Until 2018, few people would have heard of Kælan Mikla, but the band caught Robert Smith’s attention, which landed the Icelandic trio dates supporting The Cure at both Meltdown Festival and Hyde Park.
Stormurinn Single
On August 13th, Kælan Mikla, released their third single, “Stormurinn,” from their upcoming album, Undir Köldum Norðumljósum. The entire album is being released by Artoffact Records on October 15th.
The single is a dulcet tender song, with driving bass and lilting flute throughout.
Regarding the lyrics, Kælan Mikla says: “This song is about dancing around a bonfire on the beach on a stormy weather night charged with the power of wind and thunder.” Consequently, the meaning of the word Stormurinn is the storm in the Icelandic language.
Kӕlan Mikla, A Brief History
The first time the trio performed was simply for fun. In high school, they had all met each other and entered a slam poetry contest at their local library.
Though each of them was exploring something new, Sólveig writing the poetry, Margrét playing bass, and Laufey on vocals, the audience had no idea; they were completely won over. Kӕlan Mikla won first prize. Uplifted, the three women were inspired to make more music together, tapping into something truly unique.
Early on, Kӕlan Mikla’s initial sound was minimal, relying on punk bass and drum inspiration. They always knew they want to be more experimental, though, which led Sólveig to dabble with an old synth. That foray with synthesizers would lead to drum machines and other synths along the way.
Singing in Icelandic
When the band started, they were more poetry-focused, and as a result, expression was more effortless in Icelandic. Singing in their native tongue allowed Kælan Mikla to be more creative.
With the band’s seemingly innate ability to express themselves so sincerely, it is possible to glean the emotions being put forth, even if we don’t know precisely what the words are in English.
Darkwave?
In staying true to themselves, the band never sought to be one genre or another. Kælan Mikla has been labeled post-punk or goth or darkwave, but they prefer to make music for everyone who wants to listen.
This fluidity in genre and making music they simply want to make allows Kælan Mikla to tour with all sorts of bands and play to a diverse field of audiences. It isn’t just about the music; the trio strives to perform as theater or even performance art. There is almost an operatic, character-driven feel to the whole thing.
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