MOTHER’S CAKE
From Austrian dive bars to sell-out Aussie shows, Jan Haußels explains how his trio became cool outsiders.
The Austrian state of Tyrol sits at a crossroads. To the north is Bavaria, while Italy, Liechtenstein and the rest of Austria hug its borders to the south, west and east respectively. In Tyrol, 10 years ago, Mother’s Cake became the archetypes of their own crossroads. Their ménage of progressive, funk, psychedelic and hard rock styles has seen them traverse much of the globe and release four critically acclaimed albums. But, as their German-born drummer Jan Haußels explains, breaking out of state lines wasn’t an easy feat.
“We started off playing touristy bars and PMK, the local rock bar, but rock isn’t the coolest music to be into in Austria,” he says. “There was a jazz venue called Treibhaus, which was bigger, but a lot harder to get into. So we would go by the box office and pester them every day until they finally agreed to put us on. That was a big moment for us.”
As the trio snaked their way around the country’s smaller venues, they discovered how difficult it was to engage people with music that many regarded as bizarre.
“We appreciated that our music wasn’t to everyone’s tastes,”
Haußels recalls. “So we always made sure our live shows were very energetic and entertaining. I think that sucked a lot of people in.”
Soon, the trio – rounded out by guitarist-vocalist Yves Krismer and bassist Benedikt Trenkwalder – pushed for shows in neighbouring locations. “Hungary and Switzerland were the first countries outside of Austria to have us. We knew Germany would be good for us – but it took years to get a show there. When we got there, our first experiences weren’t the best.”
Then came the lucky break every young band needs: “We had our video for Soul Prison promoted on Pirate
Bay and we got about 30,000 views. That changed us from a band that had to ask for shows to a band that was being asked to play.
“When we get to play big shows we feel very proud, because we still feel like underdogs. We’re the biggest underground band in all of Austria – it’s a cool title, but we’ve got a long way to go.” POW
Mother’s Cake’s latest album, Cyberfunk!, is out now via Membran. For further details, visit www.motherscake.com.
“Rock isn’t the coolest music to be into in Austria.”