Atka is a Brandenburg-born, London-based, songwriter and producer who released her debut EP The Eye Against The Ashen Sky on Nov 3rd. Although Atka has been writing, producing and recording her own music for years, she has so far remained in the background of the music industry. Growing up in a tiny village in Germany, she moved to the beaches of the Gold Coast in Australia at the age of 15 and later to the snowy mountains in Squamish, Canada, until she found a home in London. Initially pursuing a career in sustainability research and politics, Atka quickly became disillusioned by the bureaucracy of the political system and instead considered going into filmmaking. A few self-directed short films, runner- and costume assistant jobs later, she however returned to music as a journalist for Rolling Stone, Groove and Musikexpress and others. With her own sound however, she has only been tinkering in private – whether on her walks through St. James Park to procrastinate writing her master’s thesis, on the tube on the way to Soho or in her improvised home studio in East London. A versatile musician who cites Joy Division and Kraftwerk as her most formative influences, she wrote her first song at the age of ten and later gained the attention of big names in the music scene for her poetic lyrics and unique flair for music production and composition. The artist, whose real name is Sarah Neumann, wrote her debut EP The Eye Against The Ashen Sky last year in London parallel to completing her master’s degree in philosophy, in which she intensively studied the French philosopher’s, Jean-Paul Sartre’s, theory of the gaze.

What She Says:”Inspired by Nabokov’s novel “The Eye”, the single Eye in The Sky kicks things off by dealing  with the social construction of identity in the reactions and opinions of others. It describes a  kind of social paranoia, as we already find it in Philip K Dick’s science fiction novel The Eye in  the Sky, after which the song is named, or Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, one of my favorite novels. Blending my love for science fiction with philosophical enquiries, the song asks  how one can assert one’s own identity under the gaze of others and the surveillance society, when “Big Brother is watching”. In a mediation of subjectivity and objectivity The Eye In the  Sky explores the loss of self, determined by the mere fact that an essential part of our  identity is always determined outside of us by the people around us.”

“On the one hand, being perceived is in itself a life-affirming thing, because the recognition by an Other confirms that I exist. On the other hand it is life-denying or threatening, due to the fact that in the perception of the other I always become an object – a static thing in the world, which is the opposite of what I am. The record is largely about this dichotomy. It is a gaze back at the gaze – hence the title The Eye Against the Ashen Sky”

Her Mixtape:

New Order – Senses

One of the best tracks ever made. The sound and panning of the drums is like no other and percussively it’s just brilliant. Every space is filled in exactly the right way, no second is wasted, nothing crammed in just for the sake of it: Everything about this is just right. This track is everything I am aspiring for with my own music. The element of voyage is very elemental to my music practice and making and I’m probably getting it from listening to New Order and Krautrock. I could listen to this song all day for the rest of my life.

Boy Harsher – Fate

Think 1am, strobe lights, bodies swaying from left to right and condensation dripping from the walls. This song might be as elegant as a rave track could possibly be. My mate Butler introduced me to them a year ago at the beginning of us forming our electronic postpunk project Deep Bleak. They have been a massive inspiration for us and for my solo music.

Lucrecia Dalt – No Tiempo

I am so happy to be playing my first show supporting Lucrecia in London in a few weeks. I have never met her but I recently interviewed Jan Jelinek for an article I was writing for GROOVE Magazin about sampling and field recordings, which was so interesting. I just think Lucrecia’s music is the epitome of coolness and the perfect unity of content and form. She is also very talented at writing film scores.

Damon Albarn – The Cormorant

The Further the Fountain The longer the Stream Flows is by far my favourite Damon Albarn album. The track actually reminds me a lot of New Order’s Senses in as far as the instrumentation occupies the space. Stephen Sedgwick mixed it and this was the main reason I wanted to work with him on my EP – he was the perfect person to put the finishing touches on my soundscapes and he is just an overall super lovely guy!

Grian Chatten – All Of The People

Big fan of Grian’s new solo project. He is one of my favourite lyricists at the moment. “I’m hard as my money, you are soft as a lie” – c’mon! The minimal instrumentation makes his vocals shine and you are just patiently waiting for him to continue telling his story. The man could probably tell me anything and I’d believe it. 

Le Tigre – Deceptacon

This is the track I am screaming at the top of my lungs at 11pm dancing in the kitchen, preparing dinner in my underwear. Yes, I might always overcook the pasta because of it, but it’s always worth it. See ya later!

The Eye Against The Ashen Sky is out now. Look HERE for more information on Atka.