A Chat with VOYNA (29.12.25)
Founded in 2020 as the “creative laboratory and musical playground” of singer-songwriter Peer Lebrecht, VOYNA saunters across various genres ranging from synth-driven darkwave to guitar-centred post-punk. If you think you know his name but aren’t quite sure from where, Lebrecht is the creative force and frontman behind Berlin’s Golden Apes; however, it’s his solo project we’re interested in. We speak with VOYNA about his new album, what music means to him, and much more.
OSR: Cliché, but how did Voyna come about? What drew you to music and a career in the music industry?
VOYNA: Oh, clichés can be soothing sometimes…
But let’s not use the word “career” here, please, because that’s the last thing I’m thinking of when it comes to making music. And honestly, I’m not the smartest person when it comes to promoting, displaying, or monetizing my music. In the end, that was never the intention, never the driving force behind all this. I could also use a cliché now — the one of the restless artist, detached from all things secular, just focused on and obsessed with art for art’s sake — but okay, this would be a bit too much. But seriously, I never made music with calculations, analyses, or predictions in mind. It was always and only about the process of making it. Either with some guys in a small, dimly lit rehearsal room or alone with some headphones and a keyboard.
Since that moment during adolescence when music became more than just sound — when it started to do something to your head, your thoughts, perceptions, and views, when it started to shape you and give you an identity — I always tried to recreate those sensations. I still remember being around 12 and listening to The Cure’s Faith for the first time…it opened doors, it shifted horizons, and it made me realize that melodies and harmonies can alter your feelings, can offer a canvas to the stormy ocean inside your head. And this is what making music means to me — an interaction with the things that move me, that touch me, that make me happy and that make me sad… all things that sum up to a thing called life.
The idea for the project came to life in 2020, when all of a sudden the world stood still for a moment (I guess we all remember) and the band that is my actual home (Golden Apes) was forced to take a break. There was so much space, void, and silence around that I began writing songs that were different from the usual band vocabulary, just me and unfiltered creative curiosity. And I started to like this way of unswayed, independent, and self-directed working — really liked the output. So I had the wish to put more attention and care into that pile of songs because I really felt they deserved it. And when I finished the time in the studio, I suddenly had an album. That was the moment Voyna was born.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
VOYNA: See above. It´s my way to communicate with the bright and dark things in my head, using the language of sounds and notes.
OSR: Your album Monsters is being released soon. How do you feel it differs from previous albums, The Cinvat Bridge and And The Heresies, in conception, composition and production?
VOYNA: I think it differs for many reasons. One is definitely the period of time. There are almost five years between the first album and the new one, and of course, you change, progress, and develop as an artist. When doing the debut, it was some kind of creative laboratory. There were no expectations, no ideas about directions to move in — just the joy of experimenting. I still had to find a language. This has changed, I think. The new songs are more precise, more defined in their sound and mood. I guess I’ve learned to know better how to tailor a proper dress for a certain atmosphere. And talking about atmosphere — somehow I feel it’s brighter, there’s a bit more light in the sky and among the layers of sound.
Another reason is, without doubt, the idea of involving real guitar and bass in the songwriting process. Whereas the former releases were made mostly of synthetic colours, here you can feel the dynamics and vividness that real instruments gave to the songs. And I’m so delighted about that. I have to confess I can’t play any of the instruments mentioned above, but with the help of Golden Apes’ Max and Christian, a layer of vitality and veracity was added to the tracks. And I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
OSR: What can you tell us about Monsters? Is there a particular theme or backstory?
VOYNA: There is not this one single overarching topic… It’s not a concept album in that sense. Because I can’t sit down and force myself to write a song, but only do so when I feel it. The songs were written over a period of about two years (there’s even the song ‘Milk’, based on an idea I recorded back in 2020!), and of course, a lot of things passed along the way. Looking at it, the album feels more like a pile of different letters, sent from different times and from all over, connected only by the person who wrote them.
In the end, it’s all about impressions, emotions, thoughts, perceptions… all those things happening inside your head. Sadness, joy, sorrow, yearning — things we all know but define and interpret differently.
I guess those are the monsters…
OSR: Monsters retain the distinctive warmth of Voyna, but appear to explore new sounds. Do you feel the album is a true representation of Voyna at this moment?
VOYNA: At least I hope so! I’m really happy with the shape the album took in the end.
Dealing with all these songs at different times and in different places is a bit like placing things in all four corners of a room and never having the whole picture in your head. Only at the very end do you move them to the middle and realize how they react with each other. But in my mind, they work quite well as a collection. They are distinct enough to be independent entities, but they still share the same origin and dwell in the same places. They sound as I wanted them to sound — in the here and now.
OSR: If you could change anything about the album, what would it be and why?
VOYNA: To be honest: no. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
Of course, in your head you never stop dealing with the songs, and while listening you always find things that could have been treated differently — sounds, moods, words – but that’s the schizophrenia about making “art”, you always chase some kind of perfection. The ultimate translation of your vision, but at the same time, you know that this hunger is what keeps you going, and reaching it (or what you think it is) would be some kind of dead end on your road. So yes, it sounds the way it has to sound at this particular moment of my life.
OSR: What do you hope people take from Monsters, and what do you take from it?
VOYNA: What is the raison d’être of music? I think the most beautiful thing that can happen is when people feel touched by certain moments of the album. If a melody gets stuck in someone’s mind, if a line makes you think about it, if a harmony causes an emotion, a triggering of synapses. My demand on music (and lyrics) is that it has to evoke imagery. I want to close my eyes, and I want to see something — something that affects an emotion, a sensation. This is drafted and directed by everyone’s individual perception, of course, but it has to feel alive. If this happens, everything was done in the right way.
OSR: If you were introducing a new listener to your music, what song would you recommend and why that one?
VOYNA: This is quite a tricky question. I feel there are a lot of shapes, shades, and colours that seem to be part of my musical landscape. But if I have to choose one now, I’d probably say ‘All Your Ways’. I like its complex simplicity that still carries a lot of emotions. There is this melancholy I so adore, this bittersweet patina, and yet there is this rather confident brightness shimmering through. I like this balance — when the surface seems clean and bright, but just beneath, there are stains and cracks, palpable, feelable.
OSR: What makes Voyna unique?
VOYNA: The head it is feeding from. At least when it comes to all the single pieces that build up the final picture. Otherwise, I think this is a question someone less subjective could answer better. There is some modesty here that feels uncomfortable claiming uniqueness.
OSR: What can we expect from Voyna in the future?
VOYNA: My intention with Voyna was always to be as free and unconstrained as possible. I don’t like the idea of making music according to a plan or under some kind of pressure. Whenever I feel the need or impetus to work on something, I do, but there’s no plan, to be honest. My head knows when.
For now, I’m happy and relieved about the release of Monsters, and mentally I switch over to Golden Apes again, because there are exciting things waiting on the horizon. But I am seriously thinking about a way to bring Voyna to a stage next year. Lots of people have been asking, but I never felt the intention so far. But with the new songs, I feel ready to find out how they feel and sound when performed live. No details yet, but the lure is tenacious.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
VOYNA: I want to wish everyone an inspiring end and turn of the year, and I hope that everyone who gives Monsters a listen enjoys what there is to discover and explore.
Many thanks to Peer Lebrecht for speaking with us. Find out more about VOYNA on his Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp and Spotify.
This artist was sent to us by Anemos Promotions.
