"I felt misunderstood by the German music industry. They called me too extreme." From Eminem teaching her about authenticity to the Nirvana song that made her pick up a guitar, this is the soundtrack to Mimi Barks' life

“The first album I ever remember hearing was Michael Jackson’s HIStory, and I listened to it on my cassette player. He’s the first artist that I ever became obsessed with. The sense of rhythm and drama, the perfection that himself and his music brings with it is something that I felt long before I understood what artistry really meant. His song Rock With You especially stuck with me, it’s the one I enjoy the most, I love it. It’s just so smooth. Whenever MJ’s playing I have to sing along.

"The Eminem Show is the first CD I ever bought. I listened to it daily, and long before I even understood the lyrics. But I did feel the pain and the honesty in Eminem’s voice, and especially in his song Superman. It taught me that authenticity isn’t optional; that’s the foundation for making music. It’s so raw, and there were no boundaries with the things he was saying. He’s the first one that really, really just didn’t give a fuck and just did it.

"Another early CD that I bought was Nirvana’s Nevermind. I’d listen to Something In The Way at night when I was a young teenager, and it inspired me to pick up the guitar at 14 years old. I feel like this was the moment I realised that you can translate sadness into sound. This record is the reason why I started writing songs.

“Mac Milleris a huge influence on me. His song Someone Like You takes me straight back to my first love, but also early substance abuse and the sense of misplacement that I felt when I was in my hometown in West Germany, because that’s when I first discovered his music. I feel like this is a soundtrack for the period right before I made the decision to leave and move to Berlin. The song reminds me of a time when everything felt fragile, but inevitable.

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“Bullet For My Valentine’s Her Voice Resides is just a banger. The way the song comes in with that long ass scream, it’s so hard. The Poison altered my perception of heavy music. I grew up in a metalcore-orientated town, but I had never heard anything like this before. This song stuck with me because I loved the mixture of technical guitar, brutal screams, and melancholic melodies on top. It’s dark and intense, but at the same time, most importantly, it’s sexy. Matt Tuck has one of the sexiest voices I’ve ever heard. His screams are perfection to me.

“Therapy by electronic supergroup Moderat is my personal after-hours ‘therapy’ track. I used to work in a techno club when I lived in Berlin, so I was in clubs quite a lot, and we played it on repeat as we came home. Whenever I hear that song, for me, that is Berlin; kind of detached, melancholic and somewhat healing. We would just come home at unreasonable hours and dance to it in the living room, literally just with random people, friends, whoever came back with us.

“I love the heavy beat in The Prodigy’s Diesel Power. When I first heard it, it was something that I’d never heard before, and something that in music I really love: big ass beats! I remember watching their 1996 Phoenix Festival performance on YouTube, and that was around the time where I felt greatly misunderstood by the German music industry. They didn’t understand me, and they called me too extreme. That performance was confirmation that I was on the right path. They made me feel like I could go even harder. There’s no limit. I was just blown away, and I think their live energy remains unmatched.

“Moby’s Swear is on his record Hotel Ambient, and I always return to it when I’m flying, coming down, during periods of reset. It’s spacious, neutral, and grounding. When I lived in a warehouse in London, I remember laying there for hours and hours listening to Moby whenever I felt depressed or overwhelmed. At the time there were [hallucinogenic] mushrooms involved, so that was healing and cathartic for me. I’d just stare at the wall, just being. Being present.

“I exclusively listen to Miles Davis’ Générique on my vinyl player. I listen to it when all other music fails me. Sometimes you have moments where you feel like you don’t want to listen to anything. I think it’s mesmerising and mysterious in a way, it really captures your entire attention. When it’s on, you can’t think about anything else. And to me, it represents absolute devotion to the craft, flow state, and romantic solitude.

“I’m mainly drawn to music because it heals me in a way, or gives me some sense of euphoria or discomfort. I don’t think anyone has captured depression like The Cure captured it with Prayers For Rain. It’s so pure and raw. I first listened to that song when I was 16. I was staying at my friend’s place, and we were listening to that record in her bedroom, in the dark. We would always go to illegal parties, and do all the forbidden things that you do when you’re a teenager. We had these mind-altering conversations. It later came back into my life when I lived in London. For me it embodies depression and the emotional emptiness that I felt, especially during my final days in the city.”