BROCKHOFF reveals what’s hiding underneath her debut album, ‘Easy Peeler’

Have you ever watched Disney Channel movies like Camp Rock or shows like Hannah Montana and wondered about the young boys or girls watching who have a similar dream? The ones who want to be the next big songwriter like Mitchie or the next pop sensation like Hannah?

BROCKHOFF was one of those girls. The German indie-rock artist was influenced by these strong female-led shows and movies that were all the rage in the mid-to-late 2000s, encouraging her to express herself through her music. She took piano lessons, taught herself guitar, started writing, and played small gigs at local bars. Eventually, she landed multiple support slots in Europe for artists like Giant Rooks, Alice Merton, and Paolo Nutini. Additionally, fans have most likely seen her perform at festivals like Brighton’s The Great Escape and Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds, where she flaunted her commanding stage presence.

In 2022, BROCKHOFF released her debut EP, Sharks, which cemented her status as one of indie-rock’s most compelling newcomers. She then followed Sharks with the release of her sophomore EP, I’ve Stopped Getting Chills for a While Now, in 2023. All the while, however, she was carefully crafting her debut album, Easy Peeler, which was released earlier this month. The album mixes her guitar-rock and exuberant pop sound while showcasing a newfound confidence as an artist.

Melodic Magazine recently caught up with BROCKHOFF, where we learned more about her songwriting process, Easy Peeler, and more.

Congratulations on your new album, Easy Peeler. What has the reception been like for you so far?
Thank you so much! I’m really happy and relieved because I’ve been waiting so long for the album to be released! It’s just great to see that people are actually listening to all the songs now and can relate to them! It’s fun to release something where people can discover something new. I love discovering albums, and I love having one of my own that can be discovered—it’s exciting!

Before this album, you had released two EPs. How would you say your previous EPs compare to this album?
The album has a slightly rougher and rockier sound than the EPs. I recorded the album with my live band in the studio over two weeks in the summer of 2024—that’s why I’d say it has more of a uniform sound compared to the EPs that were created over a longer period of time with various musicians I haven’t played with live.

Do you think that you are a different person now than you were when first writing Easy Peeler?
Yes, definitely. Throughout the process of working on the album, I grew a lot as a person, musically and socially. It’s been really challenging at some points, but it’s a good feeling to have achieved something like making an album and going through all the stages of it. A very important personal progress I’ve experienced while making this album is that I started to see that being a sensible and very emotional person is not to my disadvantage, like I sometimes thought. It’s something that helps me understand and see this world in its complexity, makes me stronger, and makes me creative. I’ve learned to love being an easy peeler, and it makes me proud that I created something that reminds me of that—and hopefully other people, too.

What would you say was the easiest song to write? The most challenging?
The easiest: “It Never Happened”
It’s a song that I wrote in one evening, and it ended up being on the record the same version I first recorded it.

Most challenging: “Sunny Day (Deadline)”
Usually, I write melodies and lyrics at the same time, but with this one, the melody and structure of the song was already clear but I wasn’t sure what it’s about. It’s the last song I finished writing for the album, and I made it a song about songwriting itself and what it means to me.

Any favorite lyrics on the album?
“If you could change, who would you choose to be instead? / I think I’d be the drummer of your favorite band,” from “Nothing Can Be Fixed In This Place”
I had a very specific, over-the-phone conversation in mind when I wrote this song. I think it’s a cute answer to a big and heavy question. I love when things like that happen in conversations; it’s hopeful.

“Maybe I’m evil for not doing what I could / Maybe there’s a reason why I don’t feel like I should,” from “Willows”
I remember coming up with this, and it just described so well how overwhelmed and paralyzed I felt at that time and how badly I longed for answers and the right thing to do. It’s my favorite part of the song.

Is there anything you learned from making this album that you would apply to the making of future songs or albums?
My current process for working on my next album is very different from how I worked on my debut album. I’m writing and producing the new songs with Marian Plösch from Vienna, and we’re basically skipping the demo phase that I went through with the first album and recording all the instruments ourselves right in the studio. It feels a bit more “in the moment” and intuitive to me right now. I really appreciate how much I have learned while recording Easy Peeler with my live band in the studio, and it was fun to see the different stages a song went through—from a rough demo to pre-production to band-rehearsals to actual live recordings in the studio. One thing I’ve noticed is that it’s a lot more fun and also easier for me to work on songs once the broader framework of an album starts to take shape.

Are there any songs that you didn’t put on this album that you are going to save for another EP or album?
After finishing the album, I felt ready for something new. On the next album, there will only be songs that I wrote after writing Easy Peeler. I knew pretty early in the process which Easy Peeler songs I wanted to have on this record; it wasn’t a difficult choice, and I didn’t hold anything back for later.

You have a few headline shows planned in the fall. What can fans expect from these shows? Which songs are you most looking forward to playing?
“Easy Peeler” is my favorite song to play live. I love the energy of it, and it’s always very emotional for me because it’s a song about how I lost faith in what I was doing. Every time I play it live, it reminds me of how I got through that phase by writing about it and continuing to trust my gut and pursue the things I love.

The live set includes a lot of “high school-rock” moments, but I’m also really looking forward to playing the quieter, slower songs and throwing in a few country moments.

What else do you have planned for the rest of 2026?
I’ll be working on my second album. I’m very excited about the new songs and can’t wait to spend more time in the studio again; it’s what I enjoy most. I’m also looking forward to playing some headline shows in Germany in September, and I hope the band and I can bring this album to a couple more places soon.

Thank you so much for your time. Do you have any final thoughts or comments?
It’s very special and exciting to me that my music is reaching people in the US. I hope the album encourages the people who listen to it to be an easy peeler too, to be emotional and embrace your vulnerability!