Interview with Bonaparte before their Friday Show

Bonaparte, aka Berlin-based Tobias Jundt and his fantastical rock’n’roll collective, will be gracing Hanoi this Friday for what will be a rare opportunity to see one of the most dynamic live acts up close and extremely personal. As Friday night’s extravaganza is almost on our doorstep, CAMA caught up with frontman Tobias via email to learn more about the bands’ debauched beginnings and why he is especially excited about coming to Hanoi…

CAMA: How did Bonaparte begin?

Tobias: “It started in my head, but it was meant to be music to be performed live – it was all about the energy and the exchange between performer and audience. I did record the songs as well, but more to show the other musicians what my ideas were. It wasn’t until later that I recorded songs to be released on record.

I think the newest one that will be released in 2014 is the first album that actually sounds big and gives you a bit of a feeling of the live show, but I was never interested in copying the live show emotion for the living room. There is nothing in the world like a live show. Nothing. That energy is real and in the moment. You have to come to the show to experience this.”

CAMA: Do you feel like your carry the spirit of Berlin’s infamous Bar25 in your performances? [Bar 25 was an underground club known for its seemingly endless parties. The club closed down in 2010]

Tobias: “I think there was a similar energy in what we did and what a big part of the Bar25 area was about. It was good to have a place where I could perform a lot and try new things and where I could walk around dressed like Mozart or like my own imaginary super-hero on a Tuesday morning. The great thing about Berlin was that there was no curfew, places never had to close. So you had an audience seven days a week and whether it was a Saturday night or a Sunday afternoon, it didn’t really make a difference.

Living as an artist is similar – you don’t have opening hours – you are an artist whenever you feel creative and in your head it is 24/7. So I guess that the bar25 with it’s neo-hippie gypsy electronic techno Berlin free love by the river under trees in circus wagons just had an amazing energy. There will never be a place like this again. There will be new places in new areas of the world. Maybe in Hanoi – who knows?”

C: Where do you find your collaborators for the live performances? Have you picked anyone up along the way?!

T: “Yes. Definitely, like a bit of a fairytale. In the show we will play in Vietnam my brother is the one I have known the longest. Then Clea Cutthroat has been with me since the show we did for Quentin Tarantino’s party in Berlin in 2007, so we’ve been performing together a long time and we are like freak brother and sister on stage. Other people joined in one country and then left again in another because they fell in love or wanted to do something on their own. The newest member right now is the drummer; our first show we ever played together was in Beijing two weeks ago. Fresh energy is great – like a first kiss again, even when playing old songs.”

C: Why we should get excited about seeing you live?

T: “Because we are excited to see all of you in Hanoi! We really are. We have never been to Vietnam, but every Vietnamese person I have met so far has been amazingly nice and fun and we love Vietnamese food – so we are super excited to dive into that experience. And because we are excited, you should be excited too! We will play songs from all three albums and even some new ones no one has even heard of in Europe yet. And we will perform and dance and spread energy and hope that the spark will take over and we can come back again and again with every new album.”

C: Are you working on any new special costumes at the moment whilst touring?!

T: “We did gather some things and we had to buy two new suitcases to drag all of the new stuff along. My brother bought a huge Chinese lamp in Xi’An which we carried all the way to Bangkok when we could finally give it to a friend here to ship it back to Europe, because no Post Office would take it… it was quite fun to travel with all that stuff.”

C: Have you been to Hanoi / Vietnam before?

T: “Never ever! I eat Vietnamese food about twice a week in Berlin and the people in the shop know us very well and always serve us first and that is our little Vietnam in exile! But this week will be the first time in our lives to actually visit and we hope that you are just as excited as we are. Happy to meet you!”

C: What do you take away from touring the world?

T: “In the end I think it is discovering yourself and your own culture in a way, by discovering other people and other cultures. The more you see of the world, the more you can put your own culture into perspective, and something that you might have thought is boring actually becomes really rich, because it is special in the world.”

C: Do you ever collect things for your live shows?

T: “Yes we collect a lot, especially when we travel and we find interesting things. sometimes people bring us presents to our shows and we take it home and create something with it. Of course we have our secret sources where we can find fabric and materials, but travelling is great for discovering things.”

C: How is your Asian tour going so far? Are the crowds different this side of the world to Europe?

T: “Obviously they are very different because we are in a new world all together, but we enjoy the crowds very much. The Asian audience is very enthusiastic and we love you. It is so much fun to play to countries we have never been to before. we enjoy the enthusiasm that people bring to the shows. a good show always takes two – like a good kiss – the performers and the audience. We can only do a good show with a good audience.”

C: & finally, a few takeaway tips…..

Favourite new band at the moment?

T: “Bonaparte! Haha… we discovered some Chinese bands we like, A.O. New pants, Carsick Cars, etc. But I am very curious about Vietnamese bands! And we love some of our berlin friends like Siriusmo or Moderat a lot.”

C: Favourite book ever?

T: “The Kama Sutra”

C: One record you would save from a burning fire?

T: “All of my father’s records he recorded in the 60s.”

C: Last best dinner you ate?

T: “The whole tour through Asia. The food has been amazing! Shrimp dishes, crispy bamboo, soup dumplings, spicy papaya salad, magic fish platters, lots of eggplant, pineapple cake, etc. We love the food in Asia… every day after the show at around midnight we sit together for an hour or two and eat, eat, eat…”

Catch Bonaparte live this Friday night in Hanoi’s most art rock venue TaDiOto Main Room, Zone 9, Tran Thanh Tong. Advance tickets available via ticketbox.vn or at CAMA ATK (73 Mai Hac De).