At the age of 16, I discovered a talent for making my own compositions, to tell stories and fairytales with tunes. I persuaded myself to experiment with my voice, and with drum and effect machines with sequencers. I sang and played moving melodies. I loved the parallel world that was created under my fingers. Lyrics weren’t so important to me. It was the atmosphere and some “wordflakes” that counted—the words are not the main focus when I am singing, my focus is only on the consonants and vowels, the fantasy and the feelings evoked. Working with tape and eight-track decks and a lovely sampler, I built the foundation for my forthcoming music, which consisted of strange loops and hardcore drums or an e-guitar through a distortion gadget. This sampler machine can draw you into a parallel world where you can be absorbed for many hours, with little thought for such non-relevant things like sleep and food.

Voodooluba, the 2005 version, ran the gauntlet! Sounds, melodies and comic strips formed in my mind—this was all to be translated into a hearable form, that was a real task. There were strange and beautiful compositions beneath complicated soundflakes—there was a lot to do.

The studio recordings with the help of Andi Toma made it easier to get the head free and to get another, purer sound. No noises anymore but again the same biliously acoustic guitar. Luscious! I need that sound for my idea of music which isn’t so linear and cleaned up.

Yvonne Cornelius (Niobe) (DE). Spent two years at the conservatory while attending school. In 1996 Niobe dismantled her own studio im Sionstal (Annostraße), Cologne, coincidentally on the same little street (an elongation) where the studios of WDR are located. 2001 Radioersatz on Tomlab. 2003 Tse Tse on Sonig. 2004 Voodooluba on Sonig. Sang, worked and composed for Mouse on Mars (Radical Connector). 2006 White Hats on Tomlab.