", sings Lin Baker from the bottom of her heart into the living room atmosphere of the Atomino. Songs full of love, hope and longing fill the cosy club, which likes to bring great discoveries onto the stage and in which Lin Baker, real name Linda Backhaus, feels extremely comfortable. With her three band members, she starts the Friday evening with a powerful voice. Chemnitz women from the Dieda network, to which Lin Baker also belongs, call the shots on stage. We spoke to her about her music, female friendships and our city.

You are also starting the new year with a new EP. How long did you work on this project?
Lin Baker: It's the first EP from Lin Baker and The! We've been around since 2013 and have been working on the TP for a year. Recording an EP was the next logical step after jamming and writing a lot of songs together.

What can we expect from the EP "Cigarettes & Whisky"?
The EP contains a small selection of songs that have been written since the band was founded. And if anyone needs a pigeonhole for the style of music, then we offer acoustic soul. You can buy the EP now at our concerts, at Haamit, at Emmas Onkel or directly via our Facebook page.

Did you write all the songs yourselves?
Yes, of course! I write the lyrics, both in English and German, and create the melodies. Our guitarist provides the musical foundations and harmonies. Drums and bass come out of that. In the beginning I only wrote in English, but it has developed more and more into German lyrics.

Has it always been a dream of yours to make music?
I just realised early on that I had this voice. I was inspired by Whitney Houston back then and her way of singing also influenced me. Of course I was searching - with the feeling that I wanted to do something with my voice. I started with rap and it was a lot of fun under the Flowmaniacs format. Later on, my interest in singing grew, so I ended up devoting myself 100% to my singing voice. With my current band, I have found instrumental support for this.

With Lin Baker an The!, Linda is naturally in the spotlight as the front woman. She realised early on that she belonged there. Ten years ago, she founded the band project "Juicy Chunks". Her first CD recordings and her own party series followed. Since 2009, the native of Karl-Marx-Stadt has been travelling solo and involved in various projects. She works full-time as a carer for unaccompanied, underage refugees - anything but a quiet job. But she doesn't make a big deal about that either. What's important to her is that she enjoys what she does. With the band Lin Baker an The! she has gathered friends around her. Richard Ungethüm, the band's guitarist, sets her self-written lyrics to music. Bassist Robert Peter Meyer and drummer Adrian Wehner complete the quartet.

How much of your singing is a head thing and how much is a gut thing?
I've taught myself a lot, so I trust my instincts. Especially when it comes to singing, expressing emotions is more important to me than sophisticated technique. I also took singing lessons twice, each time for over a year, to learn the basics. Once the vocal foundations had been laid, I stopped taking singing lessons so that I could leave the singing to my gut feeling and not just my head.

You are a member of the Dieda network. On Friday you had a big concert together at Atomino. How did you join the network?
Christin Busch and Lisa Haupt had the idea of setting up a joint network and there was no question that I would be part of it. For me as an artist, it's reassuring to know that people, in this case real friends, are working in the background whom you can trust and who organise the framework professionally. As a free spirit, I can work on the music in a completely different way.

Nine women from Chemnitz have joined forces under Dieda. They sing, DJ, take photographs, run a tattoo studio and organise theatre projects. Christin Busch, who stands at the turntables as DJ Cath Boo, is a close friend of Linda's and holds the strings together: "I always get annoyed when women make themselves smaller than they are. As nice as modesty is, we want to support strong women in Chemnitz with Dieda. Marketing is incredibly important if you don't want to sell yourself short. We also want to share our knowledge and support other women and friends on their journey."

Where do you see the benefits of such a network?
Right now: Christin designed the cover for the EP. It was printed in the Haamit Papiterie on the Kaßberg. You can organise a lot of things together on site.

To what extent does the city influence you when making music?
It's simply the centre of my life. Of course, I could have gone to Berlin. But why? There are short distances here, it's very familiar. I have close and long-lasting friendships here. And the people with whom I was able to form a band are here.

What do you like about the city?
It suits me here. Many people know me from the bar. I've already worked in a few clubs. I'm just happy when I see familiar faces at the bar again. You always bump into someone you know here. That probably wouldn't be possible to the same extent in a larger city. When I want to be on my own, I like to take a trip to Leipzig, Hamburg or Berlin to clear my head.

What are good places for concerts?
The usual ones: Atomino, Weltecho, Sanistelle, aaltra, Lokomov. But we also like travelling to other cities for a concert. And in summer we like to go to various festivals.

Do you have a favourite place?
What I really appreciate, not least because of my dog, is that you can get from the city to the countryside very quickly. I live in Brühl and like to cycle along the Chemnitz Valley cycle path along the Chemnitz river until I see nothing but meadows and greenery. And there are many other beautiful places: the Opernplatz is an impressive piece of Chemnitz. Or when it's summer again: Küchwaldwiese and Schloßteichinsel.

Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
I have the feeling that things have already improved. I had a phase myself where I had doubts here. But in the end, it's all down to you. If you can't move forward, you have to change yourself. The reasons for leaving here are very individual. When it comes to your own future, whether it's for a university place or a job, you have to see where you can find something that suits you. In itself, Chemnitz is a great city and there is currently no reason for me to move away.
The people of Chemnitz should simply not badmouth the city. That only annoys those who are doing something here. The criticism is often so unconstructive. If something bothers you, start making a difference and bring about positive change for yourself and your environment. After all, what can change if you don't move?