Playlist: HITS magazine

To celebrate the release of our first print issues, here's a playlist featuring all artists involved.

HITS x Berlin

We hosted our very first live gig in Berlin - and this is what it looked like.

Cover The HITS

Our latest video series - covers performed by our favourite acts, exclusively for us.

Video Interview: Scenic Route To Alaska

Melting away in front of Stuttgart's castle, we had a chat about touring, band names, Toy Story and a lot more.

Find us on YouTube!

Visit us on the 'tubes for interviews, exclusive performances and outtakes.

thank yous 2014



 Hey guys!

This is the last post of 2014. So technically it's a goodbye post.
Another year is over, another 365 days are history.

There were so many moments in 2014 where house in the sand left me speechless. It started when we hit 100 000 visits in May - a milestone I'm still so excited about.

And then, just yesterday, we hit 1 000 000 (I repeat: ONE MILLION) visits. I'm still not over this number. There is going to be a one million special on Friday (2nd January 15).

 I could never take these things for granted. That's why I really feel a strong need to just write a few lines about those people who made 2014 special. There are a lot more but the following are very important to me.
I got to work with so many talented and unbelievably supportive musicians this year.

Martin and James and Ryan - the three most supportive Scotsmen I've ever met. You guys have supported HITS from the very beginning and I'm really thankful for that.
Thank you Martin, for recording the fantastic music intro for HITS.
Thank you James, for helping me out with my studies. We got an A!!!
Thank you Ryan, for all the organisation. Without you we would be lost, that's for sure.

Jim Kroft - one of the most inspiring musicians I know. You've also been there from day one of HITS and it makes me proud to know you support this space of web. Thank you for all the positive words.

The Arkanes - oh boy, where do I start? You guys have probably been the most featured band in 2014 and I do not regret a single thing.
Chris, Dylan, Jake & Longy - thank you for adopting me into the band, for all the amazing gigs and the fun backstage. For being the funniest and most wonderful rockers and for involving me in so many band things. I'm so ready to join you guys on stage - my triangle solo is spot on. Spot on.

Dan Dietrich - another supporter from day one. You're one of the kindest guys I know and I'm really glad I was able to visit you this year. Need to do that more often in 2015, especially if there are more gigs at the farm.

Shoot The Rabbit & cat buddy - it certainly is always a pleasure having you on the blog. Thank you for all the support. Can't wait to see what 2015 holds for you.

Ben Barritt & Panic Tree - I absolutely enjoyed filming with you and I'm ridiculously excited for everyone to see what you've got coming up. Thank you for working with me.

Mark Mathews & Chris Stringer for the wonderful support online and for choosing to work with HITS more than just one time. It means a lot!

Nessi from carpe carmina & Ross from 6 Towns Radio - what can I say? You two have been absolutely supportive and your actions have left me speechless and smiling a couple of times. It's such a fantastic feeling being friends with creative people.

Seija - thank you for the help with the new design, the trips to B-town and the fun we had in general.

The fake friends - I didn't expect I'd thank you at some point, but hey - you taught me a few lessons. Those people who pretend to like you but really just want to be friends with musicians are frustrating. But they've helped me to realize what real friendship is. And that's worth a lot, innit?

Mamarazzi - for supporting me no matter what, for driving to gig no matter where and for dealing with me no matter how I've felt. When I say you're the best, I really mean it.


And most importantly:
The readers, followers, likers, viewers - without you none of this would be possible. If you weren't interested in house in the sand there surely wouldn't be a reason to do all of this.
I know probably everyone says this BUT - you are the best readers in the world!



I could go on for hours thanking everyone who's been part of 2014.
But I hope they all know what it means to me.


Thank you for reading, for liking, following, working with me and for being fantastic friends. I can't say it enough - I'm thankful.



Here's to 2015, let's make the most of it. :)


Thank you for reading!






Credits // Text & Image: Vanessa Jertschewske

Artist Overview 2014




Hey guys!

What a year this has been! If you haven't figured it out yet - I'm a big fan of cheesy, nostalgic and very cheesy reflections.

This years "Best Of" posts probably showed it all too well.
(Gig Pics | Video Highlights | All Posts)


110 acts have been featured on house in the sand this year!
 Last year we "only" featured 86.
Those 110 acts are from all over the world, the genres range from acoustic to rock.
Some are signed to indie labels, some to major labels and some are independent.

But there is one thing they all have in common: they work incredibly hard and are absolutely passionate about the music they make.
And I'm very honoured I got to introduce them to you.

I am also happy about how a lot of the artist and bands below have returned a couple of times for multiple collaborations. And some even became good friends.

Now here's the massive list of people featured in 2014. Feel free to check out who you're not familiar with yet. I'm sure it will be worth it. :)

adullboy
Alex Stockley
Arionce
Ballerina Black
Bella Loka 
Ben Barritt
Billy Moon
Boardwalk Isabella
Carrie Lane
Casino Circus
Chimera
Chris Stringer
Ciaran Lavery
Cold Summer
Cooper Phillip
Crash Island
Dan Dietrich
Danton Jay
Dirty Little Lies
Doodah Farm
Dorothy
Dos Ringos
 Ed Sheeran
Emma Harrop
Faded Paper Figures
Fashion Week
Florida Room
Forever Cult
Gabrielle Aplin
George Ezra
Goonight, Sunrise
Holly Elle
Honeybone
Hozier
Hudson Taylor
Humbug
Inego
Ismael Clark
Jamie Lawson
Jayden Blair
Jeen 
Jim Kroft
Jonny Goode
Jonny Skeates
JShades
Kat Healy
Keeva 
Kiirstin Marilyn
Kosi
Laney Jones
Liam McClair
Lizabett Russo
Lucy Hall
Marcas O'hUigin
Mark Mathews
Martin and James
Martin Luke Brown
Michael Bublé
Midnight Hour
Moonlands
Nick Liam
Nina Yasmineh
Of Clocks And Clouds
Ooberfuse
Orla Gartland
Palms and Pelicans
Panic Tree
Pawns Or Kings
Pete Lincoln
Plastic Barricades
Polar Maps
Quinn Archer 
Ryan Morcombe
Rosco McCabe
Sarah Bollinger
Saint Raymond
Scarry Cherry and the Bang Bangs
Sean Rumsey
Shoot The Rabbit
Sound Of The Sirens
Stage Republic
Taylor Swift
The Arkanes
The Autumn Art Festival
The Blue Waves
The Glass Child
The GoAround
The Koniac Net 
The Open Feel
The Persian Leaps
The Ragamuffins
The Spase
The Unassisted
The Vibes 
The 1957 Tail-Fin Fiasco
The 95th
Thickets
Think Tank
Thorge
Tom Mitchell
Tom Odell
Tonight We Live
Tusk
Under A Banner
Venture
Violet 
Visitors
Vodsel
Waterbodies 
Winter In Toronto


Many thanks to all artists, their managements and labels who decided to work with house in the sand.
It was a pleasure!



Thank you for reading!






Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Images: press kit photographs, Vanessa Jertschewske

Best Of 2014: all posts




Hey guys! 

This year I've managed to write 170 posts for house in the sand. Two more are to follow.

I'm actually pretty happy with that number since I really have written every single post on my own, no guest writer or anything. 

I often get asked how long it takes to write a post and I think the end of the year is a nice time to talk about such things.
Well, it depends. A post can take me an hour or it can take me a day to write.

For example; more personal posts, such as updates on what's going on or little throwbacks are super easy to write and therefore take less than an hour.

Then there are album reviews. The average album itself is around 40-50 minutes long. As a reviewer you should listen to an album MORE than just one time. I usually listen to an album three to four times before I start writing. You do the maths.

The posts that take me the longest to produce are concert impressions. Taking the photos and filming the videos at the gigs usually takes between 40 and 90 minutes, depending on what sets I get to shoot. 
I usually end up with faaaar too many pictures so I have to go through them, choose the best ones, edit them. It's the same with the videos. Sometimes the editing takes two hours, sometimes it takes +8 hours.
(The Ed Sheeran gig post took about 9 hours. I took +900 photos I had to sort through. And of course the written parts need to be written, too.)


I absolutely love writing the articles you see on here and can't wait for 2015!

Below you'll find all posts of 2014, feel free to read the ones you haven't read yet. Just click the title and the article of your choice appears. :)


Birthday Countdown 2014:



Personal, Updates & Live Announcements:


Song Reviews:
#HITSBC15:
Official Trailer
Video: Help me plan a project



Thank you for reading! :)




Credits // Text & Image: Vanessa Jertschewske

Album Of The Day: "Christmas" by Michael Bublé


 

Hey guys!

Tomorrow we celebrate Christmas here in Germany. I don't know about you but I feel exactly 7.47% Christmasy.

There's no snow, it's actually quite "warm" and it just doesn't feel like Christmas to me. Sure, I've been eating a lot of ginger bread... but I started in September. So I don't really think that is way to get into the Christmas spirit.

I tried decoring the house with everything I festive could find. I bought presents (and still had to buy a few today.... whoops) and wrapped them.

But still.. it feels more like October.

So I thought "hey, I love music. Maybe music will do the job."
I have to admit, I only know the basic Christmas songs, as I've never been over-excited about Christmas.

I then stumbled upon Michael Bublé's Christmas album. Yes, it got released 2011. No, I don't care if that makes it old.
Of course it features the classics such as "Jingle Bells", "White Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland".

In my opinion, Michael Bublé is a fantastic vocalist. His warm, soothing voice just wraps you up like a warm blanket.

So this is one of my favourite Christmas albums. Which one is yours?

Let's get festive together, shall we? 




I'm not sure I feel readier for Christmas now. But I'm absolutely encouraged to eat more ginger bread.


Merry Christmas, you beautiful people!


Thank you for reading! :)


 


Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | image: Michael Bublé press

Best Of 2014: Video Highlights



Hey guys!

So this is the second post of the "Best Of 2014" series and I could not be more excited.
Last week it was all about the photography, this week I want to focus on the all things video. 

2014 offered a lot of video opportunities: interviews, soundcheck & behind the scenes documentaries, exclusive performances, our first Birthday Countdown and live gig impressions.

I loved working on all these videos and am really thankful such talented people decided to work with me. You all made it so much fun! We got lost together, entertained the whole cafés we sat in, went on stage together, fought against sunset and ended up in the dark, nearly fell into rivers and hung out with cows. What adventurous times!

Looking back on 2014 makes me look forward to 2015 even more. I can't wait to start working on new projects, new videos. My hunch tells me that there will be a lot of videos next year. 


Make sure to subscribe to house in the sand on YouTube so you don't miss anything.

Here's my 2014 best of video. I'm really excited for you to see it.





All videos in full length:
(click title to watch the video of your choice)




 Thank you for reading and watching! :)





Credits // Text, Image & Video: Vanessa Jertschewske


Project 365 Photos: Update 3


 
Hey guys!

It's been far too long since the last projet 365 photos update, I know.

For those of you who don't know about the project, it's really simple: you take one photograph a day throughout the entire year to document your life.

2014 is nearly over and I think that's a good time to show you some more of my photos.
Maybe this will encourage you to start the project yourself.

I started on January 1st and until today I have not missed out one day. Taking one photo a day can be tricky for so many reasons. But if you can motivate yourself to do it, this project is a fantastic way to document your life. There are so many things your brain wont remember itself, so why not help out by taking a photo?

Some of you might worry about not being able to photograph something exciting each day.
That's completely fine. Honestly, my life is not exciting every day. There are some days where I just sit at my desk and work and that is really nothing special. But those days happen so why not document them?

I am definitely going to finish the project this year and continue in 2015. I just can't wait to look back on it in a few years. :)


Here are some of the latest shots.
May you enjoy!


September 4th: I've developed a pretty unhealthy obsession with hydrangeas this year...

September 15th: Learned the beginning of Hozier's "Cherry Wine". Beautiful but difficult!


September 20th: Pumpkin timeeeeeeeeeeee.


October 10th: Walks with the little Mr are always fun. Even he is smiling!


October 19th: Flea market in Berlin on a Sunday - can't think of a better combination.


October 24th: Oh you sweet little macarons.

October 28th: New house in the sand work space! Oh so vintage!


November 1st: About 30% of all photographs are sky/sunset photographs.

November 2nd: Furry, elegant friend.


November 8th: Told you...

 
November 15th: Photographed Ed Sheeran, what an incredible performer.

December 6th: Put the tree up! It's the "small people" edition.


December 12th: Heaven took away someone special that day.

 
December 15th: Spontaneous shooting outside.


Alrighty, that's it. I hope you enjoyed a few more insights.


Let me know if you have done the project before OR if you are thinking about doing it next year.
:)


Thank you for reading!






Credits // Text & Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske

Song Of The Day: "Someone" by Mark Mathews



Hey guys!

Song releases are absolutely exciting, aren't they?
I am very happy to be involved in many releases as a music blogger. It's always an amazing thing to watch musicians work on new songs and then finally release them for the world to hear.

Today Mark Mathews releases his newest song "Someone".

The singer/songwriter from the Queens own garden - Kent, UK is no new face to house in the sand.
His music could be described as indie-pop with a folk twist to it and even some light sprinkles of folk-rock if you ask me.
Inspired by bands such as The Beatles, The Kinks and Oasis he likes to write about "love, going out, getting out of the town or a situation you're in and your mates", so the singer himself.

Mark has been really busy recently shooting videos, writing new tunes and gigging his way through London's streets and bar's. 


"Someone" is one of Mark's slower songs, in fact it's a ballad.
The song wins you over with Mark's calm vocals. The instrumental is spot on a mixes soothing acoustic guitar elements with beautiful electric guitar riffs which just underline the emotional bits of the song.
The multilayered vocal part in the chorus is spot on and gives the song more intensity.

Really guys, just have a listen yourself!


Mark Mathews online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube



 Thank you for reading!





Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Image: Mark Mathews

Best Of 2014: Gig Pics



Hey guys!

Those of you who have been around at this time of the in 2013 already know that I'm a sucker for cheesy best ofs.
I just can't help but love a good reflection of what happened within a certain amount of time. My friends have to deal with that all year long. And now that 2014 is coming to an end I feel like it's appropriate to give you a little reflection of certain and special events.

There are going to be a few more "Best Of 2014" posts throughout the rest of this month.
(This makes me really happy!)

I want to start off with a photography post.
Photography is one of my passions and I'm absolutely happy that in 2014 I got to photograph quite a few gigs.
All gigs were absolutely enjoyable music wise and therefore taking pictures was even more fun. I got to photograph my friends The Arkanes five times this year and every single time was fantastic!

I love taking pictures whilst standing in the crowd even though that can be tricky. There are some crowds who are super loyal and let you move around and then there are crowds who absolutely hate you for trying to move around. 

At bigger gigs there's usually always a photo pit which is the area between the stage and the crowd. The typical rule there is "3 songs, no flash" - means you get to shoot the first three songs and are not allowed to use flash.

I also got to go on stage a couple of times to take some shots, so thanks to all bands who let me climb on stage!

Below you'll find my favourite pictures I took this year. I hope you enjoy, feel free to tell me which one you like best. :)

Jim Kroft // Alte Schule, Bergkirchen

James (Martin and James) // Eldorado, Zurich

Martin (Martin and James) // Eldorado, Zurich

Martin and James // Centralstation, Darmstadt

Martin and James // Centralstation, Darmstadt

Martin (Martin and James) // Centralstation, Darmstadt

James (Martin and James) // Centralstation, Darmstadt

Tom Odell // LKA, Stuttgart

Tom Odell // LKA, Stuttgart

Longy (The Arkanes) // Kellerklub, Stuttgart

Chris (The Arkanes) // Kellerklub, Stuttgart

Dylan (The Arkanes) // Kellerklub, Stuttgart

Lee (ex-bassist for The Arkanes) // Kellerklub, Stuttgart

James (Martin and James) // Waldsee, Freiburg

Martin (Martin and James) // Waldsee, Freiburg

Jim Kroft // Café Rudi Marie, Berlin

Ben Barritt & Jim Kroft // Café Rudi Marie, Berlin

Dan Dietrich // Farm, Darmstadt

Jake (The Arkanes) // Rockfabrik, Ludwigsburg

Chris (The Arkanes) // Rockfabrik, Ludwigsburg

Chris & Jake (The Arkanes) // Rockfabrik, Ludwigsburg

Jamie Lawson // Porsche Arena, Stuttgart

Saint Raymond // Porsche Arena, Stuttgart

Saint Raymond // Porsche Arena, Stuttgart

Ed Sheeran // Porsche Arena, Stuttgart

Ed Sheeran // Porsche Arena, Stuttgart

The Arkanes // Backstage Halle, Munich

Chris (The Arkanes) // Backstage Halle, Munich

Jake (The Arkanes) // Backstage Halle, Munich

Dylan (The Arkanes) // Backstage Halle, Munich

Longy (The Arkanes) // Backstage Halle, Munich


That's it. Out of probably 9000-10000 pictures I took, those are my favourites of 2014.
I hope you like them too! Let's see who will be in front of my lens in 2015! :)

Thank you for reading and taking time to look at the photographs. :)




Credits // Text & Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske