The Berlin-based artist Nalan’s newest release is informed by the digital detritus of the 2000s. Her personal archive of burned CDs and digital camera photos provides inspiration for a group of songs that blur the line between fiction and autobiography. It’s called 2009. We went deep with the artist about her relationship with the year 2009, her digital camera archives, and what kind of music she was listening to back in the heady days of blogs and iPod ads. Read the interview—and listen to 2009—below.

What kind of personal importance does the year 2009 have for you?

While going through this question I am actually listening to a home-burned CD from 2009. ”My Body Is a Cage“ by Arcade Fire is playing. The year 2009 stands for a time period somewhere in between 2005 and 2011. I pretty much grew up in that time, spending as much time as I could with my girls doing silly stuff, and I started to develop and deepen my love for music. I was in my peak concert-going phase, breathing in live music as much as I could. I love thinking about that, and it directly puts a smile on my face

What was it like going through your digital camera archives? Was it inspiring? Terrifying? 

Speaking of a smile on my face (:. This archive is my time machine. It’s interesting to see who you shared your time with, what you did, what you wore, what you didn’t care about at all. I love that I am still in contact with most of the people I used to hang out with back then. That's really special and pretty rare. It takes effort, and you learn that over the years.

On a related tip, could you tell us about the album’s cover image? 

The album cover is part of my archive. It immediately caught my eye when I was going through every single CD. This shows my friends and me on a trip to Berlin to visit our friend who moved there after graduation. I likely took this photo in 2009 at Sonnenallee, Berlin. It’s the perfect coincidence and a full-circle moment for the concept of 2009. It just felt right to choose this as the cover. The masked monster somehow symbolizes the energetic but terrifying years of adolescence.

When working on this record, were you listening to any music from around 2009? 

I kind of was, but didn’t wanna get too nostalgic. But since these years defined my music taste I somehow carry it in my blood, hahah. Although I loved listening to Lykke Li‘s Youth Novels a lot, I also enjoy contemporary music, like my all-time favorite Saya Gray.<3

Were there any musical or sonic moments on this record that were directly informed by music from 2009?

No, not directly. For this record, I really wanted the guitar to play the main role. This might remind you of more folkish, singer-songwriter moments of the 2000s. It was more about the state of mind I was in while producing and writing this record :).

What percentage of these lyrics are autobiographical? What percentage are fictional? How did you navigate those two poles? 

Wow, I get this question a lot. I think it is always somehow autobiographical, but I play with it by trying to adopt a different character—imagining myself as someone else while navigating the world through my own perspective. “59:1,” “Down the Drain,” “I Like You” and “Stars,” though, reflect almost 100 percent of Nalan.

Are you now sick of the year 2009? Did the process of making this album make you never want to think about it again?

I mean, there has been a whole trend about the 2000s going on for quite a long time now—think of indie sleaze, for example. Every trend follows a downfall, but in this case, it feels so personal because I actually experienced it. It’s not like a proper 80s or 90s trend [that I only know from history].

Photo Credit: Neven Allgeier