“I wanted to stand apart from what was already out there” – Anna Buchegger

Anna Buchegger (c) Alex Gotter
Anna Buchegger (c) Alex Gotter

Raised in the countryside, now a city dweller, resulting in an extensive variety of music under her belt: ANNA BUCHEGGER brings a breath of fresh air to Austria’s musical landscape. After winning the TV show “Starmania” in 2021, the former cover-singer is entering a whole new era with her album “Windschatten” (release date: 10/4/2024). The focus is now on her own music, a combination of dialect, folk elements and contemporary pop. When it comes to content, the album has a very clear direction. In a conversation with Katharina Reiffenstuhl, ANNA BUCHEGGER told us why she chose this direction. It’s a discussion on cultural understanding, the urban-rural divide and her limited run with cover bands.

Where does your musical background come from?

Anna Buchegger: I grew up in Abtenau, 50 km away from Salzburg. I think my first musical years were very formative. I learned to play the hammered dulcimer at the age of four, which is also part of the album. And I had a singing duo with my sister. We played folk music, so it’s a bit back to the roots now. Then I moved to Salzburg quite early on, where I did a lot of jazz, soul and R’n’B. I moved to Vienna when I was 19 and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts there, where I made a lot of pop music. All these influences are probably the reason why it’s become such a wild mix.

It sounds a bit like you’ve created a whole new genre of your own. Do you classify your music yourself?

Anna Buchegger: After “Starmania”, I thought a lot about where I wanted to place myself now. It was difficult because I wanted to somehow do everything. That’s why, to a certain extent, my own genre emerged. But it was important to me that there was room for folk music and folklore elements – it’s a bit more difficult than I thought to make it sound “tasty” when embedded in modern music. You can also drift off somewhere else very quickly.

Do you have a musical role model when it comes to folk music?

Anna Buchegger: I listened to a lot of Hubert von Goisern – of course, they’re the pioneers. But I also listened to Koenigleopold, who also made some wild punk-dialect music, to see what else was possible. I wanted to stand apart from what was already out there and invent something new.

Video: Anna Buchegger – Kim Vorbei

It is a niche after all. When it comes to dialect music, people often say ‘It’s difficult, you can’t market it internationally’. Do you see this as a problem?

Anna Buchegger: Yes (laughs). It’s really difficult for me as an artist. I mainly did it for the sake of the music and only realized afterwards how difficult it is when I want to build up an artist profile. Above all, I want to get rid of this cover-singer reputation that I now have after “Starmania”. I now have to work on ‘overwriting the hard disk’ and establishing my own existence as an artist. I’m not quite succeeding because I’m not that much of a content creator, I’ve discovered. But I’m trying.

“I DON’T WANT TO PASS ON THE TRADITIONS AS THEY CURRENTLY EXIST.”

On your new album, you sing a lot about your “fatherland” Austria – and it doesn’t necessarily sound like a declaration of love. Where does that come from?

Anna Buchegger: Lyrically, it’s definitely not a declaration of love, I’m not holding back with criticism. But musically it’s a declaration of love, yodeling and these traditional elements – I’m passionate about it. It’s a passion that I want to help shape. I don’t want to pass on the traditions as they currently exist. I want to change them and make them new. They’re often linked to right-wing political ideology, but I also want to make them attractive to young people, emancipated women or more liberal political views. I think the problem is often that there is such an urban-rural divide. They often don’t understand each other, there’s a competition, especially a political one. I’m so in between, I’m at home everywhere.

I live in a big city and grew up in the countryside in a provincial town. I carry both within me – and I just don’t want there to be a divide all the time. I don’t think the interests are that different, we just need to talk to each other and listen to each other. And the populist bullshit makes all of this even worse, it divides society even more. That’s why this album exists.

The understanding of culture is often very different on the countryside. How was your career path received in your hometown?

Anna Buchegger: I think that I’ve always wanted to make music. I’ve always done it – everywhere, at every opportunity, at every marksmen’s festival and at every Mother’s Day concert. Last year, I tried to push a few cultural initiatives in the village. The cultural offerings were definitely one of the reasons why I moved to Vienna. I have the feeling that tourism was so important in the place where I grew up that all other initiatives took a back seat. That’s why I tried to get it going again a bit.

You actually started studying German and inclusive education after your A-levels. When did you know that music should be your path?

Anna Buchegger: I drank more spritzers than I attended lectures (laughs). I studied German for a year and then started with the IGP degree, which has a pedagogical component. I didn’t finish my teaching degree, I actually completed instrumental and vocal pedagogy in Vienna. So I still teach a bit on the side.

Video: Anna Buchegger – Vaterland

You’ve been living in Vienna for a few years now. Are you happy here, is this the place you want to be?

Anna Buchegger: Vienna is a bit like a museum. It’s better labeled than a museum. But I think it’s really cool here. I definitely want to stay longer. Maybe I’ll be drawn back home again at some point, who knows. With me, you never know exactly what will happen.

“With me, you never know exactly what will happen.”

You won “Starmania” three years ago. Even though you say you would like to rid yourself of this cover-singer image, was taking part an important step for your musical career?

Anna Buchegger: Yes. I think it did a lot to make me think about what I want to do now and what the music should sound like. So it was definitely important that this happened. Moreover, learned a lot about the music business, which was also necessary.

photo of Anna Buchegger (c) Alex Gotter
Anna Buchegger (c) Alex Gotter

What, for example?

Anna Buchegger: Above all, how show business works. It’s not really about the person and the people behind it, but about achieving ratings. And that’s when I realized: I’m all about the music. I want the music to speak for itself and to pass on the thoughts I have.

In the past, you’ve been in a few big band line-ups. You were last seen with the LUNGAU BIG BAND.

Anna Buchegger: We had a short tour at the beginning of the year, but that’s over now. Now I have a lot of work to do with my own project. I’ll be playing a lot in the fall, with a release concert at the Konzerthaus on October 26. That’s definitely something I’m losing sleep over. (laughs) So at the moment I’m mainly playing solo, otherwise I also have a small marching band that I play with from time to time. We’re letting it slide a bit at the moment, I have to admit.

What happened to the band you played in from 2016 to 2020?

Anna Buchegger: Oh, it was a cover band. It still exists, but I’m just not in it anymore. It was covid, and there were a few discrepancies. Cover-band times kind of have an expiration date. You can’t do it forever. I wanted to make my own thing. At some point you just have to let go.

Thank you for the interview!

Katharina Reiffenstuhl

Live:

October 26th, 2024, Wiener Konzerthaus

Translated from the German original by Arianna Alfreds.