From Hobby to Headliner: The Rise of Frankfurt Singer-Songwriter Enkay

As of: March 13, 2024, 5:54 p.m

By: Kathrin Rosendorff

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Enkay’s mother got him into music when she gave the then eleven-year-old a guitar for Christmas. © Monika Müller

The Frankfurt singer-songwriter Enkay saw playing the guitar as a passionate hobby. Until he’s supposed to audition for Pietro Lombardi’s live stream. Now he’s going on a solo tour. An interview by Kathrin Rosendorff

Enkay is lying near the radiator in a black baseball cap, his gaze is directed towards the ceiling, while he sings: “Back then they called you a loser because you were never one of the cool ones, all alone on your birthday. Outcast like Medusa.” The Frankfurt singer-songwriter has just published this short video for his song “Medusa” on Tiktok and Instagram. A few weeks earlier, the 25-year-old gave interviews in the hip restaurant Bar Shuka in Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel. His very first tour “Colour Play” starts in April. Like many of his performances, his concert at the Nightlife Club is sold out.

He describes his songs as urban pop, which talk about everything from heartbreak to bullying. “I actually never had the plan to become known with music,” says Enkay. He has a very positive, warm charisma. His privacy is important to him, which is why he only wants to be known by his stage name. “This is an invention from my school days, where we all came up with supposedly cool names. So I took my initials N (Nico) and K and pronounced them coolly in English. Enkay.”

Your song Medusa is about the topic of bullying in childhood. You said on Instagram that the song goes out to everyone who had a difficult childhood. How autobiographical is your song, Enkay?

I always say my songs are like feature films based on true events. But they didn’t necessarily happen exactly like that. For me it’s about expressing the feeling. I personally didn’t have childhood birthdays without friends, as described in the song, but I had a childhood that could have been easier. I experienced how difficult it was for my mother as a single parent of two children. In many ways. When I played football at school, my teammates’ fathers didn’t take her seriously. They probably thought a mother couldn’t say anything about football or defend her boy. The second part of Medusa, where I sing “You never went to parties on Saturday night,” is very autobiographical. I’ve always been more of a loner. I never liked partying much, not because I didn’t have any friends, I just preferred to spend a lot of time with myself. I think this is how you get to know yourself better. To this day I would say that I am more of an introvert.

How did music come into your life?

When I was eleven years old, my mother gave me a guitar for Christmas. She probably thought it needed to be supported (laughs). Then I started taking guitar lessons. But I wasn’t the most diligent at practicing. When you’re at school you have other things that keep you more busy. I played a lot of football in Offenbach and Oberrad. It wasn’t until after I finished school that I started to pick up the guitar a little more in the six months before I started studying industrial engineering. And that’s where I developed my own style. But for a long time I was of the opinion that I couldn’t sing and play the guitar at the same time; in fact, I only really started singing three years ago. By Pietro Lombardi…

In 2020 you were in the live stream of Pietro Lombardi, the former DSDS winner, who has two million followers on Instagram alone. How did you end up there and how did he get you to sing ?

To person

Enkay is 1998 was born in Offenbach and has a sister who is three years older. He started playing the guitar at the age of twelve. After graduating from high school, he studied industrial engineering with a technical specialty in mechanical engineering at the TU Darmstadt.

After an audition In 2020, in a live stream by singer Pietro Lombardi, he decided to become a musician and completed his studies at the same time. Without a record deal, he is very successful on social media. His videos have over five million likes on Tiktok. Enkay has already supported the Canadian artist Luca Fogale and the German singer Zoe Wee, where the 25-year-old performed in front of thousands of people.

Starts in April his first solo tour, many dates like in Hamburg (April 18th) and Frankfurt (April 21st) are already sold out. There are still tickets available for Cologne (April 19th), Munich (April 15th) and Berlin (April 16th). More information on his Instagram and Tiktok channel: enkaymusik. rose

That was during the Corona period, when many artists who couldn’t go on tour did live streams. Like Pietro, they brought in unknown people so that they could show their talent. I actually just wanted to play something on my guitar, but Pietro said: “Now sing something.” I then performed the song by rapper Montez “Until you call again”, which I could sing and play halfway. In front of thousands of people in the live stream. That was crazy because you can’t see the people, but you can see the number of viewers. Pietro then “treated” me for ten minutes. He said I should definitely keep going, he saw something in me. I never thought that other people would like my singing. Pietro gave me the little ass kick I needed. Then I started writing texts myself and uploading videos to social media. I completed my studies at the same time and then released my own song “Niever More” in February 2022.

Labels wanted to sign you back then, but you decided against it. Why?

We had different ideas. Many musicians agree to a contract too quickly. But these days you don’t necessarily need a label. Making music has never been easier. You can upload a video using your cell phone. I have also always enjoyed being my own boss and having control over all processes. I fooled myself into everything. I taught myself Photoshop so I could make my covers and got a music program and also learned a lot about producing through YouTube tutorials. I write most of the songs myself and occasionally have sessions with songwriters. I record a lot in Mannheim, but I’m also often in the studio of the Frankfurt rapper Vega.

Why haven’t you released an album yet?

It’s more difficult as a newcomer to release an album because songs are no longer released on CD, but digitally on streaming music services. It’s all very fast-moving. Playlists on Spotify are updated every Friday, but very few people still listen to entire albums. Unless you are already a Taylor Swift or a Harry Styles, i.e. pop stars who have a large fan base. I don’t want the songs that are important to me to be lost. That would be a shame. So if you release songs individually for five weeks in a row, they get more attention than on an album.

Your first tour is coming up. You said that you are more of an introverted type. How does being an introvert and being on stage fit together?

You don’t have to be a born entertainer and throw a big party to have fun on stage. My first gig was as support for the Canadian singer Luca Fogale in Munich a few months ago. This was a smaller, quieter atmosphere. I like that. In general, I think it’s good if you don’t get to know people too quickly. Some people despair when the tenth song is out and isn’t completely successful yet. I think it takes time to grow into the music world. When I played at the Schlossgrabenfest in Darmstadt, I played in front of people who mostly didn’t know me. I always had this thought: “I have to pick them up, do they even celebrate my music?” That’s why I’m really looking forward to my solo tour. Because for the first time I will play in front of people who only come because of me, because of my music.

2024-03-13 17:35:50
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