Deep Dive: weaken – winds

Repetition, rhythm, and constant evolution lie at the heart of winds, the latest single from Bremen-based outfit weaken.

Not an easy song to categorise but an easy one to lose yourself in, winds takes from art rock and poetry, as well as jazz and classical influences. The band expressed those references and tones, and the highly conceptual lyrics on a human scale, and yet the vista of the track is almost limitless.

I can’t easily pinpoint a musical comparison for the song or band, as they dance to their own inventive and immersive beat, but if you like Radiohead, Mazzy Star, and Kate Bush, the estuarial flow of its outsider aesthetic will appeal. A big thank you to band member Marcus for taking part in our Deep Dive series.

Genesis of winds and lyrics

The initial idea for winds was inspired by Radiohead’s Pyramid Song. Fascinated by the rhythmic pattern running through the entire track, we soon found our own pattern – an odd metre in 13/8 – which sounds a bit unusual but still organic and allows for a lot of depth. From there, the chords seemed to follow almost on their own. Harmonically speaking, it’s a constant motion of inhaling and exhaling, an alteration of tension and release.

It feels as though you you’re falling very slowly. It was exactly this state that we wanted to capture in the lyrics, specifically in the image of Alice in Wonderland falling through a hole in the ground. This, in return, led us to a poem by Portia Nelson – Autobiography in five Chapters – and the idea of: when and after you have fallen, what do you do? Where does your responsibility to yourself and your well-being start after you’ve been through a heavy situation?

Not to confuse though with the mentality of everything happens for a reason and feeling good is just a matter of mindset and discipline. Some things are shit and there’s no way around that being the truth. Still, in the midst of unbearable pain there’s a wish for holding yourself through it and the hardship of doing so instead of staying in the painful, though comfortable realm of known things. These lyrics are an attempt of describing this moment of being ever in-between and having to choose again and again where to go from there.

Instrumentation and recording of the song

In our band, we have vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. In winds, each of these instruments takes on a clearly defined role. Piano, bass and drums play a continuous pattern and form the foundation of the song, setting the rhythmic and harmonic structure. A synth pad that seems to move slowly adds an almost eerie quality to the song.

After a short intro, the vocals kick in with a long, sharp and almost dissonant-sounding note, which abruptly breaks up the song’s previously uniform structure and creates a stark contrast. From long notes that softly dissolve into one another emerges a catchy melody that seems to keep falling further and further. It’s only in the chorus that the guitar joins in with warm chords, giving the listener the feeling of finally being caught.

Making the video

For the production of the music video, we collaborated with the young artist Max Grund. He says: I first listened to the demo of winds I immediately thought of transformation – people on the road, walking, searching for something. It fits the lyrics well. At the same time the song has an eerie vibe, and I imagined weird little creatures like dwarves walking in a row, on some sneaky mission. So, the video became a mixture of the two. The characters transcend into a new state of being by moving in unexpected ways.

For the more ambitious shots I was heavily inspired by the Radiohead video Street Spirit (Fade Out) from 1996, directed by Jonathan Glazer – who would later go on to make films like The Zone of Interest. I borrowed his technique of superimposing a slowed-down layer of a scene over the same scene at normal speed, so that one person moves in real time while another moves in slow motion within the same frame. Another thing I love is going from one static but heavily composed frame to another with a quick pan or zoom – something associated with Wes Anderson, but also very present in dance films and YouTube transitions.

The band gave me a lot of creative freedom, which meant direction, choreography, fashion and make-up all came from me. Not ideal in an ideal world – but genuinely a lot of fun. For the movement I thought a lot about how to depict falling or wind in an abstract way and the video ends up with a whole spectrum of that.

For the fashion I wanted to reference the 90s and early 2000s aesthetic of the era that inspired the song – striped shirts, muted colors – and bring it into the present. The hostile encounter in that natural setting also made me think of the Wilde Kerle films, somehow.

Where does winds fit within your wider body of work?

Our band has now been around for a good two and a half years. During that time, we’ve released a total of six songs and anyone who listens to these songs will notice that we’ve changed a lot musically.

We’re currently working on lots of details that affect our sound as a band. Our music has definitely become more electronic, but also more complex. Nevertheless, we find it difficult to categorise our sound within a specific genre. Instead, we are trying to find our own style and develop it further.

What are you up to in the coming months?

First of all, we’re really proud that we’ve finally been able to release winds, and we’re especially excited about the video. A big thank you once again to Max Grund, who also supported us with loads of content.

Otherwise, we’re planning to release a short live EP this autumn. The story behind it is that we were invited to play a concert at the Sendesaal in Bremen in December 2025. A concert hall that was originally used for radio productions and boasts truly unique acoustics. Because of this, we played a purely acoustic set there. It was also really exciting for us to hear the songs in a completely different light and we can’t wait to finally show it to you.

You can hear winds and more music from weaken on SoundCloud and Spotify. For news on upcoming releases, connect with the band on Instagram.