WOLFGANG TILLMANS DÂM-FUNK

“IN YOUR SONG ‘GOYA SODA’ I UNDERSTAND YOU DREW INSPIRATION FROM THE WORKS OF SPANISH PAINTER FRANCISCO GOYA. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE ARTWORK?”

“Goya Soda” was inspired by the painting Saturn Eating His Children, which is about the connection between revulsion and desire. A favorite artwork? I would have to say Francis Bacon, but I can’t pick just one. His work is an intersection between abstraction, surrealism, poetry, destruction, truth, pain. Inside the genius of that work, there is tenderness.

“WE FIRST MET IN THE SUNSHINE OF LOS ANGELES. IF I WERE NOT CREATING MUSIC FULL-TIME, I’D MOST LIKELY BE A METEOROLOGIST. WHAT KIND OF WEATHER INSPIRES YOUR BEST WRITING?”

I suspect it’s sunny weather. I wrote “Tilted,” one of my best hits, on a sunny day. That’s a big component of why I’m going to move to LA—also to be close you, so that we can do sessions together.

“DID AN ANIMAL EVER CHANGE YOUR LIFE?”

Yes, of course. My first real love was my childhood cat, who would sing along with me. He was my great love, and he died when I was 18. I had another cat with my ex-boyfriend called Scrunchy. He was a Maine Coon, and I lost him in the divorce. He was very chatty, and his giant paws were so fucking cute.

“WHAT IS A QUESTION YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ASKED IN AN INTERVIEW, BUT WISH YOU WOULD BE?”

So many questions are never asked! It’s baffling, really. I’m surprised that people are always interested in the same things. I miss intricate poetic questions that make my mind race to a place I would never expect. I’d love to speak more about my approach to dancing and my background in theater. People acknowledge it and then they move on, but really it’s the core of my practice.