Reykjavík Grapevine - Jan 2020, Page 13

13 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 01— 2020
“We are
all best friends
and we take care
of each other.”
Words: Josie Gaitens
While 2018 saw the release of their
breakthrough effort ‘Nótt eftir nótt,’ it
was 2019 that cemented Kælan Mikla
as bonafide international goth sensa-
tions. The dark wave, post-punk trio
burst onto the world stage in 2019, with
their first ever North American tour, as
well as numerous European dates and
some really serious festival slots. Back
in Iceland for a brief break before the
madness resumes, the trio sat down
to reminisce on the past 12 mystical
months.
TOO MANY
TO COUNT
“It’s hard to keep track,” bassist Margrét
Rósa Dóru-Harr"sdóttir admits when
asked about what they’ve been up
to. “We played Eurosonic in January
(2019). We played a lot of festivals. We
finished a headline tour around Europe
and then did a United States tour up to
Canada. We also played in the middle
of Russia.” She pauses and trails off—
there’s clearly too much to remember.
“Ok, a lot of dates!”
While previous years had seen
the young women play to big crowds
abroad, most notably in 2018 when The
Cure frontman Robert Smith booked
them to play two high profile gigs,
2019 brought about an even bigger and
broader reach for the band.
“We played at a festival in the
middle of Russia, close to the border
of Kazakhstan, a city called Perm,”
synthesizer player Sólveig Matthildur
Kristjánsdóttir explains. “It was a really
different place and there was a huge
crowd there. I was like, ‘What? There
are people who listen to us here?’” she
laughs. “It was so fun.”
PURE INSANITY
Robert Smith’s patronage also brought
them onstage with some of their idols
last year. In the summer, he invited
them to play at the exclusive Pasadena
Daydream Festival in California, which
The Cure were both headlining and
curating. With only eight other bands
on the programme, including scene
giants The Pixies and The Deftones, it
was no doubt a highlight for the artists.
“To be in a lineup of only eight bands
and to be one of those huge names, it
was insane,” Sólveig emphasises.
But the girls are equally fond of
their recent Iceland Airwaves perfor-
mance, which gave them a rare chance
to play to their home crowd. “There
were so many people from Iceland
who haven’t seen us for so long and it’s
fun to know they can see our growth,”
Margrét explains. “We’ve been really
focusing on getting our music out
there and performing a lot abroad.
When finally we got to play this gig at
Iceland Airwaves, it was really reward-
ing,” Sólveig agrees.
TOURING TRIALS
But touring, of course, doesn’t come
without challenges. “The main way
we cope with everything is that we
are all best friends and we take care of
each other,” says vocalist Laufey Soffía
“Everyone goes out of their way and
that’s how we stay strong together.”
Now, the three have their collective
sights focused on the future, support-
ing Alcest on a big European tour
planned for February and a bunch of
festival slots still to be announced. “We
have a really exciting year ahead,” says
Margrét. “Just as busy as last year—
even busier!”
LIVE BAND OF THE YEAR: KÆLAN MIKLA
ONE TO WATCH: RA:TIO
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen
Producers Bjarki Sigur!arson and
Teitur Helgi Skúlason could best be
described as low-key. In person, the
duo—which works under the moniker
Ra:tio—exemplifies the word “chill.”
At first meeting, you’d never guess
that every album the two have touched
has blown up, and as they stand,
they’re probably the most talked-about
production team in the country. Calling
them One To Watch even feels insuffi-
cient—so let’s revise that, they’re One
To Follow.
PURE ENERGY
The duo burst onto the scene in 2018
with their debut release, GDRN’s ‘Hva!
ef.’ The album, which actually won the
2019 Grapevine Album Of The Year, was
one of the biggest Icelandic releases
that year—if not the biggest—and
cemented GDRN as one of the foremost
singers in the country.
Both Bjarki and Teitur are remark-
ably modest about their involvement.
“It was funny because we didn’t have
any expectations. We were both making
our first records,” Teitur explains. “We
had no idea what we were doing, but we
had this critical voice in our heads, so
we just chose the right types of songs
that fit. It’s a weird energy—hopeful
but not serious.”
Whatever that critical voice was, it
worked, and from there, they moved
onto a hugely popular collaboration
with ClubDub. “ClubDub had this
mentality straight from the start that
as long as they had fun and we had fun
in the studio, nothing else mattered,”
Bjarki says. “That gave us freedom to
try whatever we wanted,” Teitur adds.
The two subsequently began to expand
their sound into more club pop terri-
tory. “We shifted the focus. It was a fun
period.”
This year, they released ‘energy’ by
una schram, an R&B songstress and
one of the most talked-about newbies
on the Icelandic scene. “Una would
come to us with written songs. She
knew exactly how she wanted to sing
the melody and had the lyrics done,”
Teitur explains. Both artists were
impressed by her professionalism. “I
really admire her songwriting abili-
ties,” Bjarki agrees. “She is so talented
and promising. I can’t wait to see what
she does next.”
COHESIVE
COLLABORATION
The pair often seem more like broth-
ers than creative partners. They exist
on the same wavelength, anticipat-
ing each other’s stream of conscious-
ness and often finishing each other's
thoughts. Perhaps it’s this cohesion
that has allowed them to produce such
seamless work.
“Bjarki is a big picture guy. He has
a musical brain. He always knows what
direction the song is supposed to go
in.” Teitur says, when asked about their
working style. “And he’s a fun guy to be
around. He’s always in a good mood.”
At that, Bjarki smiles. “I mean,
Teitur is just my best friend,” he
responds, simply. “We connect on the
fact that we’re both really big perfec-
tionists. Everything has to be right,
but we complement each other’s weak-
nesses. We always try and find what
could go better in demos of beats. He’s
also super creative and can always
resolve an issue. And again, like I said
before, he’s an all-around great guy and
my best friend.”
Teitur returns his smile. “Thanks.”
THE END GOAL
In 2020, the duo plans to expand their
horizons. “We’re not working on one
album. We’re doing sessions with a lot
more artists,” Bjarki explains. “Making
one song with each—trying to spread
out a little more. It’s been fun because
we’ve always been focused on one proj-
ect for many months, but now we’re
meeting new people everyday.”
Teitur nods, adding, “we’re just
trying to explore more and develop
our sound into something new. That’s
always our end goal: To create some-
thing no one has ever heard before.”
“That’s al-
ways our end
!oal: To create
somethin! no
one has ever
heard before.”
Words:
Sam O’Donnell