BC25 is a duo from Freiburg, Germany—singer Vela Sorell and lyricist/producer Barbonus. Their music blends close-miked vocals, warm acoustic colors, and understated electronic textures, letting silence play as an instrument. The project grew from eighteen unfinished home recordings a late friend left behind; BC25 re-imagines them as a dialogue between memory and the present. Their debut EP, Unearthed, introduces six songs—including “Blue Thread” and “Don’t Look Down”—as the first chapter of a larger cycle.
With “Blue Thread” out now, we took some time to hear from BC25. Read below to learn more about BC25, the story behind “Blue Thread,” and what’s to come.
Hi BC25! Let’s start with how did the name, BC25, come about?
Barbonus: People keep trying to solve it like a riddle — Before Christ, Binary Code, Barbonus &…nice guesses, but no. For me, it’s a time code, a bookmark between yesterday and whatever comes next.
Vela: I liked that it doesn’t explain itself. Names that explain too much put you in a box. This one leaves room — and that’s where I sing. And no, it’s not ‘Before Coffee’…even if that’s true sometimes. And yes, in Germany, there’s a BahnCard 25 — ours just travels by song.
What city are you both from, and where are you both based now?
Vela: Freiburg, Germany — born and based. It’s close to nature, which probably keeps me grounded. I like cities that leave space to breathe; that sneaks into how I phrase and keep things simple.
Barbonus: Same coordinates. I’ve been here since the late ’90s, writing between forest edges and small cafés. Freiburg teaches patience; the trams ring, the hills listen, and songs take their time to arrive.
When and how did you two meet, and when and how did you decide to form a duo?
Barbonus: We first met at my small studio. Vela came in with another combo to cut a song. After the session, the others left for a quick beer; I stayed with a drive full of eighteen little files called ‘fragments.’ She saw the screen, asked what they were, and I played one.
Vela: I said, ‘Give me a second.’ I grabbed the talkback mic and sang a line over it — ‘The Shape of Air,’ just a sketch. I was supposed to catch up with the others.
Barbonus: That take felt like someone had opened a window in the room. It stopped being archiving and started being music.
Vela: We didn’t ‘decide’ that night, but the next week — over coffee. One song led to another, and suddenly it was a duo. For now, at least. We’re committed to finishing the eighteen fragments as honestly as we can; after that, we’ll see. I still play with my own band, and Barbonus has his label and projects — BC25 is our shared room for this chapter.
How would you both describe your duo’s sound to readers who may not be familiar with you all?
Vela: We live between quiet and lift. On one side: close-up vocals with piano or a light string color, lots of air and restraint — like ‘While I Was Quiet’ or ‘The Shape of Air.’ On the other: guitar or synth-driven, pop-rock energy where the voice leads from the front — like Frontline. Blue Thread has a gentle sway, but that bossa tint isn’t our default.
Barbonus: Songs built like rooms rather than walls — minimal, first takes when they breathe. The middle lane is ‘Don’t Look Down’: a late-night pulse with experimental textures; not festival-house, but it glows. We keep the spectrum on purpose: if a part starts looping, Vela kicks it forward.
Who are some of your group’s main musical influences?
Vela: I’m drawn to intimate, close-miked voices — warm, present, with breath and grain. Agnes Obel, Norah Jones. I also borrow from quiet jazz phrasing: space, breath, holding a line a second longer. Years of rhythm work keep me grounded; the song decides if it wants piano, strings, or a front-row guitar.
Barbonus: I collect lyricists: Leonard Cohen for the line, Nick Cave for the shadow, Bowie — his quiet side — for the swivel of perspective. And, I love the minimalist spirit of late-70s/early-80s German pop — that sense of reduction. I learn from silence; Vela keeps me from looping it forever.
What are your group’s go-to pre-session ritual and favorite after-session reset?
Vela: Pre-session: Coffee—no joke—and no, BC25 doesn’t stand for ‘Before Coffee.’ Real coffee. A short double espresso, no sugar. Sip, breathe, four-count in, four-count out, check the room, metronome in the back pocket, done.
Barbonus: After-session? Quick reset: two tickets. We’re both film people. I love road movies—people in motion, between destinations…
Vela: …and I love films that stay with you for their atmosphere, like Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation. Quiet, reflective, powerful…
Barbonus: …and when we do slip into a loop, the cinema breaks it. Last time was an open-air screening in the courtyard of the Schwarzes Kloster in Freiburg—home base. The screen breaks the loop; the walk home writes the bridge.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your group’s music career so far?
Vela: Hearing ‘Blue Thread’ on air for the first time — and realizing we’d released Unearthed without polishing it to death. For someone who used to live behind a drum kit, singing out front felt like a tightrope. Not falling was the proud part.
Barbonus: A tiny studio moment: Vela said ‘I am not a loop,’ we cut one take, kept the breath, and I finally closed the folder called ‘fragments.’ Also, the first time a stranger’s review described our song better than I could.
What would you both say are the greatest lessons that you’ve all learned so far?
Vela: Leave room. First takes can be truer than perfect ones. Don’t polish the life out of a song. Rhythm means forward motion—at some point you stop tweaking and hit ‘send.’ And, intimacy comes from the performance, not the processing.
Barbonus: Memory is strong, but the present gets the vote. I tend to circle fragments; Vela’s ‘I am not a loop’ became policy. Use silence as an instrument, don’t explain everything, and let the song decide when we disagree.
Now onto the release, ‘Blue Thread.’ What inspired this song?
Barbonus: The seed goes back to the late ’90s: a melody my friend recorded at home, bouncing takes on a compact cassette. In 2003, he handed me that tape and said, ‘Make something of it.’ I promised. He passed in 2005. The hiss, dropouts, the warped highs — they kept me in restoration limbo for years. ‘Blue Thread’ is finally keeping that promise, not by ‘fixing’ everything, but by letting the flaws become atmosphere. The tape hiss had opinions; we listened.
Vela: When those fragments were recorded, I wasn’t here yet — I met the song in the room, not in the past: guitar, breath, the quiet between. My job was to anchor it in the present — one live take, minimal layers, enough space for air to tell part of the story. He brings the memory; I bring the now. Deal.
What is ‘Blue Thread’ about?
Vela: Lightness that still leaves a mark. It’s close and a little elusive — a maybe that lingers. The line ‘she hums a line in minor keys’ is the key for me: flow with a soft ache inside it. You reach…and she’s almost there.
Barbonus: Presence and absence sharing a chair. The thread is small but strong — something that ties you to someone who isn’t in the room. We wrote it as a handhold, not an explanation.
What was the creative process like when making ‘Blue Thread?’
Barbonus: Not simple, honestly. There was a promise on that tape, and the engineer in me wanted to repair every wobble. The writer in me knew that we’d lose the ghost if we over-polished. So: clean preamp, a touch of compression to keep the breath, sometimes a ribbon mic for the soft edge. I do first mixes in the box; when Vela leaves, I might try three extra plug-ins, and when she comes back, we mute two. Healthy ecosystem. We commit early, then send the stereo print to a trusted mastering engineer — fresh ears not married to the fragments.
Vela: For me, it was almost the opposite: keep it simple, so it can breathe. Guitar, voice, space. Two passes, we kept the first. If an arrangement started to circle, I said ‘forward’ and we stopped adding things.
How long did it take to complete ‘Blue Thread?’
Barbonus: Emotionally: about twenty years. Practically: one afternoon to track, a few evenings to mix, and a week to live with it while mastering. The longest part was knowing when to stop.
Vela: Once we had the shape, rehearsing too much felt wrong. The song wanted to stay a first encounter.
What message or messages do you hope fans take away from ‘Blue Thread’ and your duo’s music in general?
Vela: That not everything has to be loud or perfect to be real. Quiet and a little imperfect can carry weight. If a song leaves space for you, that’s on purpose.
Barbonus: That memory and presence can coexist. You can carry loss without letting it carry you. The thread is thin, but it holds.
What’s next for you two? Are you all working on any upcoming projects, or do you all have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
Vela: Unearthed – Part II is close. We worked on all 18 pieces from the start, so it feels a bit like a film whose sequel was shot right after the first. Releasing in episodes keeps us out of the polishing trap. A companion piece also grew out of Second Window — it surprised us in a good way. Live-wise, we’ll keep things intimate; small rooms suit these songs.
Barbonus: On deck: Second Window, The Reckoning, and that sister-song born from Second Window. We’ll also thread a few short interludes through the release — little memory traces that light the path without explaining it.
Where can we follow you two on social media?
Instagram:
BC25: https://www.instagram.com/bc25_music
Barbonus: https://www.instagram.com/barbonuslyrics
TikTok:
BC25: https://www.tiktok.com/@bc25_music
Barbonus: https://www.tiktok.com/@barbonus_project
Spotify:
BC25: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2BBw5W5EVUOGWmzViAEjzO
Barbonus: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0bYMBPgSZjxzg5fcTRNoxQ
Linktree:
BC25: https://linktr.ee/bc25_music
Barbonus: https://linktr.ee/Barbonus
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
