SHOSTA consists of Moritz on drums and me (Peter) on vocals. We met at work in 2022 and have since helped SHOSTA make the leap from a room to the stage. The name SHOSTA is derived from the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, whose work and biography I have always found fascinating and who, in a way, is my favourite composer. Classical music has played a very significant role in my life and continues to do so to this day.

In fact, like many others, the project came about during the first lockdown. I was in a different band back then. We couldn’t rehearse anymore and our entire tour was cancelled because of the lockdown. That frustrated me, but I wanted to keep making music. At the start, SHOSTA was a solo metal project (going in the direction of gothic metal and post-metal) which had already released two EPs. But to be honest, making that sort of music on your own just isn’t any fun. Thanks to my mum and her friends, I grew up in the dancing black scene, so I buried the metal and made more danceable music, which led to the first EP, "Wachsen".

At first, taking the project on stage wasn’t even an option. It was meant to stay a studio project, and that was that. Over time, the desire to get back on stage grew stronger and stronger, and I didn’t want to do it alone. I believe music is communication and exchange, and SHOSTA had spent enough time alone at home. I also liked the idea of giving the whole thing a more organic feel, which is why I added the guitar first and then the drums. Can you compare that to being single and being in a relationship? In a way, yes. I really value working as a trio (as we did a year ago) and now as a duo, as the interaction helps me grow both as a person and as an artist. I feel that our music and our stage performance simply have more power together than they would on their own.

When I come off stage after a concert, I need some time to myself. Sometimes it feels as though I’ve been reading from my diary. It’s exhausting, it stirs things up, and it can be painful at times, but I’m not afraid of it. “What connects us makes us stronger,” as they often say, and I think that the things I write about affect many people who can empathise and who feel heard. And standing on stage and singing about it is perhaps not just a little therapy session for me alone, but for everyone listening to us at that moment.

This simply happened over time. As I mentioned, we met at work in a small town in Franconia. Up until then, the question of where we were based hadn’t been an issue. After a while, we went our separate ways professionally, but SHOSTA was to remain as it was. This is where the pandemic comes into play again. This state of emergency has led to the development of some really good tools that allow us to write music and communicate online. That has brought major advantages, at least in this respect. As for the towns specifically, I have to say they probably differ less than many people are willing to admit. Both towns are relatively posh but also have their little alternative corners that are worth appreciating.

We are political beings. Every one of us is. I feel that the scene has simply kept its eyes shut for too long and wrapped itself up in the cocoon of "we are a non-political scene". I can understand anyone who wants a space where politics isn’t the focus, but we live in a world where our freedom is under threat every single day. Be it from Big Tech corporations, ultra-conservatives or, indeed, Nazis. Our scene, by virtue of its fundamental values alone, is opposed to any kind of restriction on freedom, and trying to talk ourselves out of the danger, to say that everything is fine, achieves nothing. In my view, this only leads to the scene becoming, on the one hand, increasingly older and, on the other, super-elitist, because openness to new ideas and to people is steadily diminishing. I think that’s a shame, and I don’t want to hide away either; instead, I want to engage with people. Art can inspire a change in thinking, and that is exactly what we want to do. We take a clear stand because we believe it is urgently necessary.

I’ve thought about it quite a few times, and I’ve actually written songs in English for other projects, but I find that I can express myself best in German. And I think people outside the German-speaking world appreciate that too. We’ve already received quite a few messages from people who don’t speak German, saying that they listen to and appreciate our music. Maybe the urge will strike me again at some point and we’ll end up making an album in English after all. Who knows…

That’s a really interesting question. Would I be proud to be seen as something bad in the eyes of the Nazis? That seems a bit simplistic and black-and-white to me, so I wouldn’t say I’d be proud of that. What I can say, however, is that I personally really love most of the art the Nazis considered degenerate, and it really speaks to me. It is often abstract, excessively expressive, and offers a glimpse into a world that sometimes seems unvarnished or even ugly. To come back to your question: I wouldn’t be proud if Nazis were to brand my art as degenerate, but I would be proud of my good taste in art. ;)

We did take a short break in 2025, mainly because our guitarist Nico left the band for personal reasons that we fully understood. We didn’t want to look for a replacement, but to carry on as a duo and keep developing. This included a new logo and a fresh look. We want to use the colours to stand out a bit from the sea of black, white and grey goth bands. We think they’re all brilliant, but we didn’t want to get lost in the crowd. We just wanted to break up the colour scheme in the simplest way possible, so we went for the primary colours: red, yellow and blue. Black and white are still there, of course…

It actually started as a bit of a joke. At some point, I started saying “bat-tastic greetings” at the end of our social media videos. It then became a running gag, both internally and in the videos, that kept cropping up. So we decided that it would simply be our little mascot and lucky charm.

Good question. Moritz and I were just talking the other day about whether we have any life goals with SHOSTA. Of course, there are bands we’d love to share the stage with, and of course we have idols with whom we have a special connection. But at the end of the day, we don’t attach that much importance to it. When it comes to the question of who we’d like to collaborate with, a few artists spring to mind whom I’d love to work with. Right at the top of my list is Sophie Löw from the Austrian band Culk. A truly fantastic band with a fantastic singer. I’d also find a project with Cemgil from ZackZackZack really exciting. Besides, I’m always happy to collaborate with friends. I really value that. We’ve already done a track with Livores in 2024.

Yes, stage fright is a thing. It’s actually important, because it gives us the energy we need to give it our all on stage. Without it, it would be like going to a boring nine-to-five job every day. The excitement, the life, eventually fades away. On stage, we want to give it our all, we want to pour our emotions out onto the crowd and have them thrown back at us. And when we realise that the crowd is into it, letting loose and dancing, it fuels our passion even more. It’s so much fun to see how what you do moves people.

Absolutely. The Clan of Xymox are legends, and it was an honour for us to share the stage with them and play for their fans. We had some great chats with a few people afterwards. Aux Animaux, too, have a young but well-deserved legendary status, and it will be even more special for us to be able to support these icons. For us, this is definitely one of the highlights of the year.

In the medium term, our album release is just around the corner. We’re working on the new songs every day because we want to make the most of them and show people the best we have to offer. On top of that, we’re preparing for all the fantastic gigs this year. We’ve put a lot of time into our live show again and can’t wait to show it to everyone. In the long term, we’d really love to play at M’era Luna and the Amphi Festival. M’era Luna was my first festival when I was just 16, and playing there is one of our SHOSTA goals. :)

Thank you very much for this interview and these interesting questions. We love getting into conversation with people, especially when it comes to art, culture and society. I’ve noticed that good conversations have become rare. I look at myself in this regard too, because I’ve lost this ability a bit myself, and social anxiety probably plays a part in that as well, so I’m really pleased when people approach us and want to have a chat. Whether it’s through an interview or face-to-face at concerts. Thank you for that.