Having grown up together, childhood friends Dave Rosset and Dennis Behrendt, aka Humans As Ornaments, are now based in Berlin and Leipzig, respectively, collaborating from a distance. Influenced by modern noise-rock bands, the duo have created an elegant and passionate body of music, filled with intricate sounds and raw, visceral rock.
How did you get together?
Dennis Behrendt: We first met in kindergarten and started playing soccer in first grade. We then started making music at the age of 12 and played in various bands. When we founded our first duo, the goal was to make as much noise as possible. Around 2019, we formed Humans As Ornaments as the next step of our musical journey.
How does the project work, with you based in two different cities?
DB: Pretty good, but we definitely went through different stages. Covid made it super hard, and we tried to work online. This turned out to be a blessing since it moved our sound in a new direction.
Dave Rosset: Right now we mainly rehearse and write songs in Berlin. Sometimes, we start those days with nothing or small ideas or almost-finished songs that we kind of wrote on our own. It varies a lot.
Friendship is really important to us and allows us to feel comfort, inspiration and safety in a way that family can’t.
Describe your sound in one sentence.
DB: Loud music for quirky souls.
What topics do you deal with in your music?
DB: Sonically, we’re influenced by collages, surprises and irritation. Our Last single ‘Look At Me’ was about the fear of losing your friends. Friendship is really important to us and allows us to feel comfort, inspiration and safety in a way that family can’t.
DR: Our newer songs deal with aspects of modern life in a big city: alienation, loneliness, overstimulation. We both grew up in this small town, and moving to these big cities just changed me a lot. I’m still figuring out what I want to write about lyrically, since lyrics weren’t always a major part of our songs in the past.
What’s your favourite track you’ve created?
DR: For me, it’s ‘Look At Me’. I just love the topic, the sadness of it and the sonic world we managed to create. Recently, fans have disagreed at our shows, though. They all liked ‘Waiting For Days’ more.
How would you describe Berlin’s music scene?
DB: Very fashionable. Diverse. Overstimulated.
DR: To me, Berlin’s music scene is like this huge blinking and screaming melting pot. On the one hand, it’s the coolest place in the world because almost any genre has its specific place, which is pretty unique for Germany, I think. But I feel like it’s also very overwhelming and difficult to find your place in. My favourite venue to play was definitely the old Zukunft am Ostkreuz, which had to be shut down unfortunately and is now slowly growing back as the Neue Zukunft.
Berlin’s music scene is like this huge blinking and screaming melting pot.
Are there any Berlin artists you’d like to collaborate with?
DB: Aside from Adam Lenox, who is a dear friend and co-produced ‘Look At Me’ and ‘Waiting For Days’, maybe Gavriel. His voice is crazy.
DR: Bendik Giske. He’s an insane saxophonist, and I’d love to hear what would happen if we joined worlds.
You can pick a support slot for any artist, dead or alive. Who is it and why?
DB: Bon Iver. They’d make me cry every night.
DR: I think it’s gonna be Yves Tumor. I’m really inspired by their world, and I think the noisy, melancholic aspect of their music would match really well with ours.
Are there any unexpected benefits of being a musician in Berlin?
DR: If you’re nervous to play a hometown show, don’t worry. Most of the people are gonna be late and miss half your set anyway!
What are you currently working on?
DB: Planning new shows and trying to find a booking agency.
DR: We’re also mainly finishing up some new songs and accompanying visuals. We’re going to release a couple more this year and afterwards we both really want to write a conceptual album together, with a lyrical theme, coinciding visuals and all the good stuff.
- Keep up with the duo in Instagram at @humansasornaments.
