Futurebae about self-motivation and the ups and downs of the Berlin dating jungle.
In times of ghosting, breadcrumbing, orbiting and other modern phenomena, dating in the big city can often be grueling. Lina Winter aka Futurebae can’t just sing a song about it, she has dedicated the title of her debut album to the topic. On BLA (berlin love affair) she sings and raps in German about dating and heartbreak, parties and self-love in the capital. The production sounds more opulent than on the EPs with rock, pop and hip hop references.
Berlin Love Affairs: “You rarely see them come and often go quickly”
During the interview, Winter sits in a hip café in Berlin-Mitte with “I Love Breaking Hearts” written on her T-shirt. The shirt matches the song “trOstPflastEr”, on which Winter sings: “Mon ami, I would love to be in love with you / But my heart is still with him / And I only stay with you / Until you close my wound” over fast electro -Pop beats. What constitutes a “Berlin Love Affair” for you? “You rarely see them coming and often go quickly,” she says calmly.
She grew up in a small town in Schleswig-Holstein near the North Sea and moved to Thuringia with her parents as a child. After graduating from high school, she initially studied social work in Erfurt. The start of her music career happened more by chance in 2019. “I was partying with friends in Erfurt and happened to end up at a friend’s jam party. There was a microphone there and I just started singing. I met my first producer there. He invited me to the studio and we started making music in Erfurt,” she remembers.
“I’m complete Drinnie”
At first she was also confronted with self-doubt as to whether her own voice was powerful enough. In the beginning, she particularly looked up to strong female voices like those of Adele or Beyoncé. Working with her producer Tilmann Jarmer and the rapper Dissy has made her more self-confident. The debut EP KTULES was released in autumn 2020 on the Erfurt label Schabernack Records. On it, Winter rapped about being high and raves. She describes this time in conversation as her “wild night out” in Erfurt. After moving to Berlin, she signed a record deal with a major label. She toured with the Antilopen Gang, Province and Fatoni.
While she used to enjoy turning nights into days, today she prefers to pop the champagne bottle on tour. “I’m complete Drinnie. Before Corona I was out and about a little more, today I can be alone really well. I love lying in my bed and watching series. I get the party vibe when I play festivals. I don’t see myself turning night into day in dark clubs, somehow that’s not it. “The phase is over, from now on I just want Netflix,” she says and laughs.
“No matter what you’ve experienced, something great can happen.”
She draws the inspiration for her texts from her own experiences and the experiences of her friends, but also from films. “Love film, Timothée Chalamet / I would be jealous if I could see us like that,” she sings on the “trOstPflastEr” mentioned at the beginning. “sLay QuEen*,” on the other hand, is about self-motivation: “I like to say, ‘I feel Beyoncé.’ That means I feel super confident, strong and hot. I was sitting in the studio and wasn’t having a good day, was heartbroken and in a bad mood. I wanted to make a song that empowers me in the moment and makes me feel good.”
At the end of the conversation, the question remains: What lessons did she learn from Berlin’s dating jungle? “There can be very healthy and great love. No matter what you have experienced, something great can happen. You have to be open, face the demons under the bed, then something great can happen.” At the end of her statement, she adds a “slay.”
Interview / text: Louisa Zimmer