INTERVIEW: Holger, Kim & Frederik – MØL

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’ll have noticed that Danish quintet MØL have been the band on everyone’s lips in the run up to the release of their debut record Jord. Melding black metal, shoegaze and a staggering amount of raw talent, MØL are a truly exceptional band. We recently caught up with vocalist Kim, guitarist Frederik and bassist Holger to discuss the creative process behind the new album, their biggest musical influences and their ability to capture the essence of the record in a live environment…

Hey guys! For anyone who’s not aware – who are MØL?

Frederik: MØL is a five piece band originating from Aarhus, Denmark. We try our best to mix ethereal soundscapes with heavy crushing riffs and pummelling drums, in order to create some sort of catharsis through the music. It’s a catharsis we feel when we play the songs live, and we hope other people feel the same when they listen to our music.

You’ve just released your debut full length Jord on Holy Roar Records. Are you more excited or nervous about how it’s going to be received?

Kim: We would be more leaning towards being excited than being nervous in this regard. We know that we’re in very good hands in the Holy Roar roster. Alex and Justine are doing such a tremendous job, working tirelessly to represent the best in alternative rock, hardcore and metal that you could ever ask for. We are grateful to be counted among their artists.

The record is a real blend of black metal and shoegaze. What is it about those genres that makes them meld so perfectly?

Kim: The calm and ethereal nature of shoegaze melodies creates a great dynamic with the crushing rawness, bleak ferocity and melancholy found within the atmospheric black metal soundscape. Emotion is everything in this regard. In Nic’s songwriting you will always find his joy of exploring the emotive depth between feelings of jubilation and melancholy.

There are some ferocious blasts of black metal throughout the album. How difficult is it to channel your emotions to form such a blistering slab of vocal aggression?

Kim: Not hard at all. When in the atmosphere of our music – I am an open wound of emotions.

Did you have to get into a different creative mindset when recording the more emotive, shoegaze elements, or was everything recorded back to back?

Holger: We recorded all the distorted elements first and then all the clean, atmospheric parts. We’re all gear nerds, so we’re using a lot of time tinkering with different sounds and trying out different amps. It’s definitely important to have the right mindset when recording, but we think that in our heads the song is created in its whole, so the atmosphere and the mood of the song is tied together through the whole track. This is something we carry on into our live set, so we spend quite a lot time in the rehearsal space to perfect this in coherence with the entire band.

How do you create the same atmosphere live that you’ve managed to nail down on the record?

Kim: We’re not big fans of front-light and we tend to enter the stage only when covered in an otherworldly landscape of smoke. As a live-act we tend to hide in the silhouettes – we as individual members are not so important – rather the atmosphere we create together is more important. Most of the band are somewhat stationary because of the massive pedalboard setups but I tend to interact with the audience, keeping the room focused, kind of like an emotional conduit of the narrative in songs. In other words: orchestration and visual amalgamation is what we pursue. We know how valued our light-technician is. If you as an audience don’t feel enveloped in this atmosphere, enough to forget everything before you entered the room and stay in this moment, then we haven’t done our part well enough.

You’re now part of the Holy Roar family. How much are you looking forward to being a part of such an exciting record label?

Kim: We’re so honoured to be part of such an awesome family of bands. Their dedication, hard work and love for the scene is unique and such a big inspiration for a small band like us. We owe them so much – all this couldn’t have happened without them.

When you’re not creating expansive, eclectic soundscapes, what other up and coming artists are you currently into?

Holger: There’s so much great music coming out right now and so many talented bands and musicians out there. If we have to choose one it has to be something local… I think that our friends and colleagues in UNSEEN FAITH have done a tremendous job on their debut Waver. Crushing, melodic deathcore played to perfection. Another choice would be CABAL from Copenhagen. Kim actually did their whole Blair Witch/True Detective-style artwork on their latest release Mark of Rot. I’ve never heard anything so mind-crushingly heavy! Check ’em out!

Frederik: Chris Kreutzfeldt from CABAL actually mixed and mastered Jord. He did an outstanding job and we could not be happier with how it turned out. He really does have a flare for mixing heavy music and inspired us to up our game while recording. But definitely check out CABAL – they’re heavy beyond belief!

Kim: I’m very into the new record by a Lithuanian post-blackened hardcore group called ERDVE – they just released a killer album called Vaitojimas, recommended by a good Lithuanian friend of mine. It’s a real pleasure to hear native spoken language in the context of blackened hardcore and the riffing is relentless. Another Danish band worth mentioning is the Copenhagen outfit TELOS who just released a new EP called Helios/Selênê. I’m SO hooked by their ability to combine CONVERGE-esque ferocity and the desperate melancholy of bands like WIEGEDOOD and ALTAR OF PLAGUES. The song Selênê is one of my absolute favourite tracks spinning on repeat at the moment.

Who were your biggest musical influences growing up?

Holger: Very different actually as we all come from different musical backgrounds. For example Kim and I came from the death metal and hardcore-scene. Nicolai, Frederik and Ken on the other hand come from a background of alt-rock, shoegaze and the like. This combination of musical influences and sources of inspiration is one of the key elements to the sound of our band.

Frederik: To mention a few bands: SLOWDIVE, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, ENTOMBED and CONVERGE. I hope this gives an indication of how our sound was formed!

Do you have any UK touring plans lined up for the rest of 2018?

Holger: We’ll be visiting the UK in the end of May, with London, Nottingham, Bristol and Brighton lined up. We’re very much looking forward to be visiting the UK for the first time. We’ll also be playing at ArcTanGent Festival in August which is really huge for us personally. The UK support has been overwhelming, so we are very exciting to finally be playing there!

Time to wrap this up – describe MØL in 3 words…

Frederik: Melancholic. Crushing. Bliss.

Jord is out now via Holy Roar Records.

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