I hope your week is going well for you and that you all have a lovely weekend planned!

Here’s an interview I did with “The Music News Site.com“. Read the whole interview online: http://dld.bz/d8z5y or here:

Interview – Natascha Hagen album ‘Ambassador of Light’ on the way – follow @NataschaHagen

Artist name: Natascha Hagen

Release name: album “Ambassador of Light”

Release date: 2015, the exact date will be announced on www.nataschahagen.com

1. Where and when did you first discover your interest in music?
   
   I guess my passion for music and singing was put into my cradle.

   I remember when I was 5 years old and had my first TV show, the
   director and a few other people from the production team said:
   “Natascha, you’re going to be an actress” and I answered: “No, I am
   going to be a singer.”

   2. What are your main ambitions in the industry?
   
   My main ambition is to reach as many people around the world with the
   message of love, I believe music is a vehicle, through which light is
   distributed to even the darkest places, this is conveyed through my
   album title “Ambassador of Light”.

   I wanna spread hope, encourage people to listen to their hearts and
   souls. I hope that my voice and my music will help to open hearts that
   were closed on love before, to lighten up minds that are desperate,
   give people a new angle, when they are going round in circles. I have
   been going through a lot of challenges in life myself and wanna help
   people with what I have learned so far.

   3. When did you start writing your own songs/music?
   
   I think it was when I was 20 or 21, but I often thought: “Am I good
   enough for this?”

   Sometimes I just had a really cool part of a song, but I just couldn’t
   come up with the rest of the song. I guess a lot of songwriters know
   what I’m talking about when reading this. The challenge is to keep
   going and to not to be disheartened.

   4. What would you say is your music career highlight to date?
   
   Of course it was thrilling, when I was in the charts, but I wouldn’t
   say it was when I had high chart positions. The most memorable
   highlight was actually a performance I had in Spain in an
   international festival, a few days after my father died.

   First I felt overwhelmed to fly to Spain and perform, cause I was
   devastated because of my loss, but then I decided to do it. Just
   before I went on stage, I remember that I heard how I was being
   announced and the man said “Natascha is here tonight with us, although
   she has just lost her father. We are very grateful and happy to have
   her here” and there was a huge applause and when I went on stage,
   people were showing their appreciation, they went wild and showed how
   much they loved me to be there with them, it was an open air festival
   on a beach and I only saw hands as far as the eye can see. That was a
   very emotional moment.

   5. Who will we hear in your songs? What are your influences?
   
   Well, there are some classical pop influences from artists like Celine
   Dion or Lara Fabian, Disney-esque influences, singer songwriter
   influences that might remind a bit of Sarah McLachlan or Tori Amos,
   but you will also hear EDM in my album.

   I’m quite a mixture – simply Natascha. I’d recommend everyone
   interested to listen to my music on www.youtube.com/nataschahagenmusic
   to get to know me as an artist, but the whole picture you’ll get when
   the album “Ambassador of Light” comes out.

   6. What’s the most important thing you’d want to tell people about
   your current release?
   
   As the title of my upcoming album “Ambassador of Light” already
   indicates, it will be a musical journey into love and inspiration,
   songs with huge, catchy choruses and reflective songs with an intimate
   honesty.

   As to my song “Run”, it is about overcoming your obstacles and your
   fears and having the courage to move ahead, even if it hurts, cause a
   new life is waiting for you.

   My song “Remember Me” is about an encounter between two soulmates, a
   love on a soul level that is made for eternity.

   You can listen to both songs on www.youtube.com/nataschahagenmusic

   7. Who else can you recommend from your genre or local area for people
   to have a listen to?
   
   From my local area, I could recommend Shem Thomas, a very talented guy
   (www.shemthomas.com)

   8. Any gigs coming up?
   
   Gigs will be announced on my website www.nataschahagen.com after the
   release of my album.

   9. Where can we find/follow you online?
   
   Well, there’s my website http://www.nataschahagen.com
   If you subscribe to my newsletter, you get a free download of my song “Run”.

   Then there’s:
   http://www.youtube.com/nataschahagenmusic
   http://www.facebook.com/NataschaHagen
   http://www.twitter.com/NataschaHagen
   https://soundcloud.com/natascha-hagen
   http://www.instagram.com/natascha_hagen
   http://www.pinterest.com/nataschahagen/

Hello dear friends, hello “Ambassadors of Light”!

I had a wonderful interview with the magazine “Women Talking”.

Here is the link to the interview: http://bit.ly/1acxYLb

Find the interview also below:

Short Stop With….Natascha Hagen

Natascha Hagen is a singer/songwriter from Austria who has enjoyed success in the Eurodance/Europop genre but is now looking to diversify as an artist. I caught up with her to find out what 2015 has in store for her.

What led you to pursue a career in music?
“I have always been driven by my passion for music. Of course there were times when I tried out other things, but I somehow always got back to singing and writing. 

A significant change in my life took place when I wanted to study at a music school in Liverpool and had to wait for an audition. That led me to bridge the time in Spain, where I happened to be in the right place at the right time to sing a specific song in a recording studio, which made me end up in the charts. This was the beginning of a long musical journey for me.”

What music were you a fan of growing up?
“I loved the music of the 80s. I especially adored Madonna for her stage presenceand loved A-Ha (I have to admit that part of it was because I thought that Morten Harket was adorable).” 

What was the inspiration behind your latest song and do you have a new album out this year?
“My new song “Remember Me” emerged out of an encounter that I had, which was a very special experience to me. It was about meeting somebody and knowing that our souls alreadyknew each other. It was a feeling of coming home, a familiarity and deepness beyond anything I had known before, although I didn’t really know this person. I then found out that a lot of people had experienced something similar, many people know a love between soul mates, and a lot of people also have encountered their twin soul. I felt inspired to write about this experience and share it with the world. Hopefully it touches a lot of people.

You can listen to the song on www.youtube.com/nataschahagenmusic

My new album “Ambassador of Light” is in progress and will be released this year. There is a newsletter on my website www.nataschahagen.com, which people can subscribe to if they want more information.”

 

 

When you write, you are giving birth to something new

 

 

 

 

Do you enjoy performing more than writing?
“Both hold a special fascination for me. When you write, you aregiving birth to something new, you are expressing emotions with your music and your lyrics in a unique way. Each song is different, as each voice is different. That is fascinating to me. When I then sing those songs and I see that I touch people on an emotional level, it is really fulfilling to me.”

Do you have any plans to tour in the UK?
“Yes, this year I will put together a band and play live again. Tour dates will be announced on my website.”

Do you believe reality TV has had a negative impact on the industry?
“Well, the music casting shows have changed the industry. Music acts are not being built up like before, everything has become fast-paced, meaning acts come andacts go. The artists often experience a sudden hype, but they are also usually dropped just as fast by the industry that created them. This kind of environment also makes it difficult for the traditional artists to compete because of the extreme exposure these artists get.”

Do you still find it easy to motivate yourself?
“Well, it depends on the day. I guess we all have days when we ask ourselves if we are on the right track and if we are doing the right thing. I often push myself because I am doing this without the backing of a “big corporate machine” like a record company who would usually do all the promotion and marketing. I decided to do it on my own, because I wanted to be as authentic as possible. I would urge others to do the same. It is the only way to preserve the spirit of individuality and imagination.”

How do you think women are perceived in the business today?
“I think that the major companies in the music business still opt for youth and beauty. This puts a lot of pressure on female artists but I also think that a slow shift is taking place, because people want to see authentic artists, artists with a message. Besides, we all know that experiences grow as we are get older…We may lose our youthful appearance in time but with every experience we become richer as a person, like a good bottle of wine.”

 

 

I think each woman should have the freedom to express herself the way she wants

 

 

Is there greater pressure on women to succeed and do you feel they have to use their sexuality more than men?

“I think that women are still being seen as the weaker sex and therefore they still need to prove themselves more than men. As for the music business, there is a saying: “sex sells”, so especially women, but also men play with their charms. I don’t see it as anything negative, as long as that person feels comfortable with it and as long as it is not going in a pornographic direction just to sell music. I think each woman should have the freedom to express herself the way she wants to express herself, as long as no one gets harmed, but no woman (or man) should be pressured into doing things she doesn’t feel comfortable with.”

How important do you think the Internet and social media is to the modern artist and do you now see it as an integral part of your career?
“It opened up new ways to reach out to fans. Before the web, if you weren’t signed to a record company you had little chance to grow a fan base. Nowadays the Internet and social media platforms give artists the opportunity to reach out to people around the world in a way they never could. I like to be in contact with my fans; it’s great to get feedback on my songs and on thoughts that I am posting and it makes me happy when I get messages from around the world from people who tell me my music touches them.”

What plans do you have for 2015?
“The priority is to finish my album “Ambassador of Light”, put together a band and the tour with my music.”

Is there one artist – living or dead – that you would like to perform with?
“Yes, Josh Groban.”

Outside of your career, how do you unwind? Do you have any particular hobbies or interests?
“I hold a passion for the spiritual and for chocolate (which drives me crazy cause I have to exercise harder whenever I have some!). I love to spend time with my friends, have nice chats and long walks and I love the sea breeze. I’m also fanatical about travel and meeting new people.”

If you would like more information about Natascha then visit her website at www.nataschahagen.com.

George R Vaughan

I had a lovely chat about music and about my future plans with Jason and Zoe from “The Milk Bar.”

Listen to what we talked about on their Christmas show: http://bit.ly/1DXJWFz 

Have a lovely Sunday!

Love and Light, 

Natascha

So So Gay Magazine recommended me and I had a nice interview with them.

You can read the interview by clicking here: http://sosogay.co.uk/

Here is the full interview as well:

#Recommended: Natascha Hagen

 

 

 

For today’s #Recommended, Natascha told us the songs that make her…

 

Smile

The song ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham makes me smile, because when the radio stations start to play it, I know it will soon be Christmas, the time of the year, when you spend special moments with your loved ones, have nice chats while drinking coffee or tea and eating delicious Christmas cookies, watch romantic movies on the couch wrapped in a snug blanket…

 Contemplate

The song ‘Beneath Your Beautiful‘ by Labrinth feat. Emeli Sandé makes me contemplate about how often we try to hide our true self behind a mask, because we are afraid that people won’t accept us with our flaws or what we think our flaws are, or we are afraid that we could be hurt if we open our heart to someone else and show our feelings. By doing that we deprive us from beautiful experiences.

Dance

‘Happy‘ by Pharrell Williams, because this song has such a contagious happiness about it that I almost immediately feel the need to dance.

Reminisce

Actually my own song ‘Remember Me’ that I am going to release on YouTube on the 25th of December as a Christmas gift to my fans makes me reminisce.

This song is about an encounter between two soulmates, a deep knowing that these two souls have known and loved each other for a very long time, although they have only shared some precious moments in this life.

I have had such an encounter and I am very grateful for it. To me it has been a life changing experience that love can be so deep, without having spent a lot of time together, that love can leave someone the way he/she is, with all the processes this person is going through and without demanding.

A love on a soul level – and although we most likely will never be a couple in this life, I know this love is one that lasts for eternity.

More on www.nataschahagen.com, when my song ‘Remember Me’ gets released on the 25 December.

Chill

I once listened to ‘These Islands’ by Danny Couch while getting a lomi lomi massage from one of my best friends and I found it really relaxing. It’s a beautiful song about Hawaii and in combination with the lomi lomi massage, I dived into another world when listening to it.

Motivates you

‘What Are You Waiting For?‘ by Nickelback.

I think it’s a great message not to wait for the outside to change, so that you do what you really wanna do, but to change your own perspective and believe in yourself and in your dreams, independently from what happens on the outside. We often come up with excuses to not do certain things, because we are afraid from failing. I also caught myself doing that. Songs like ‘What Are You Waiting For?’ put us in mind how important it is to trust yourself and go your way without procrastinating things.

Cry

‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera.

This song moves me so deeply when listening to it that my eyes begin to fill with tears, ’cause I know how hard it is when you have to let go of the person that you love, while that person is unable to say anything.

While I was going through this learning experience, I realized it doesn’t always automatically mean that the other person doesn’t love you, it does not even necessarily have something to do with you, just because he/she remains in silence, it just means that for whatever reason he/she decided that it is better to part ways, or at least for a certain time – be the reason fear, life circumstances, or because of a change he/she is going through etc.

 

I had a lovely interview with Zap! Bang! Magazine. 

This is the link to my interview:

http://www.zapbangmagazine.com/

Here is the full interview as well:

Natascha Hagen to become an Ambassador of Light

Natascha Hagen

2014-12-15

Natascha Hagen first found prominence on the European dance music scene with hits such as “You and You” while also going double platinum as a songwriter and co-owning a recording studio until 2012. Now Natascha is preparing a comeback as an artist with a broader musical range than ever: powerful songs, inspirational lyrics, soaring melodies that alternate with a fragile intimacy. We caught up with her to find out more about her approach to music.

First up, tell us bit about yourselves – what were you all doing before you started making music?

Actually I have been singing since I was little and had some major TV shows as a teenager, but due to my parents’ wish, I went to an academic high school, passed the general qualification for university entrance and then, after a three months stay in New York, where I got a taste of acting at the “Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute,” I gave university a try in the fields of study: “economics” & “translation,” cause I knew it would be something that my Dad would want me to do, but within short I figured that it was not what I wanted for my life.

Then I tried out tourism for a year, but though my grades were very good, I was always dreaming about recording studios and performing. When I attended a three week course at LIPA in Liverpool, it was kind of an awakening and I recalled to my mind that my life needed to be about music. So I filled out the admittance form and was hoping that I would get an audition, so that I could study there. I knew this procedure would take a year until you can start to study (if accepted), so I went to Barcelona to learn Spanish and study a bit of music meanwhile.

As fate willed, I ended up with a recording contract in Barcelona, within short I was in the charts and decided to stay in Barcelona for a while and not go to LIPA, although I meanwhile would have received the invitation for an audition.

What was the first style or genre of music you really got into? Was there a particular song or artist who inspired you?

I really liked the music of the 80s. Madonna and A-ha were one of my favorite artists/bands of that era.

As an artist I got into dance music first, it was Eurodance and it was a really cool time, but as “Natascha as a private person” I also felt a passion for musicals, like “Beauty and the Beast,” “Moulin Rouge,” “The Lion King,” “Dance of the Vampires” and artists like “Tori Amos” or “Sarah McLachlan.”

Especially “Celine Dion” and “Lara Fabian” inspired me. I loved all these soaring big ballads and I still do, but especially nowadays, I also think that there is a lot of great pop and EDM music out there, with an incredible quality to it, songwriting- and production-wise.

Tell us when you realised you wanted to get involved in making music and playing tunes to people?

Well, actually, when I was 5 years old, I had my first TV show and I remember how the director and a few other people from the production team said: “Natascha, you’re going to be an actress” and I answered with an inner conviction: “No, I am going to be a singer.”

If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice that day, what would it be?

Don’t do what other people want you to do, even if they think they know what’s best for you, cause you are still the only person who knows what feels right and what doesn’t, what makes you happy and what just makes you adapt, so everyone else is happy.

Believe in yourself, listen to what your heart and your soul tell you, cause your soul as your inner wisdom is always right and knows what’s good for you. After all, stay true to yourself and if you don’t feel happy, don’t hang on in toxic situations too long, there’s no need to be afraid of changes, even if your mind doesn’t seem to find a good way out and your thoughts are spinning around like a hamster on a wheel, the solution will show if you are willing to change, if you trust in yourself and your inner guidance and make one step after another.

How do you set about writing tunes? Is there a common starting point for all your work?

There are different starting points. One way is to have the playback with the chords first, then write the melody over it and after that the lyrics to the melody, but it sometimes can be tricky to find the right words to the already existing melody.

Another way for me is to just sit down on my piano and play some chords or a certain line. From there some words, along with a melody come into my mind and the song originates.

If your music was a person, how would you describe their personality and where would they live?

While reading your question, I was smiling. If my music was a person, I guess it would be a strong, insightful person, with an attraction to dramatic expression on the one hand and an uplifting attitude on the other hand, a person who has experienced a lot, who has been through happy times, but who has also gone through fragile moments of heartache and pain and who grew as a person because of that and learned that life is precious and beautiful and should be valued and that obstacles can be overcome.

A person who learned that there are different kinds of love we experience and that some encounters are so deep that it is as if two souls recognize each other. If my music (plus lyrics) was a person it would be one who learned that you should tell people how much you love them, cause you never know when it’s the last time you see them, a person who learned that you have to love yourself first to find happiness and that it is never too late for a change. A strong, yet sensitive person with a big heart and the passion to spread love and hope to others.

I guess this person would have two residencies: one somewhere in a warm country by the sea to enjoy the warmth and the colorful world and another residency in a colder country for reflective times in front of the chimney.

What are your top three “must haves” while you’re on tour?

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been on tour, I guess you better ask me this question next year again, when I start to perform again with a band, since I am evolving as a person and hence my needs as well.

Hmm, I guess, right now it would be “a passion within to perform,” “good monitors and my favorite mic” and a lot of “room temperature water” (I love to drink water without gas, but I can’t stand it when it’s cold), as well as “healthy food.”

A “plus”, but not a “must have” would be a cosy king size bed with a lot of pillows, cause the feeling of being able to spread out actually makes sleeping better and easier and helps to stay fit on tour.

What have you been listening to this year so far?

Actually what has been on the charts.

Do you have any pre-set rituals?

Before performing I do a few vocal warm up exercises and I “centre myself.” In everyday life I try to give myself a treat every day, either exercise or go for a walk to catch some fresh air, have an enriching conversation with a friend, read something positive, inspiring or motivating, even if it’s just a few phrases and if time doesn’t permit, I make at least sure that I laugh once a day.

What was the most significant moment of 2014 for you and why?

I guess it was the sudden passing of a dear and still very young friend. It made me once again aware of the transcience of life and how much life should be treasured and enjoyed and for how many things we can be thankful for.

What have you been listening to this year? Can you give us a top three records of 2014 so far?

Oh, so many great songs were released this year, I guess it’s almost impossible to give you a top three list.

One of my favorite ones was “John Legend” – “All of Me” (the ballad version and the Tiesto remix) and “A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera” – “Say Something” (although this song was already released at the end of the year 2013), but I also love songs like “Maps” by “Maroon 5”, “Happy” by “Pharrell Williams,” “What are you waiting for” by “Nickelback”, “When the beat drops out” by “Marlon Roudette”, “Waves” by “Mr. Probz” (Robin Schulz Radio Edit), “Lovers on the Sun” by “David Guetta feat. Sam Martin”, “Netzwerk (Falls Like Rain)” by “Klangkarussell” (these are Austrian guys that are now coming up).

If you could collaborate with any living artist, who would it be?

Josh Groban.

How is 2015 shaping up for you? Where can we see you play?

The biggest project will be the completion of my album Ambassador of Light and I will also put together a band to play live again. When ready, I will announce tour dates on my website www.nataschahagen.com.

by Mike Barnard