Entrevista: Kælan Mikla

Desde la denominada "tierra de fuego y hielo", Kælan Mikla visitará Tijuana este martes 10 de septiembre*, para invocar la furia volcánica y el misticismo de las auroras boreales en esta única desviación a territorio mexicano en lo que va de su tour por Estados Unidos. 

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El trío islandés accedió a una breve entrevista por correo, en la que nos habla un poco de su crecimiento musical y las idiosincrasias de su sonido.

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What has been the experience of your ongoing U.S. tour so far?

We have had many people show up which has been really great, and we are touring with an american grind-core band so the crowd is more diverse than usually, its more fun than playing solely for a very specific audience. Both bands are making new fans.

It's safe to say that there are significant differences in the underground scene between continents, but could you elaborate on the similarities you have found while touring Europe and America?

People seem to be just as welcoming and supportive in both continents which is really nice.

Out of all the bands you have come across with, is there one in particular that has resonated with you?

Assuming you mean on this particular tour, the band we are touring with, Cloud Rat, are very different from us but we still somehow work amazingly together. They are also on the same label as us, Artoffact records.

At the early stages of your career, you got a lot of praise for your setup (bass, drums, and vocals). Due to this, did you ever hesitate to add the synthesizer and drum machine? Also, could you mention some of the factors that influenced this change in sound?

After Sólveig was gifted a synthesizer we wrote "Kalt" for fun. The song became a hit and we decided this sound had more to give. We evolve constantly and never want to limit ourselves to a single style.

Every band has its own musical idiosyncrasies or techniques that they incorporate more than often on their compositions. Let's take The Cure as an example: Robert Smith's peculiar voice, the metallic and persistent bass-lines and the chorus effect on the guitars are all staples of the band's sound. What techniques or compositional elements do you think give you a sound of your own as a band?

Our sound is focused on strong bass riffs, string-like synths and vocals that flutter between soft singing and shouts. We also play a lot with magical elements and our shows are most often very ritualistic and theatrical.

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Going from performing at your high school's poetry slam to being invited by Robert Smith to play at his curated lineup for the Meltdown Festival, what has been the impact of this growth on each of you and as a band?

We started playing shows not knowing what we were doing but now we have grown into a professional band and we keep growing and learning with each show.

In a 2014 KEXP live session, you begin your set with a poem which bares the band's name. Is this from where the name came from?

No, the name is a character from the Finnish books about The Moomins. We wrote the poem later on and have kind of created our own version of the character Kælan Mikla, the snow queen.

A few months ago, while on tour, a Mexican band got stranded in Canada because they were denied entry back to the U.S. and ended up being banned for 5 years. When they posted the incident on Facebook, within minutes their post was flooded with comments of support, letting the band know that shows would be held across different cities to raise money for them, that their merch was being purchased via Bandcamp at double the suggested price, and so on. The amount of support the band was experiencing was actually really touching. Do you think that this is something that would happen in the Icelandic scene? Does it have that sense of unity between bands? Or is it more divided among genres and styles?

Yes hopefully. The Icelandic scene is small and musicians know and respect each other despite coming from different directions musically.

Last but not least, when it comes to music, do you favor emotion over technique or vice-versa?

Emotion all the way, our music is very personal to us and we work together as best friends sharing something beautiful.

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*La cita es en el bar Nómada (a un lado del ya icónico Moustache). Las puertas abren a las 8:00pm y el cuarteto tijuanense de post-punk, Cave Echoes comienza su set a las 9:30pm. 

g.n.h.