Exclusive Interview: Kadavar on Their 15-Year Mantra and New Album ‘I Just Want To Be A Sound’
For more than a decade and a half, Berlin’s chrome-glinting psych-rock alchemists Kadavar have chased a singular vision: to become pure, unfiltered sound. That quest first crystallized back in 2013 when bassist Simon “Dragon” Bouteloup jokingly declared, “I just want to be a sound”—a throwaway line that stuck and soon became the guiding motto for every riff, beat, and lyric. Now, on their bold new album I Just Want To Be A Sound, that mantra isn’t just a slogan; it’s the very fabric of their music, weaving together rock anthems, tender ballads, and pop-tinged surprises into one seamless sonic tapestry.
Recorded with fresh ears and free of genre constraints, I Just Want To Be A Sound finds Kadavar trading their retro stoner-rock roots for a fluid exploration of tone and texture. From the anthemic surge of “Regeneration” to the shadowy introspection of “Let Me Be A Shadow,” the album reflects Berlin’s contradictory spirit—its hedonistic highs and its haunting undercurrents. Add to that the influence of younger risk-taking artists, plus new bandmember Jascha Kreft’s chaotic spark, and you have a record that’s as fearless as it is unexpected.
On the eve of joining Dinosaur Jr. and Kim Gordon at Austin Psych Fest, we sat down with founders Lupus Lindemann and Tiger Bartelt, along with Dragon, Jascha, and guitarist Colin Nealis, to unpack how a half-stoned one-liner evolved into a 15-year-strong identity, why they stopped chasing “the perfect sound” and instead asked each song what it wanted to be, and what it means to show up “radically present” on a festival stage today.
Read on for our in-depth conversation with Kadavar:
Your new album is titled I Just Want To Be A Sound, a phrase Simon “Dragon” Bouteloup first coined back in 2013. How has that mantra shaped the creative process for these songs, and how does it feel to see it become the centerpiece of your musical identity after 15 years?
We’ve always been chasing something we couldn’t quite name. A kind of purity maybe, or transcendence through music. When Simon said it back in 2013, it sounded like a joke at first. One of those half-stoned one-liners that accidentally hit on something profound. Simon is a master at that. The idea stuck. I Just Want To Be A Sound has these layers of escapism as well as a search for something outside of the daily world. Maybe it’s also a formula for how we move and act as a band — letting yourself become sound for at least a moment and fully immerse into it.
I Just Want To Be A Sound moves fluidly between rock anthems, ballads, and pop‑leaning tracks. How did you balance these different styles in the studio, and what surprised you most when these disparate elements came together?
We stopped trying to find the perfect sound at hand and started asking what sound wanted to be. That probably sounds like spiritual nonsense, but it was actually quite practical: we wrote without genre in mind. Some songs needed weight, others wanted wings. There’s a freedom to that way of working, and we embraced it fully. So there are sounds, melodies, and moods in the songs that you wouldn’t expect from Kadavar. Our producer encouraged us to listen carefully to what the song wants, even if it means changing the shape in unexpected ways.
Berlin is both home and inspiration for you—how did the city’s hedonistic energy and ever‑evolving underground scene seep into tracks like “Regeneration” and “Let Me Be A Shadow”?
Berlin teaches you to embrace contradiction. You can disappear here, or reinvent yourself before breakfast. Regeneration has that built-in. There’s a magic in new beginnings. And Let Me Be A Shadow… It’s one of the darker tracks, where you’re caught on the flip side of all that. Being stuck, putting yourself last, being in the shadow of someone else. There is no resolution to that, within the song. But with this dark and depressed imagery, it’s also a reminder that in real life, it can be different. Sometimes you need to picture the worst case to get your arse up.
You’ve brought in modern textures and genre‑crossing ideas after years as psychedelic stoner‑rock ambassadors. Which new influences or experiences on the road pushed you to push Kadavar’s sound into fresh territory this time?
Sometimes you need to open yourself to new ideas a little more than your comfort zone. And meeting younger artists who don’t care about rules. They just create. We love that spirit. At the same time, we made up our own limitations we evolved, which is just natural. I think it’s healthy to keep pushing those limitations. I love when art is fearless. It reminds us that inspiration doesn’t come from standing still, it comes from getting your hands dirty. So we let go of the old playbook and started again. With Jascha on board, it seemed like the right thing to do: Let the chaos come and put it into a new order.
You’re confirmed to play Austin Psych Fest alongside legends like Dinosaur Jr. and Kim Gordon. How does performing on a sprawling festival stage differ for Kadavar now that you’re celebrating transformation and “radical presence” in your music?
It used to be about volume. Now it’s about voltage and vibration, additionally. The stage used to be our battlefield, but now we’re not trying to conquer. We’re trying to invite. For me, being radically present means showing up with your heart and with your body, rather than being in your head and analysing what you’re doing constantly. You’re letting yourself be seen. That’s more terrifying, but also one more reason to wake up sharp — especially with Dinosaur Jr. and Kim Gordon on the bill.
The album closes with “Until The End,” a fitting title for your journey of constant change. What message do you hope listeners carry with them when those final chords fade—and how does that promise of immersion in sound carry you forward as a band?
That love is the most powerful thing — for moving forward with grace, for embracing change, and for staying true to yourself. It’s a reminder to celebrate who you have close to yourself, and that not all things in life are about functioning and achieving.
Check out the title track below:
