"Charly Klauser"
in an
Exclusiv Interview
2026

To my great delight, I had the pleasure of welcoming Charly Klauser for an exclusive interview.

We’re sitting amidst a sea of thousands of beautiful sunflowers and the sun is shining:

Charly: Cool, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.

Susanne:
I’m looking forward to it too. Tell me, Charly, you’re such a multi-talented musical genius.

How many instruments do you actually play?

Charly:
It makes a difference whether I’m playing to myself in my little room or performing on stage – about 7 or 8: drums,
bass guitar, piano, vocals, violin, percussion.

Susanne:
How did that come about? When did you realise that you’re such a brilliant genius and can play almost anything?

Charly: You don’t usually see it that way yourself – just like someone who can speak loads of languages.
That’s because I could never make up my mind and never wanted to commit to just one thing.

Charly: I’m keen on loads of different musical styles and loads and loads of countries, and I just love variety, which is why
it’s not just the violin, but also the drums and percussion.

Today, my older sister is up on stage with us playing the bass. It’s quite a family band.
She started playing the violin at the age of five; I was two, and then my parents had no choice but to get me a
tiny little violin too. And I just ‘squeaked’ away on it until, at some point when I was three or so, I was allowed to
play in the orchestra as well.

It was a bit rudimentary, of course, but there are photos to prove it. Then things just developed from there, and I started
playing the piano fairly quickly too.

Susanne: That’s amazing!

We’re at the Goldgelb Festival today, but you’ve already been around quite a bit and met so many
fantastic musicians and colleagues in your life, and played music with them.

Susanne: Who have you had the pleasure of working with?

Charly: There are loads of big names, and plenty I’m still touring with at the moment, like Peter Maffay, for example.
That’s a really big part of it, because I’ve been in the band for 14 years. I’ve also been with Carolin Kebekus for 13 years,
playing drums on a TV show and all sorts of instruments, but mainly the violin, percussion, lead vocals
and backing vocals. But I started out early and then played music with Rage, a metal band,
a string quartet with which I’ve toured the world; with Sascha, with Tim Bendzko, with Jeanette Biedermann – I’ve
played music with all these people.

Susanne: Amazing!

Susanne: And how long have you been performing on stage?

Charly: Judging by the photo of me with the orchestra, it seems I was already on stage at the age of two,
but there were several concerts, and then when I was five and six I took part in competitions and all sorts of
spring concerts
at vocational school, and at twelve I founded my girls’ rock band ‘The Black Sheep’.
With Black Sheep, I played proper gigs and that’s when life on tour really took off – at twelve.

Susanne: On tour at twelve – that’s absolutely mad, really.

Charly: Yeah, yeah, but my sister, my sister and I have done a lot of travelling around with our girls’ band.
Funnily enough, my mum’s here today. She used to drive us round back then, of course, because at twelve we
didn’t have a driving licence yet. She hasn’t been with us for a very, very long time now, of course. Today we were
all sitting together in the band van and it felt just like the old days.

Susanne: Yes. And a smile.

Charly: She always used to drive us to Berlin for a gig, and to Hamburg or wherever else we had gigs,
and now the three of us girls are back together again today.

Susanne: That’s brilliant and absolutely lovely.

Charly: It really is lovely, and I’m delighted too.

Susanne: So tell me, what was your most memorable experience on tour – the one where you thought,
‘Wow, that really blew me away’?!

Charly: It was a concert last year where I performed one of my own songs at the FE the World Games.
I once played a gig in a stadium with one of our own songs at the FE the World Games.
That was absolutely mind-blowing. We often play in stadiums with Peter Maffay, but to sing one of our own
songs there – and then there were fireworks in the stadium afterwards, because the Games were being opened.
So that was really, really special.

It doesn’t really depend on the location or the venue, or on the size of the crowd; I used to play at
Chinese music fairs as well. It was also really exciting to dip into other cultures and countries
and see how things actually work there – I find that very enriching.

Susanne: I reckon so – that’s brilliant, and do they work in exactly the same way as ours?

Charly: Here in Germany, we’ve got loads of laws and regulations. There weren’t any of those there – everyone at
their exhibition stand just cranked up the volume, and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God’ – that was certainly an
unusual experience.

Susanne: Charlie, you’re a songwriter too – where do you get your inspiration from? Where do your ideas come from?
Tell us, what’s it like for you?

Charly: I’m a very curious person; I want to experience as much as possible. That’s what my song lyrics are all about, too.
And how do you manage to do all that, so that you go to bed happy and content in the evening? 


I also demand a lot from myself. I love travelling, I love meeting people, and from those encounters and from conversations
with people I know and friends – and sometimes it’s even the bloke in the café who’s making the coffee and just
lets slip some words of wisdom, where I think to myself: ‘Yes, we might have very different jobs, but at heart
we might actually be very much alike.’

I definitely find that sort of interpersonal stuff really interesting, and I work it into my lyrics and my music too;
whenever I sit down at any instrument, I’m bound to come up with something musically where I can try things out.

I think that’s lovely, though, and then the next night I don’t like it anymore.
That’s the creative process you subject yourself to. It goes up and down, or I’ll have a really great idea
and the next day I’ll think to myself, that sounds just like everything else I’ve already written.


But in any case, when I sit down at an instrument, that spark just comes. Sometimes I just want to practise
and then I make a mistake.

I thought to myself: ‘Oh, that was lovely too, if only it were like that,’ and then bang, bang, bang – and there you have yet
another burst of creativity.

Susanne: That’s brilliant! So it’s all in flux…

Charly: It’s all in flux.

To make music, I’ve also had to organise a great deal over the last few years; I’ve done a lot of business
and lots of solo projects.
I’m the boss of the whole company. Today I’m here with nine people, so I have to organise everything, and
I’ve actually worked myself into the ground a bit over the last few years. As a result, I’ve had less time to
make music, and I realise that I’m not really that happy. I need to find my way back somehow.

Susanne: Charly, do you actually get nervous when you go on stage?

Charly: Not always – but when the very first notes are played on stage, then of course it’s exciting and
brilliant. And now JB Meijers – Peter Maffay’s guitarist – is here too. JB has actually
managed to set aside two hours and he’s playing the whole set with us today.

Susanne: I thought a bit earlier that I’d spotted him. Well, that’s JB Meijers from Peter Maffay’s band,
I thought to myself.
I know him too. For a second I thought, that can’t be right – you just don’t expect
to see him on stage somewhere else like this.

Charly: We’ve already produced two songs together as a family and have often
made music together, played gigs and so on. This is the loveliest venue here – you couldn’t have picked a better one.

The two songs she wrote together with JB – and which she also played today at the concert – are also featured on
the new EP. The songs are “Willkommen im Leben” and “Es liegt an uns”.

They’re really lovely, and we’ve got plenty more up our sleeves, but we haven’t actually managed to finish them off yet.

I’m going to warm up my voice now, do a bit more preparation, and then it’s time for the soundcheck. You’re welcome
to come and watch the soundcheck,nand hopefully you’ll be right at the front of the crowd at the concert today too.

Susanne: Yeah, of course. I’d love to come to the soundcheck – so everything’s absolutely brilliant. I’m really looking forward to it.

Charly: You really get that proper holiday feeling here, with the sun shining and the sunflowers – it’s all so lovely, and yes,
I’m already really looking forward to the concert.

Susanne: And those two songs you’re playing today – the ones you did with JP.

Charly: Yeah, they’re on the album too, and we’re playing for two hours today, so I’ve included the medley from the tour,
where I take the audience on a journey – it’s going to be brilliant – and I’ll take them through the
various projects they know me from. For example, Jeanette Biedermann and so on. Álvaro Soler –
I played on that one too. And they’ll also get to hear the song by Black Sleep, and I’ll play a drum solo
and stuff like that, from my very first band. And it’s going to be brilliant.

I’m just going to warm up my voice a bit now before I go on stage and do a bit of setting up.

Susanne: Tell me, Charlie, do you actually get nervous when you go on stage?

Charly: It varies. Of course I get nervous sometimes, but I’m not nervous every time, because this is my
job – I do it very, very often. If I got that adrenaline rush every single time, it wouldn’t be very healthy.
There is definitely some excitement. You notice that your pulse quickens a bit and your heart beats faster;
if you haven’t rehearsed enough, then you get nervous.


I’m always a bit more nervous with my own material, because I have a responsibility there; with other people’s material,
you can relax a bit – sometimes it also depends on who’s in the audience.

If you know, for example, that when I’m playing the drums, a famous drummer turns up and sits there
and says to me:
‘Hey, have fun playing!’ – that’s special. And sometimes my mum’s there, and of course she’s listening for every little detail,
to see whether I’m performing at my best or not, and that makes me even a bit more nervous.