Jesse: 時間過得真快，我還記得2015年在Hard Wax 翻到《Based On Electricity》，轉眼10年，2024年聆聽妳的新專輯《System Reset》，妳「重新設定」哪些部分？
Daniela La Luz：2015年，因這張唱片結識的友情，我至今仍深感珍惜！《System Reset》不僅關乎個人的重置，更重要的是它反映人類對環境的破壞。我們或許無意毀滅，但在享樂與過度消費中，逐漸走向這個結果。我們忘了與環境共存的責任，而我希望地球仍有「系統重置」的機會。專輯副標 「Still Based on Electricity」，意指我們的日常運作仍依賴電力，當尚未找到新的能源模式時，一切看似照舊；然而，即便系統重置，我們並非真正從零開始，這對我而言是一種矛盾的情感糾結。2019年對我來說是人生的轉折點——分手、過度工作、將所有精力與責任投入他人，最終讓我選擇遠離在柏林耕耘十年的生活。這種經歷對許多人來說並不陌生。在德國，超過 40% 的人曾遭遇抑鬱，長期忽視自身健康極限，憂鬱便隨之而來。我的身心狀態因此進入「重置」。我離開柏林，回到家鄉慕尼黑，試圖與這座城市和解。在過去幾年裡，我的身心極度脆弱，童年與青春期的未解創傷再次浮現，我不得不直面並處理它們。
Jesse: 如果柏林象徵的是過去、慕尼黑呈現的當下，從柏林搬回慕尼黑的過程中，我們也好奇柏林與慕尼黑在音樂上（人生上）對妳各自別有什麼影響？
Daniela La Luz：我覺得自己被困在兩地之間，既不在柏林，也不在慕尼黑，這種複雜的感受幾乎能寫成一本書！回到慕尼黑後，我終於有時間消化柏林的那十年——緊湊、充滿張力，卻已成過去。我時常想起柏林，但它早已不再是當年的模樣。城市如同有機體，不斷呼吸、變化、演進，昨日已成歷史。2019年我剛回慕尼黑，就遇上疫情封鎖，被迫獨處，身心狀況惡化，甚至被診斷出系統性紅斑狼瘡，實在是段艱難的時期。柏林的高壓生活讓我身心遲緩，我花了幾年時間，才找回較為平靜的狀態。其實，柏林早在 90 年代就深深影響了我。當年的Love Parade、NDW（德國新浪潮）、Wave/Punk、Techno，以及 Nina Hagen、Udo Lindenberg 等音樂人，這讓我深愛這座城市。16 歲時，我曾嚮往搬到柏林，但因朋友深陷夜生活與毒品，讓我遲疑，最終選擇留在慕尼黑。多年過去，如今我已與這座城市和解，這讓慕尼黑在我眼中變得更加迷人。過去，這裡承載許多童年的不愉快，如今我正慢慢重整，讓它們成為過去的一部分。我最愛慕尼黑的伊薩河，德國最後一條野生河流，冰冷刺骨的山泉水流淌其中。對我而言，這條河充滿靈性與力量，與大自然的連結讓我獲得無窮能量。河流貫穿市中心，夏天時可以隨時跳進去清涼一番。如果你有機會來慕尼黑，我們一定要一起去游泳！剛回慕尼黑的第一年，我幾乎每天都去，有時甚至一天兩次。對我來說，這是一場 淨化儀式——自然與靈性環繞，沖刷柏林的負面經歷，喚醒內心深處的美好記憶。今年初，我重返柏林三週，見朋友、感受熟悉的文化、音樂與展覽。柏林是一座擁有獨特歷史、另類文化與自由精神的城市，某種程度上，它映照了我的內在。然而，這樣的自己，在慕尼黑卻難以展現。我偶爾思考是否該搬回柏林，但同時，我也可以在兩座城市之間往返。要是能擁有兩個、甚至三個身體，那我還能去臺北，多美好啊！
Jesse: 聆聽這張專輯，聽見/也看見（從專輯封面）妳對人與環境、科技與人性、外在與內在的世界，似乎有更強烈的憂慮與關注？
Daniela La Luz：萬物皆同時存在微觀與宏觀兩個層面，這正是生命的二元性。土壤中的真菌與微生物，如同腸道內的微生物群，與我們的大腦、免疫系統、個性緊密相連。在設計這次 AI 創作的專輯封面時，我選擇粉紅色—這個象徵甜美與純真的色彩，實則暗藏危機。融化的粉色液體象徵網際網路、加工食品、污染、過度消費，以及人類自欺欺人的天真幻覺。實際上，它代表我們與自然完全脫節，以及人類自視為神的錯覺—誤認可以操控自然、駕馭那些經過數百萬年才達到完美平衡的複雜系統，也許這才是我們失落的天堂。我們究竟是人類生物（human creatures），還是真正的人類存在（human beings）？就像加工食品的營養流失、壓力、貪婪、睡眠不足，使我們逐漸失去與其他生物與植物的聯繫，並破壞自身的微生物群系，導致身心與精神問題不斷蔓延。宏觀來看，這一切同樣適用於我們的地球母親—地球。這是一段重新梳理生命 的過程，有時獨行，有時有人相伴。作為藝術家，我將自己的生命融入這次創作，雖非刻意，卻是當下最真實的紀錄。我希望展現2020 年代的自己，不僅記錄這個世界，更期待繼續參與其中，懷抱讓世界變得更美好的願景。這是我第一次真正停下來，過程宛如打開潘朵拉的盒子，飛出的不僅是幽靈，同時也有花朵。我自幼與慢性疾病共存，從小就在無聲的戰場上奮鬥。九年的兒童醫院生活，讓我成為一個極度孤獨的青少年——藥物、治療、被遺棄……成為日常。我不能運動，卻因高劑量類固醇而異常亢奮。加上繼父酗酒，「家」從未是安全的避風港，音樂才是我唯一的庇護所。我長期活在生存模式，直到 2019 年，才終於停下腳步。多年來，我依賴強效藥物，但從未真正被治癒。現在，正是我個人的系統重置。我正在修復本質，修復微生物群系（或至少，修復它僅存的部分）。因此，你可以在這張專輯中感受到我的經歷如何與「重置」的概念產生共鳴——每個面向都在映照「System Reset」。深入探索這些思考與分析，讓我看見內在世界與外在世界的連結，這份體悟給予我力量，讓我更深刻感受自己與世界的緊密聯繫。地球上的萬物，皆互相映照，而這種關聯無窮無盡，令人驚嘆！
Jesse: 這次專輯的視覺設計，也有妳對AI創作的實踐，作為一個視覺、聲音創作者，妳對AI科技的觀點為何？AI對《System Reset》有何影響？
Daniela La Luz：這次的專輯封面設計依然由我親自創作。作為藝術家，同時也是科技愛好者，我對 AI 這項技術充滿興趣，且深入探索。然而，當我意識到 AI 背後的高碳排放時，便開始質疑使用這項工具的道德性。AI 某種程度上讓我們不再需要發展手繪與繪畫技能，而這些正是 「人類藝術」 的基礎。這種技術雖然能激發創造力，帶來興奮與快樂，但也將導致大量工作消失，這一點已被許多專家預測並討論。我認為，高碳排放的問題源於資本主義市場的不受控發展，典型的 「經濟人（Homo Economicus）」行為模式。氣候災難正在降臨，而不僅僅是「氣候變遷」——這個詞彙容易讓人誤以為變化溫和且可適應，然而現實卻是人類劇場的最終幕，最具戲劇性的時刻！所有昆蟲、動物與植物的生存條件，都是經過數十萬年的進化與適應才得以延續，如今，所有生態系統都處於危機邊緣。如果我們能清楚掌握 AI 所產生的碳排放量，或許能更有意識地運用這項技術。然而，AI 及其所有形式的碳排量遠超我們的想像。這些複雜系統需要龐大的能源與伺服器來運行與學習，而目前全球已有數千家科技公司投入AI發展。AI 甚至未被正式納入碳排放計算，因為目前仍無法準確衡量訓練 AI 究竟消耗多少能源。作為藝術家，我確實熱愛 AI 技術，畢竟我曾學習傳播設計，但不得不承認——AI 可能正在加速氣候災難的到來。我個人認為「氣候封鎖」是目前最有效遏制全球暖化的方式。全球氣溫已升高 1.7°C，若達 3°C，大堡礁將徹底消失，其他生態系統也將崩潰。我們曾享受地球的美好，如今是時候負起責任。就如同我們需要對自己的日常生活與健康負責一樣，人類現在必須24小時無間斷地承擔責任。理性且富有同理心的人們，應該團結起來，攜手行動，拯救自己，也為家人努力！因此，在這次的黑膠唱片封面設計中，我使用 AI 刻意加入小小的骷髏與死亡象徵——它們或許微小，但它們必須存在。
Jesse: 對妳而言，為什麼選擇發行黑膠？黑膠對妳而言的意義為何？
Daniela La Luz：黑膠一直是我發行音樂的必備媒介，它讓我擁有親手觸摸的實體感，並帶來一種 「永恆」的感覺——可長久留存，陪伴我們多年。由於黑膠製作成本高昂，且涉及眾多人的參與，對我而言，發行黑膠是一段深思熟慮的過程，同時也提升音樂的價值。我相信品質重於數量，黑膠不僅是一種貼近肌膚的感官體驗，更是能觸發情感的媒介。當你雙手拿起印刷精美的唱片封套，目光掃過色彩與設計，抽出黑膠的瞬間，耳邊傳來紙套摩擦的聲音，甚至能聞到黑膠特有的氣息。在唱針落下、音樂釋放前，情感便已悄然展開。藝術、頻率、音色、創作、情感的純粹之美，呼應著 「少即是多」 的理念。即便沒有網路、甚至停電，你仍然可以透過不需電力的機械留聲機播放黑膠。這難道不是一件極其美好的事嗎？對我來說「黑膠恆久遠，一片永流傳」。
Jesse: Time flies! I still remember discovering Based On Electricity at Hard Wax in 2015. Now, 10 years later, I’m listening to your new album System Reset. What aspects did you "reset"? In terms of music? In terms of life?
Daniela La Luz：So cool that you found my record in 2015! I’m still so thankful for our connection! The album title points to my personal system reset, but also mainly to the planet’s current situation regarding humans destroying our habitats. We don't necessarily do it to be destructive, but through having fun and overconsumption, this is where we’ve arrived—on the edge of the question of our future existence as a human species. The responsibility for our surroundings and ourselves was forgotten, so I would wish for a system reset. The title of the album is System Reset, and in brackets, Still Based on Electricity, because it refers to the fact that things are still running the same way. We haven't found a new way of creating and using electricity yet. Also, it’s a wordplay—that, even if you reset the system, we don't really start from scratch. It's like an oxymoron.
In 2019, I saw no other way than to move out of all the wonderful structures I had built in Berlin over almost ten years. A breakup, overworking myself over that time, focusing so much on other duties and people that I neglected myself in all possible ways.
I think this is a fact that many people in our society know. Over 40% of Germans, for example, have suffered from or are in contact with someone who is suffering from depression. Depression also comes, for example, when you've extended your boundaries far beyond the healthy limits. My illness and many other things went into reset. I left Berlin, came back to Munich to make peace with the city. I also got very sick in the last years in terms of body and soul, which is a whole picture that shouldn't be separated. Unresolved traumas from my childhood and youth knocked on my window, and I needed to take care of them.
Jesse: If Berlin represents the past and Munich symbolizes the present, we’re curious—during your transition from Berlin back to Munich, how have these two cities influenced you musically and personally in unique ways?
Daniela Lu Luz：I feel like I'm caught in an in-between world—neither in Berlin nor in Munich.
I could write a book about that. Since I’ve been in Munich, I had time to process Berlin, all those intense 10 years. The Berlin I miss regularly is not the same Berlin anymore as I knew it when I lived there. Everything in life is temporary. The version of yesterday is history. It’s an organism, constantly breathing and changing. The transition was hard because I came back right before the first lockdown of the pandemic took place. I was forced to be with myself, and I got really sick during that time with SLE. My whole system was slow, as a result of the intensity of Berlin. I needed a few years to get back to a more relaxed heart rate.
Berlin influenced me in the 90s already, long before I moved there. It started with the Love Parade, NDW, Wave/Punk music, techno music, Nina Hagen, Udo Lindenberg, and many others who made me fall in love with Berlin. I wanted to move to Berlin at the age of 16, but friends of mine got deep into Berlin’s heroin world, so I got scared and thought it would be better to stay in Munich at that time. Munich is beautiful because I’ve made peace with the city since I came back. I had bad childhood memories here, but I’m successfully reworking them and giving them a good place in my past. What I love most about Munich is the river Isar. It is the last wild river of Germany. It’s ice-cold because the water comes from the mountains, and it’s a very strong and spiritual place for me. The water and the connection to nature give me strength and power. If you ever come to Munich, let’s go for a little swim! It’s in the middle of the city, so whenever it’s very hot in summer, you just quickly jump in and cool down. Ice cold and wonderful. The first one and a half years of being back in Munich, I went there sometimes twice a day. It was like a cleansing for me. A natural, spiritual behavior that just took place, maybe to wash off the darker experiences of Berlin so that the good ones could shine. I’m going to Berlin for three weeks now to see my friends and looking forward to the culture, music, and expos, which I miss the most since I came back to Munich. Berlin is the capital city with its unique history, diversity, edgy worlds, and relaxedness. It feels like a copy of my character, which I often cannot outlive on ease in Munich, so theres def a limitation. Every now and then I think about moving back, lets see what will happen this and next year. I can also just live in both cities—I just need to be having two bodies or three, then I could also visit Taipei - how lovely that would be!
Jesse: Listening to this album—and also from the cover art—it seems you have a deeper concern and focus on topics like people and the environment, technology and humanity, as well as the external and internal worlds. Could you elaborate on this?
Daniela Lu Luz：There is always a micro and macro layer to everything. I believe both functions—the duality of life. We have the fungus and microorganisms in the earth’s soil, similar to the microorganisms and microbiomes in our intestines, connecting with our brain, immune system, and personality.
When creating the cover art with AI, my thoughts behind it were: The pink color, which we often find sweet and innocent, is coming through everything in disguise.
The pink melting fluids represent the internet, the processed foods we eat, pollution, overconsumption, and still believing in our innocence.
In fact, the melting pink represents the total disconnection from nature and a god-like impression of the human race, being convinced that we can control nature and its perfectly developed, highly complex processes that took millions of years to reach perfection, which, in fact, was “Paradise." We are either human creatures or human beings.
As well as processed foods, lack of nutrients, stress, greed, lack of sleep, and the loss of personal and communal connection to living beings and plants—all this harms the human microbiome. In conclusion, humans get sick, causing cancer, psychological and psychiatric issues. In the bigger picture, all of this applies to our mother planet Earth.
Right now, I’m reprocessing my whole life as artist, my own life gets processed into my artistic work. Although it wasn't planned, it comes in anyway, because of certain processes, which I'm going through and went through. I like to show my personal point of view and existence as Daniela in the 2020er years. Not on purpose, but as a documentation of me as person and the world as I see it, process it and want to participate to make it a lil better place. For the first time I stood still, opened up pandoras box. Ghosts and flowers were coming out.
I became chronically in my early childhood. Since then, I’ve been fighting many silent (sometimes daily) battles. I’ve gone through a lot—medications, treatments, abandonment, ... and I became a very lonely child/teenager during those nine years of children’s hospital life. I wasn’t allowed to do sports, but at the same time, I became even more hyperactive from the high dose of daily cortisone. My stepfather was an alcoholic, so my home wasnt a safe place for me, I tried to stay away as much as I could. Music was my only shelter, I walked through life in survival mode until 2019. I took heavy medication for many years and I’ve never worked through all of it—I’m doing it now, that´s why its the era of very personal "System Reset." Restoring my personal nature, my microbiomes (or what’s left). So, you can see and feel the parallels resulting in the title "System Reset" all its ramifications. It’s very interesting to dive into those thoughts and analyses. See connections of the outside and your inside worlds. That gives me so much strength and belonging. So many things on Earth share similarities. It’s amazing—it’s never-ending!
Jesse: The visual design of this album includes your exploration of AI-driven creation. As both a visual and sound artist, what is your perspective on AI technology? How did AI influence System Reset?
Daniela La Luz：Yes, I created it by myself. As an artist and technology lover and user, I got itchy fingers to dive deep into this. But knowing the hight carbon dioxide emissions behind all this, I started questioning the morality of using a tool that kind of allows us not to work on skills, like learning to draw and paint ourselves, which creates incredibly impressive HUMAN art. Skip this incredible possibilities, which can trigger the brain and make us happy and excited, but at the same time AI is killing huge amount of jobs, which researchers have predicted it already and I think the emissions are because of our capitalistic, free market Not responsibly taken care of. The typical Homo Economicus. As much as I also like hedonism, you will see that everything points to the serious topic of the climate catastrophe arriving. I can’t use the term "climate change" anymore because it draws up a picture of a little change we can adapt to easily, and this is the hoax—the dramatic last act of this theater. Every insect, every animal, and every plant out there is specifically adapted to its biological conditions over hundreds of thousands of years to guarantee their continued existence as a species.
Transparency brings trust, and knowing your exact carbon footprint while using AI would give you the possibility to use it more consciously. So, creating AI art made me ask my own moral compass—if and why I would allow it for myself. I came to the conclusion that it’s OK for me, in terms of using it to draw attention to the climate catastrophe. AI and all its forms create such an incredible amount of emissions that it’s beyond imagination. More energy and servers are needed for all these complex systems to run and to learn, and there are thousands of new tech companies. AI isn’t properly counted in the carbon footprint because it’s not clear how much is used for training. So, as much as I love it from the artistic side, and I call myself an artist because I also studied communication design and so on, right now it’s opening up the potential to speed up the climate catastrophe.
From my personal opinion and scientific logic, I think a climate lockdown would be the most efficient thing to stop the worst, since we’ve already reached 1.7° of global warming. Three degrees and the Great Barrier Reef is dead, as well as all the others. We had a lot of fun, but now it’s time to take responsibility. Just as you take responsibility for your daily life and your health, we need to take responsibility now as humans around the clock. Logical, warm-hearted people need to unite in global solidarity and be courageous, hand in hand, to save ourselves and our families. So yes, I have used AI for this reason, and as you can see on the vinyl record artwork, I’ve chosen little deaths and skulls for the back cover!
Jesse: Why did you choose to release the album on vinyl? What does vinyl mean to you personally?
Daniela La Luz：Vinyl has been my must-have medium when releasing electronic music. I wanted to have something tangible in my hands. Vinyl gives me the feeling of a “forever” medium, with the potential to be around for many years. Because of the high production costs and the people that have to be involved to create a vinyl, it’s, for me, a well-thought-out process that increases the value of music. Focus on quality, not quantity.
Vinyl is a close-to-the-skin experience while being an emotion-triggering object of use.
You take it with both hands, this stiff and beautifully printed cardboard box. Your eyes see the colors and the design, and while sliding the record out of the inner sleeve, you hear a certain rubbing sound, maybe a little wind of vinyl smell in your nose. The emotion starts already there, before the needle touches the grooves and frees the sound. Art, frequencies, dynamic range, songwriting, sweetness of emotion. Less is more. In case the internet goes down or the electricity goes out, you will still be able to play the vinyl record on a mechanical gramophone, where you need no electricity. Isn’t that beautiful? Vinyl can be love. Vinyl is forever.
Comments