Kaelan Mikla, Merch Babe, Ville Valo

0:10?Welcome to Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Arthur and today on the episode we have a post-punk band from Iceland, Kaelin Mikla. We also have the first non-musician, Kynat Soley, as known as Merge Babe, that's been working with Kaelin Miklas since the very beginning. And we have Ville Vallo. If you know him, you know him. If you know his infernal majesty, you know Ville. All the people were super nice and it was a mega pleasure to talk to them. We recorded it at Arena Lín. It was a sold-out show. It was packed. The show was great. The whole evening was awesome. All right. The time codes are in the description. Don't forget to follow this podcast on Spotify or any platform if you dig it. And rate this show. Please rate this show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. All right. And now, let's talk to Kaelin Mikla.

1:01LaufeyI am Laufey, the vocalist of Kaelin Mikla.

1:04SolveigI am Solveig, the synth player of Kaelin Mikla.

1:07MaggiI am Maggi, the bass player of Kaelin Mikla.

1:11HostHow was yesterday? Tell me, what was the special occasion yesterday?

1:15LaufeyIt was the biggest show we've ever done in Budapest. How many?

1:20Kaelan Mikla2,500. Sold out.

1:22?How did you feel?

1:23Kaelan MiklaVery good.

1:24HostHow did you feel afterwards?

1:26?Even better. How did you celebrate?

1:29Kaelan MiklaWe danced a bit.

1:31?After the show, we were like, yay.

1:34MaggiAnd we didn't celebrate in any other special way, I think. We had some beers. We got flowers that were given to us. And we got some gifts as well. And yeah, we were just extremely happy. And yeah, it was fun.

1:48HostCongratulations. I mean, but it's just only the beginning. We know that. The next one, which is the big one for you? Which number would be the next biggie?

1:58SolveigI mean, I think that the show in London is going to be pretty big. And also New York and in America with Ville. So yeah, I think it's just going to go upwards from here.

2:09HostYeah. And we need to mention that you're right in the middle of the European tour.

2:13?Yeah.

2:14HostAnd in April, you go to North America.

2:19?Yes. Yes. We do.

2:20HostSo could you please tell me about the making of Undir Kölndum Norðurljósum?

2:25SolveigUndir Kölndum Norðurljósum? Yes.

2:27?Yes.

2:28MaggiWell, we wrote the whole album during COVID because we were just, of course, stuck at home. And like the name, Undir Kölndum Norðurljósum, it means Under the Cold Northern Lights. And it focuses a lot about Icelandic folklore and like stories. Its song is kind of a story that can happen under the cold Northern Lights. So yeah.

2:47SolveigThen we went to the studio with our friend. His name is Bardi. He's a very, very good musician.

2:54?Yes. Yeah.

2:56SolveigHe's visiting or he's going to come to the show in France, in Paris. And yeah, we spent, I think, almost a year.

3:04?Or how long? Yes.

3:05LaufeyA year in the studio with the recording and mixing. And it was very nice to have him produce the album because he has a lot of good ideas and wanted to try everything out and not stop until it was perfect.

3:20HostHow did you come to know Bardi?

3:24LaufeyWe're a big fan of his music. And then, yeah.

3:29SolveigHe contacted us some years ago and asked if he wanted to collaborate on a song. And we did that on Note After Note, the third album.

3:39LaufeyActually, I remember I met him, first it happened, I met him in a bar or I saw him in a bar and I was just going to go to him and fangirl to him, like tell him that I love his music. And I just said, hi. And then he turned around and said, hi, I want to make music with you, something dark. And then we, yeah, then we talked to him.

4:02HostAnd how was it, like how, when was it, like how, how long before you started production this?

4:09LaufeyIt was a song of the album before, Note After Note, the title song. So 2000, what, 18?

4:17?18. Yeah. Yeah.

4:18SolveigSo this was probably 2017 or something. And then we've just been friends ever since.

4:23HostAnd how, how did it influence your recording process? How did he contribute to the creation of this album? Well, it was the first time pretty much that we ever went to a studio because like Calamikla,

4:38?our self-titled album and Note After Note, we both recorded in our garages where we just built a small studio ourself and just did everything very DIY and just were learning as we went. So they're all both, yeah, they're both kind of DIY recorded.

4:53MaggiSo yeah, they are both garage recorded. And that was kind of the first time we had a long time to actually be in a real studio and experiment and learn new stuff and learn new sounds and new instruments. And so it was just, yeah, it was a very, we learned a lot. That was really fun for us to see, to do it like the professional way, not like, we love the DIY as well, but it was fun for us to experience this. Yeah.

5:18SolveigAnd also because he has so many more instruments than we do. And it was really fun to like try everything out. And like, we already had written the whole album and like, but each song we went over every sound and we thought about if we should replace it with another synth or like this weird instrument or like synth to an amp to a weird thing. You know, we were just experimenting so much and I loved it. So cool.

5:45MaggiI was just being like being a kid in a candy store, kind of like to get to play around with

5:50Kaelan Miklathings that you never get to like touch normally.

5:54LaufeyYeah, many, he had so many crazy instruments that we...

5:59HostWhat was the most exotic instrument or something crazy?

6:01LaufeyI think the water phone probably. It's an extremely expensive instrument that makes this kind of screeching sound that you hear in horror movies.

6:10?Oh. Is it analog? Yeah.

6:14HostSomething old probably from the 70s or 60s. Something with the tape inside?

6:19LaufeyNo, it's like a, it has, you play it with a bow and it's made from metal. Yeah.

6:24Kaelan MiklaIs that one of the things? Like small metal things? Yeah.

6:28?Around, yes.

6:29Kaelan MiklaDifferent sizes of poles from metal. Makes a very eerie, creepy sound.

6:36MaggiI think they're quite rare as well. Like this is hard to get one and they're quite expensive and very rare. So that was cool to get to play with that.

6:45HostDid you use it on the album?

6:47?Yes. Yeah.

6:48SolveigLike the first song on the album, for example, we used so many weird, weird noises. We used the water phone. We also used the sound of biting an apple a lot and just like also... Drifting pieces of paper. Yeah. And like the glitches of something from an app. We repeated that many times and made a weird rhythm and yeah.

7:13Kaelan MiklaIt's a scary song. It's a horror song.

7:15?Yes.

7:15HostI mean, the album, I really love the album. Like I was listening to it before you... Because I didn't know if I would be able to interview you. And the tickets were already sold out. So, but I still like the music, you know. And then I had to intensely listen deep into it in the last one and a half days. I really love it. It's a great production, great music. It's really good, great album.

7:41?Thank you.

7:42HostAnd I know, so you're going on tour in April and I know that you were concentrating a lot on this tour for rehearsals. I mean, so I have plans to make the new album in the near future after April tour.

8:00SolveigYeah, I mean, after the tour, we have some festivals in Iceland and also a festival in Finland called Sideways Festival. But after that, we're going to go to the countryside and just ride together.

8:13MaggiIsolate ourselves from people and the city and just be in the nature and for like 10 days or something and just ride, ride, ride. Because we have been so much on the road. We haven't had much time to ride. But I feel like we ride very quickly as soon as we get time together. And we're just going to do something cool this summer.

8:33Kaelan MiklaYeah.

8:33?Camp.

8:34Kaelan MiklaBoot camp, yes. Because also like when we go home from tours, it's not the first thing that you want to do is to like, hey, let's play the songs again.

8:42SolveigAnd, you know, but the city is so busy and there's always something coming up and it's difficult to focus.

8:51Kaelan MiklaSo we're going to isolate.

8:52HostYeah. Nature and being connected to nature is a big part of your band. It's a big part of your personality and how it affects. And how it affects your music. So you mentioned that you want to go outside of the city. So how do you feel in the city? Is there being disconnected a little bit from the nature?

9:10LaufeyI mean, the city, you can still see the mountains and the ocean and it's nice too. But yeah, it's more busy, I guess.

9:20HostI knew at some point you were living, some of you, not in Iceland, in Berlin. I know for sure. So, I think you did. Yeah, me and Maki.

9:29?Yeah.

9:30HostAnd so when you record the new album or you go back to Iceland or you find a place somewhere outside?

9:38SolveigYeah, we're going to be in Iceland.

9:41Kaelan MiklaAnd we recorded in Iceland also in Iceland.

9:44?Yes.

9:46HostYou know, when I was watching your music videos, I was like, okay, here we go. The music videos of Iceland, you know, you can't stop that because everybody wants to shoot music videos in Iceland because of the nature. By the way, like you're touring around, right? Like around worlds because you toured everywhere. North America, I know, like last year also. So, being from Iceland with the great nature, what countries or what places had the most impact on you, on your personality? What influenced you or maybe they had an emotional effect?

10:20SolveigI mean, the mountains, like the Alps are crazy to drive through, you know, when we're driving on tours, it's always a highlight. But I'm always very surprised being in the South, South North America, you know, like Middle America. Yeah. And yeah, like seeing palm trees and deserts and weird stones. It's, I love it. It's so crazy.

10:45LaufeyI really like kind of Mediterranean nature because I find it looks a bit like a fairy tale. So, I like that. I like the trees in those countries.

10:57HostNo, I mean, it's a difficult question because you need to remember the whole tour and you're in the middle of the tour. You need time. How are you going to relax between the tours, between this tour and the April tour?

11:09Kaelan MiklaWe only have one week at home.

11:11LaufeySo, I think we will not relax. Or I would like to go to the swimming pool or to a hot tub.

11:17SolveigYeah, I want to go to the countryside to a small cabin and paint or something.

11:23HostWithout people. Are you like, do you feel comfortable around many people? I mean, 2,500 people yesterday is one thing. It's a stage thing. But how do you feel being around many groups of people?

11:37MaggiI mean, I think it's okay. It can get a little overwhelming because now the shows we're playing are bigger. Usually, we always want to go to the merch table and say hi to people. We think it's really important to just say hi to the people that are supporting us and stuff like that. But now it's suddenly getting so big so fast that it's kind of intimidating going out in such a big crowd. It can make you feel small and it can stress me out, actually. It's like we're more used to smaller shows and then it was much more personable. But yeah, it's amazing. But it can also be quite intimidating, I guess.

12:18SolveigYeah, I have a very hard time with big groups. It's not my favorite. But it's awesome being in such amazing venues.

12:28HostYeah, I mean, we just had an experience when you let us in outside of the venue. There were some fans already coming to give you presents and stuff.

12:37?I mean, for me, personally, like, oh, okay. I mean, I've never experienced that.

12:41HostI mean, you're already famous and stuff. It's more usual for you, you know. But, wow, some people running up to you, screaming your name.

12:51LaufeyYes, it seems absurd, I think. Like, we're not used to it yet. Yeah.

12:56SolveigAnd also, what I like, because we very often go to the merch table and we want to be human. We want to talk to everybody and, like, personally connect to people. And some, like, some people that have been coming to the shows, they come to maybe, like, five shows on the tour. And we start to get to know them. And I think it's really fun. And they, like, sometimes give us, like, small presents maybe from their country or something. And it's so nice.

13:23HostLater, I will ask Wille regarding the popularity because he experienced the sudden rise to fame. Because this is really important. You're experiencing this at the moment because you exist already since 2013. And it was slow, you were rising to the fame, let's say, this slowly. And then it immediately, like, for example, yesterday, one of the proofs, how it went up. And most probably it will go even faster than you think.

13:56HostYes. How do you feel about that? I mean, it's good or you're, like, a little bit afraid or you haven't processed what's going on yet?

14:04LaufeyI guess it's, yeah, we haven't processed it.

14:08SolveigNo, being on tour is like being not on the same planet and on the same time zones as anyone else. It's like, it's so weird that time home goes forward and you're living, like, this other kind of life. So I think maybe when we get from the US tour, we're going to have, like, a month to process and breathe and...

14:27Kaelan MiklaAgreed. Yeah.

14:29HostAgreed. I listened to one of the interviews that you did in January, which one, one of the fresh ones. I think you were in Finland.

14:37?Yeah.

14:38HostIt was for the Stalker magazine. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And it was right at the beginning of the, it was second show, third show, maybe it was ready. And then you didn't know how it would go touring with Ville's team. And so I would, I want to ask now, how is it going, like as a tour? What have you learned on this tour so far?

15:02LaufeyWell, we've learned that they are great people and we've become very good friends now. So yes. And, and the shows, it's just been like more than we could have wished for. It's been so nice.

15:18MaggiYeah. They just, we've been treated really nicely and like, they totally welcome us and are just, yeah, just really happy. Because like when you meet someone and now you're supposed to travel together and work

15:29Kaelan Miklatogether for a few months, like it, you can think like, oh no, what if they're like not

15:35Magginice or something, but then they're all like the sweetest ever and they're super supporting us and super, yeah, just treat us like equals and we're just, and they're fun. There's fun to hang out with them. They're really nice guys. And just everyone in the crew. Yeah.

15:50HostI saw it on social media because I was following you, no matter if we're going to have this interview or not, I was following how the process is going. Everything is super positive, super nice. It's like really like, I'm happy that you were on good hands. No way.

16:05?Yes.

16:06SolveigI mean, it's so important because it's, I mean, we go on stage for, we go on stage for half an hour, they go on stage for one and a half hour, but then there is what, 22 hours left and it's so important to just have a nice time and get to know people and see stuff and experience.

16:27HostYeah. You go to restaurants, you do sightseeing together with the crew.

16:30Kaelan MiklaWe went to a spa yesterday with them. It was great.

16:34HostIn Budapest. Yeah.

16:35?Yeah.

16:36SolveigAnd I think what, what I've personally learned is also to just, when there is a lot of people and a lot of feelings and everybody has their own mind. It's important to just say, now I am sad and I want to sit alone. And then everybody's like, okay, that's good for you. We'll be there when you are up again. And then like also, yeah, just support each other.

16:59MaggiSupport each other. Because touring is, it takes a toll on you physically, mentally, emotionally. It's, it's, it's draining, even though it's extremely fun, but it has like peaks and valleys. So I think friendship and supporting each other is the most valuable thing you can learn. Because if we are not supporting each other or like being as great friends as we are, I don't think we were, we were making it, you know, we, we wouldn't last. Yeah.

17:26Kaelan MiklaI meant what she was saying.

17:29Kaelan MiklaAll right.

17:30HostExcellent. Kellen Mikla, I don't want to bother you too much. You need to do, play a show later. Could you please give me one Kellen Mikla song that is a good introduction to your band?

17:42?Solstöðir.

21:54?Thank you, Kellen Mikla, for this beautiful song. And now let's talk to Merch Babe.

22:00Merch BabeI'm Kinnat Soli, also known as Merch Babe.

22:03?On Instagram. On Instagram.

22:05HostMerch Babe on Instagram.

22:07Merch BabeYes, please.

22:08HostBecause there's not many interviews about you, we need to do a quick, basic stuff of who you are, who you are.

22:16?What do you do?

22:17Merch BabeI'm a graphic designer and working mostly in the music industry, making album covers and merch and stuff like that. And I'm also a merch manager for Kellen Mikla and tour with them, sell the merch, design the merch.

22:32HostYes, you designed the logo for Kellen Mikla and you designed at least a logo. You designed a lot of stuff for them.

22:37Merch BabeYeah, I've, everything. Yeah, I've, everything. I've designed, yeah.

22:42HostYes, you designed everything. I would consider, I even wrote in my notes, a fourth member of Kellen Mikla because you, you kind of influence the visual style.

22:53Merch BabeYeah, they sometimes refer to me as that. Nice.

22:59HostAll right. So how come you are with Kellen Mikla?

23:03Merch BabeSo we've been friends since high school and I hadn't started studying graphic design yet, but Løve, like they just started the band and Løve asked me to make a logo for them. And because I was, yeah, I was friends with them before in high school and I made this logo and then it went on their album cover. And then a couple, like a year or two later as kind of a payment, because they didn't have money to pay me then, as payment for making the logo, they took me with them on their second ever tour.

23:36HostAnd that's how it started.

23:37Merch BabeYeah, and then I've been touring with them ever since.

23:39HostSo you've been with them for a long time, how long, since very beginning?

23:43Merch BabeYeah, so they just had their 10-year birthday the other day and I actually went back onto my drive and checked when I made this first logo and it was only like three months or something after. So it was in 2013.

23:58HostYeah, and that is one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you, because you've been in this field of music industry for a long time. And how did it change? Have you noticed anything? Because another reason why I wanted to talk to you, because I saw your Instagram stories post regarding the pricing of merchandise that's going up because of the cuts that the venue has to take.

24:22Merch BabeYeah, that was something that came with playing a bit bigger venues. The first time I noticed it was on a tour we did early 2020 and there was only one show that was, yeah, it's basically you come to the venue and the venue makes you use their merch sellers and then they take a percentage. Quite a lot. Yeah, it's on this tour it's been 20 or 25%. The VV merch manager said a sum go up to 40%, which is brutal. And it's, you know, off gross sales. Like the, you know, it's not off of our profits. So if we pay a certain amount to make something, you know, they still get to take 25% off the whole price. So yeah, and yeah, so we have to make everything more expensive. And apparently, yeah, this has gotten much more common since COVID.

25:18HostYeah, yeah. I just saw today on Loudwire, I think the band Monuments, they had, I think Monuments, I'm not sure, maybe. Yeah, the problem was that they had this problem in Italy recently and they had to cancel all merch in Greece because they realized that the percentage was so high. It was easier to ask people to buy something online than to buy it at the venue because it was too much. It was more than half went to the venue.

25:48Merch BabeYeah, because yeah, they take maybe 25% and then it's also like taxes, like 20 to 30. So it's, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I understand the bands I've heard about that they maybe sell stuff outside before or after the show, stuff like that. If this was a headline tour, we might do something like that. But we're putting our merch up also to advertise now. But yeah, it's tricky and it sucks because I think I've only just super recently seen people actually talk about it. But what people see is like, oh, everyone, like you're charging 40 euros for a t-shirt. Like that's crazy or whatever, you know, but nobody knows that it's not our fault.

26:30HostYou should put a huge sign. It's not our fault. Because when we were like with Julian, we were here recording interview with Clutch and Tiger Cup and Greenland. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were surprised how high the prices were for the merch. I was like, whoa. I mean, I got drunk and I bought it anyway. Yeah, but still, you know, we were shocked. And I mean, we kind of knew or I kind of knew that something is going on, but still, probably there are going to be a new way of dealing with stuff regarding this, maybe selling online or some QR codes with discounts. Have you thought about it?

27:13Merch BabeYeah. Yeah, it would be possible to sell, you know, less things at the venue. And then I don't know, but, you know, you sell so much more just having it there, obviously. But it's tricky. I mean, I was also, when I saw the prices of the merch on this tour, I thought they were high as well. I was like, well, that's so high. But then I'm slowly realizing, oh, they have to, you know.

27:37HostI haven't checked the prices. We just passed by the merch table. I haven't seen the price. What's the price for Hukalin Mikla t-shirt? Because I'm going to buy one.

27:46Merch BabeThe t-shirts are 40 euros. I need to get drunk. Like, I didn't expect that.

27:57Merch BabeYou're like, never mind. Shit. No, but we also, because we're supporting on this tour, we price match. We are asked to price match, which is...

28:09HostI also understand not to compete with them.

28:11Merch BabeYeah. But in the end, at first I was like, kind of annoyed about it. But in the end, we make... I mean, we don't sell that much merch on this tour, but we make 40 euros a shirt. So it helps us a little bit. But yeah, it's strange when last tour, we were selling them for 25.

28:29HostYeah. I was hoping for that. I didn't... I think I checked online, you know. Oh, yeah. You know, I might buy online so that the venue is not going to get it.

28:41Merch BabeBut tonight I'm selling myself. So there's no concession.

28:45HostUh-huh. Ah, okay. I understand. All right. So you've been traveling with Kenil Mikla for a long time. How was the tour so far for you? I mean, you already have a lot of experience, but still, like, how is it going so far?

29:00?This tour? Yeah.

29:01Merch BabeYeah, it's been really nice, actually.

29:04HostIs there something different from the previous tours?

29:07Merch BabeYeah, it's different doing like a headline tour and doing a support tour. But we're playing much bigger venues than on the headline tour. So that's nice. There's showers and good food is much more common at the bigger venues. And yeah, and the people have all been really nice.

29:29?You know, I found out about Kenil Mikla and you personally, because they had not an interview, but the tour bus in Chicago, I think. They were showing the tour bus, right? And they were, like, showing, like, this is our tour bus.

29:46HostThis is our driver. This is our merch person should be here. Kenneth is somewhere, somewhere. You know, like, okay, you know, and I didn't know, I kind of knew Ken and Mikla, you know, but then it's kind of, I just wanted, like, oh, I didn't know that the merch person, like, I mean, sometimes yes, sometimes no. And then I Instagrammed you, I found you on Instagram, like, ah, okay. So you were, like, dedicated to merch, you know, this is your thing.

30:12Merch BabeIt's my thing. Yeah, it's not always that bands have always the same merch person. And I mean, I was also just, I think, lucky that the girls were always taking me because sometimes it probably was not financially the best decision to always have a fourth person with them. But I don't know. I mean, more money on the merch, but still, you know, I don't know, different situations.

30:38HostAre you good at selling merch?

30:40?Yes. I knew that.

30:42Merch BabeI mean, like, of course, someone who knows the band is going to be better. Like, I know everything about everything. You know, if anyone asks a question, that's also what bothers me so much about the concession sales is that it's a person that doesn't know anything about the band. And especially because on this tour, like, not necessarily many people who come to the show know us. So I want people to be able to ask, like, oh, like, yeah, anything about the band. But if it's not me, they're just going to be like, I don't know.

31:09HostJust whatever. Yeah. It happened to you recently that it was not you, but somebody else were selling the merch?

31:17Merch BabeYeah, it's been 10 of the shows on this tour. 10 out of 24 are concessions. And so other people are selling and you don't have anything. The first one I was like, can we, like, fight this somehow? But no, basically. It's a deal, yeah.

31:31HostAnd I could see that you were, like, kind of complaining how they put the shirts, not pretty.

31:37Merch BabeAnd some of the, I will shout out to the two ones in Spain. They put up the stuff really nice and did a really good job. But some of them before that was like, yeah, it's just, it's frustrating to watch someone do your job worse than you. And they're getting paid sometimes more. Well, I don't know. Someone's getting paid more than me. Not necessarily the people that are standing there selling them.

31:58HostAnd especially when you're there to do specifically everything great and somebody else does it poorly.

32:04Merch BabeYeah, and it sucks for the girls. They're paying me and I don't even get to be there. And, yeah, it's frustrating.

32:11HostFrustrating. Hopefully it will change for the better. I don't know. So, do you have any plans to go beyond design, music?

32:17Merch BabeTo make music? No, no plans.

32:20HostNo plans. So, what about going beyond design in visual arts?

32:24Merch BabeYeah, I mean, I think design and visual arts is kind of the same. Animation. Animation. I mean, I do some animation. I did, I was also doing the live visuals for Kyle and Mikla for a while. I was like live VJ-ing them and the last, the latest visuals, I was art directing them and working with a visual artist.

32:47HostYeah, I mean, you're pretty much credited on everything visually related to with Kyle and Mikla, but you also work with other artists.

32:54?Yeah.

32:54HostYeah, you design, you design logos and stuff.

32:56Merch BabeYes, logos, album covers, posters.

32:59HostAre you still based in Leipzig?

33:01Merch BabeYes, I am.

33:02HostDid you come to go to Leipzig? Because when they found out, I was like, why Leipzig? I mean, you were in Berlin before.

33:07Merch BabeYeah, it's super, well, I was in Leipzig first because I was applying for exchange studies and somebody told me about this school. And I didn't get into my first two choices and then all of a sudden I was in Leipzig. I'd never been to Germany or anything. And then I moved to Berlin for two or three years and then went back to Leipzig because it's cheap as fuck to live there.

33:31HostSogwek was also in Berlin, right?

33:33Merch BabeYes, we lived together in Berlin and then we went to Leipzig together and lived together for one year there and she moved back to Iceland and I'm still there.

33:43HostIs there any benefits regarding the, I don't know, like traveling or something like, like business related, work related being in Leipzig?

33:51Merch BabeIt's traveling, it's a bit annoying because there's not, I mean, there is an airport, but usually I have to go to Berlin to fly, which is annoying. But I mean, it is kind of in the middle of Europe is cool, but mostly it's living there allowed me to start freelancing way before. Or like, if you watch any YouTube video about like how to start freelancing, it's always like, you know, save up all this money and have three months of rent and, you know, whatever before you start, because it's hard and your income is not guaranteed. But when I was living there, like the first place, my rent was like 200 euros a month. So I could always somehow, even if I'd got just one project a month, you know, I could scrape together the money. But if I'd been living somewhere more expensive, I would have not, I've been able to just go into freelancing like I did.

34:41HostDoes your, like, like your connection to kind of Mikla helps you with the freelance? Do people more know about you?

34:47Merch BabeYeah, for sure. And also just, I learned everything by doing stuff with them. I mean, yeah, I got to make like a record cover, you know, as one of my first projects. And then, you know, when they go on tour, I was making their posters. I made them, I learned how to make everything with them. And they always trusted me, you know, to make shirts and make stickers and make everything. So that helped. And then, of course, touring with them, I meet other bands. And so for sure. Yeah, definitely.

35:17HostWell, I wish you all the best regarding that. But all right, I don't want to bother you too much. Could you, I don't know. What's interesting is like you're not a musician. So usually I ask musicians if they can give me a song that I put at the end of the interview. Choose any song that, a good introduction to your personality that I will put at the end of this interview. Which is really hard because you're not a musician.

35:42Merch BabeI'm panicking. Yeah, that's really hard.

35:46HostI'm not going to leave until you give me an answer.

35:48Merch BabeDo people usually pick their own songs?

35:50HostBecause I interview only musicians.

35:52Merch BabeAll right.

35:53HostYou're the first, actually, yeah, you're the first non-musician.

35:56Merch BabeNice. Yeah, I'm always surrounded by musicians. And people are always also asking me.

36:02HostBut you can't take Kylan Mikla or the people. Yeah, Kylan Mikla, no. Maybe somebody with whom you worked. But Kylan Mikla, no, because there we have one more song from them.

36:12Merch BabeA song that is my personality. Is that what you said?

36:15HostYeah, like a good introduction to who you are.

36:18Merch BabeWell, I think it's kind of unfair to not be able to choose Kylan Mikla because I feel like that's so ingrained into who I am.

36:25HostOkay. Give me a Kylan Mikla song.

36:28?Hallas hjärnan.

40:02?Thank you again, Kylan Mikla. And thank you, British babe. And now let's talk to Ville.

40:07Ville ValoMy name is Ville Hermann Ivalo, also known as VV, the former singer of a Finnish hard rock band called Him.

40:14HostWell, pleasure to meet you. First of all, congrats on the release. I see we're surrounded by the vinyls that you need to sign for the dedicated fans that are standing outside. We just came to the venue and we all sold them. I've never experienced that. So for me, it was a... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

40:33Ville ValoI just paid assistance. Ah, that's right. To get these fans to the people so they're just like...

40:38HostThat's why they didn't let us in. Okay.

40:40?That's what... Yeah, that's called branding.

40:42HostYeah. So congrats on the album. My favorite song, Saturnine... Saturnine, Saturnine. Oh, that one.

40:49?Okay.

40:49HostAnd you know why? Because... We're playing tonight. Yes. It's because of the world. Because you mentioned once that you like to create the world.

40:59Ville ValoIt's like world exercise, you know, building exercises in it, music. And at its best, you know, movies and stuff like that, you know, that it can really suck you in and have its own.

41:09HostExactly. So when I heard the song, it felt like there are characters in there, there's a world, there's space in there. That's what I mean. It's like, it's a song that you can dive in and have the images in your head.

41:25Ville ValoIt's also possibly due to the fact that it's a bit slower. It gives the listener some time to think. You know, a lot of times, especially modern music is very hectic. So there's a lot of stuff going on all the time. And that might be, you know, you have to listen to the whole song and then think about like, what did I just listen to? But with Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live, for example, it has a nice flow and has some space for you to sort of get into the mood. Maybe a tad better.

41:50HostAnd plus, it feels like a Black Sabbath. I mean, you like Black Sabbath and Depeche Mode. Yeah. And it feels like the sound of like the Black Sabbath, let's say, in the song is like one character and the sound of your voice in this Mormon monoclon is another character. I mean, that's why I'm a visual type. I make music videos. So I always think how I could work with that. And that feels like a full short movie, short film. So that's why I like it. And of course, I like the neo-noir song. These two songs are my favorites on the album.

42:23Ville ValoBut that's something you like. You know, it's a hard ask after all these years to make some music that people dig.

42:29HostActually, I wanted to ask this, because from all the interviews that I heard recently, you did a lot of interviews.

42:38Ville ValoIt's this time with Zoom. It's incredibly easy to do way more. You know, back in the day, I remember, because you used to travel to every radio station separately and took like five hours on a Deutsche Bahn, especially in Germany, where you had to go to like the deepest Bavaria, you know, somewhere just for a two-second interview. Just say, hi, my name is.

42:57HostAnd yeah, please buy my album. It's coming up soon.

43:00Ville ValoThat's that sort of a thing. Yeah, it's changed quite a bit. I think it's, uh, there's pros and there's cons, you know, you miss the travel, you miss meeting new people and seeing new cities and all that stuff. But, uh, you get a lot of information out there.

43:12HostFor example, I prefer a live interview because I can be here. I can see your show and, uh, and Zoom is a little bit detached. There's lag.

43:20Ville ValoI, uh, I don't, I don't have, I honestly think that the, the biggest problem is the lag, the delay. I hate audio.

43:27?Yeah, because it, and it's actually going to be funny. Our young, you know, there's like these days, there's young singers who actually sing like they autotuned when they're not because they've grown up with that sort of music. So I've been wondering, does the lag actually influence younger people to communicate because the, the, the modern way of communicating due to the lag is like monologues. You can't have a dialogue because of a, because of a delay. So it's only a monologue. You present your idea, then you wait for the next one to present their idea. It's not like throwing off, you know, finishing each other's sentences and stuff. You can't really do that.

43:59Ville ValoSo I was wondering if that's a next evolutionary step.

44:02HostIt's possible. It's not only in the lag, it's the voice messaging, you know, like when on WhatsApp or telegram or some, you, you, you send an audio message, you present your idea and then the other person needs to present an idea.

44:15Ville ValoSo I don't use that, but, but then that's not too far away from letters. It's just quicker.

44:20HostIt's just quicker. Yeah. And it feels, it's like typewriter letters.

44:24Ville ValoOkay. Fair enough. We've, we found a compromise. We found a compromise.

44:29HostRegarding the songs. So coming back to what I discovered from the interviews, when you describe your experience of presenting the first three songs to the public, the new ones that you did last year, right? It's like the first three, the secret, uh, uh, the surprise EP, right?

44:47Ville ValoYeah. And yeah, well, the first EP that came out, that came out already in 2020. So it's been a while.

44:52HostUh, the, the, the, the three, the three songs that are in this album, right?

44:57Ville ValoYeah. They came, they came out when the lockdown started. So I started working on that stuff 2019. And then we put it out without knowing that COVID is going to hit. And, uh, they came out, I think it was April, 2020. We run away from the sun, salute the sanguine, and then the one you like, saturnine, saturnalia.

45:12?Yeah.

45:13HostSo, so my question is like, when you describe this process, it feels like how you, um, deal with the music is it, it's reminds me of a regular musician these days who, who made the music in their bedroom and presenting the music to the public for the first time. How, how did you feel, because for you, it's, it, it, because you wanted to see what, what the direction to, to, to these songs, but it's the same, in the same way. It's like starting from all over again, because you're expecting the, maybe I'm the, how, how, how did you feel?

45:46Ville ValoUm, yeah, the only difference, my bedroom is humongous. I'm a relic from the nineties, so I still afford that back in the day, but, uh, uh, I think you always have to have that thing. It doesn't matter how many albums you've done and what the format is. It doesn't matter whether it's a streaming thing or if it's an album thing, or is it a solo album or is it, if it's a band, there's always the butterflies, you know, always nervous. It's like going in front of a class, you know, where you have to present something, which, uh, I don't know anybody who actually liked it, you know, so, um, so it feels a bit like that, but it's also, you know, music is what I do. That, that's what keeps me alive and that's how I survive and that's how I can deal with all this. So it's such an ingrained part, you know, of my, myself that I don't know any other way. So, um, so I got to keep on, you know, churning that stuff out and see what happens. It's like, you know, like a Jackson Pollock sort of idea, you know, throw a shit on the floor and see what sticks.

46:40HostYeah. I mean, you have to create your, your artist, you're a poet, you're a legend. So you have to do what you have to do. Right.

46:47Ville ValoYeah. Yeah. And that's the funny thing is that it's a, it's a good question, but it's a, the funny thing is that the answer is so simple. It is because I have to do it.

46:54HostNo, absolutely.

46:56Ville ValoIt's not even about because I get to do it. It is because I have to do it. So there's no other way. Not for me. No, I'm not a big believer in, in plan Bs or. Or sort of thinking out parallel worlds or what might and coulda, shoulda, woulda sort of thing. I think that, you know, you know, throw yourself in the deep end and, you know, you'll manage, manage out of there some way. That's what I have.

47:18HostThat's what I tell my friends. Act or death in a way, not in the way that I want to kill people, but it's like, you have to keep moving in the art direction. Yeah, and not, not be afraid to, to, to trust your guts and your intuition and really go for it.

47:33?I think that that's the, that's the only way, because then at the end of the day, your, it's your art or it's your music or it's your filmography is nobody else's. So you have to be proud of the decisions you've done, whether, whether it succeeds or not, you know, it's still the processes, you know, it's like you have to write a hundred shit songs to get them out of your system, to be able to write that one good one.

47:53Ville ValoSo in essence, the hundred shit songs are very, very important because without those, you wouldn't get to the good one. I know that we all looking for like a shortcut, but I think in creative arts, it doesn't really happen unless you're Max Martin, you know?

48:07HostYeah. I mean, it's a process. Each person has its own process, of course, but in general, you need to, to have at least experience. It's, it's part, it's part of the, of the thing. You need to try a lot of stuff, experiment, maybe something comes up, maybe something sticks, you don't know.

48:24Ville ValoIndeed, indeed. But yeah, but still, I think it's very, very important to keep on doing that. Even if you do find your comfort zones, you have to be always, I find my sweet spots are right on the very cusp of, of the comfort zone and the abyss. Because, you know, to keep myself on my toes and, and be, be surprised and be a bit scared because you have to, you know, it's like, that makes me feel alive, I guess.

48:48HostWhen you mentioned the abyss, because I have a question regarding the abyss, is because when you were recording this album alone, it was you and the music, right? So, and the music is continuation of who you are and, and you are the continuation of the music in a way. When you stare into the abyss, the, the abyss stares back to you, right? And my question is like, have you discovered something new about yourself in this process through the music that you were composing? Something that you, maybe you didn't expect?

49:18Ville ValoUm, maybe what I did, I sort of like rediscovered my love for music and the intimacy that can be with music and with creation. You know, a lot of times in bands and with a career, so to speak, there's a lot of noise. There's a lot of, you know, stuff that gets in the way, you know, meetings and, you know, other people's needs and whatever, you know, that take, take away the focus from the essential, which in my case is music. So I, I think that that was the learning process. I sort of like, um, um, learn how to listen to music again with child's ears. And that's quite beautiful. I find it quite endearing that I could find it as, um, as hard, you know, as sort of as sentimental and as touching and as meaningful as I did when I was a kid. You know, so there's sort of like, I think the pandemic and the fact that I need to work on this by myself made it, made me lose the sense of routine, which, which is a blessing. So that was a good thing, you know.

50:16HostWait, lose the sense of routine, but you still were in a routine while you were composing this, uh, or was it a different kind of routine?

50:22Ville ValoWell, it wasn't regimented and then at the end of the day, I had to, um, I had to, there were so many obstacles all the time because I'm not a recording engineer, you know, so it was all the time there was something new. Of course, there's a, there's a routine of you brushing your teeth every morning, but you know, the sort of like automatic stuff we do. So I didn't go that far into the realm of art. I started to do like the Lee Scratch Perry and walk backwards for a month, just to see how it feels. So maybe that's for the next album.

50:47HostI know that you try to go deeper when composing the music as a, you like to go deeper when in, in, in the depths of, of, uh, uh, constructing the music. How deep did you, did, did you go like really deep that you were lost in the song?

51:01Ville ValoYou have to, you have to get lost in the song. I was thinking deep as in like centimeters or feet, you know, it was way more than six feet under, uh, uh, I think you have to get lost. And that's once again, the thing that since there was no noise, there was no distraction, um, uh, uh, uh, I was able to let myself sort of go, which is great.

51:20?You know, so like waking up a couple of hours later, like with, you know, drool dripping from your mouth and be all like weird, red eyed, bleary eyed, crazy bastard with hair all wonky like Einstein at his best. And, uh, and, uh, and all of a sudden there's something, you know, playing from the speakers.

51:36Ville ValoIt's, it's quite a magnificent journey, I think with the, with each and every song and it's like the best gigs are that you don't really remember them, you know, you're lost in the moment and you're lost in, and you need the routine to be able to pull those certain things off that you don't fall off the stage or you can, well, it's before the gig. So I can't really promise you that we're going to stay in tune or basically, you know, the, but the basic idea is that you get that stuff out of the way and then you can just lose yourself in whatever you're doing.

52:01HostOh, when you mentioned routine and, uh, and I thought about the touring, where are you mentally when you're performing on stage?

52:08Ville ValoUm, home. Yeah. Hopefully it's like a, it's a comforting place and it's, uh, it's, um, it's, um, it's a place where you don't have to think about where to buy the next toilet paper roll from. You know, it takes that sort of like out of the equation, that sort of the regular pressures and, and, uh, and worries. It's a, it's quite a free state, but it takes time as well because it's, it's not easy. And we're a bunch of people and then there's a lot of, uh, variables, the audience and the, and the sound of the place and everything. So that takes routine and that takes, uh, you know, experience sort of be able to filter that out and hopefully to get into the mood that, that sort of like being like a lava lamp, you know, just like.

52:47HostYou're, you're there and do you change your set lists, uh, because I know like when I interviewed Clutch, uh, the band Clutch, they, they like to change the set list every day. Yeah. Yeah. Because it keeps them on the toes. Yeah.

52:59Ville ValoUh, not me, not me at all. Uh, I used to be really sort of nervous about set lists all the time, uh, went, went with him, um, especially in the early days. And we kept to switching it around a lot, but, uh, what usually happens with that is that, or, you know, in other words, we've built this set to be like a roller coaster ride. It has a lot, a lot of like ebb and flow and it's, it's, uh, to and fro, and it's, it, it's quite a demanding task to have the flow in its right place. And then you have to play gazillion times for it to really be second nature. And, uh, I believe that's better because then at the end of the day, there's not so many people who are going to see the gig several times. So it's better to play a great set and play really, really well. It's like, um, like people thinking about why, why aren't you playing like B size, some random tracks from random years. And it's, it's great fun, but you know, in the audience, like 99% won't know those songs. So they won't resonate. And then again, at the end of the day, when you're playing a gig, you, you're hoping for it being a, you know, a collective party, you know, and, and the music just being the, it has to be a perfect soundtrack, like a good playlist. So to speak, so, so it's a, I appreciate both ways, the, the fact that you can switch stuff around, but, uh, but with this one, I haven't dared yet. Plus it is, uh, the first solo album, so to speak, uh, and it's a new band and it's a new technical crew as well. So we've only played just the 16th show plus three in Helsinki. So it's not much, and it's good to get all the technical aspects and all that stuff out of way. So we can really get down to the nitty gritty. We have, we have a few, a few ideas and a few other songs rehearsed, but we still don't want to miss about it too much, you know?

54:40HostUh, I want to ask you, uh, really important because it's, it deals with, because I try to ask questions that will be useful for other musicians and creative individuals. How do you deal with fame and with sudden attention? Because when, when you suddenly, for example, a TikToker that blows up and has a lot of pressure, I mean, and not many people can answer this question, but you are one of them. who have been through the, the grinder of popularity and fame, how is it possible to, to, to properly deal with that?

55:10Ville ValoFirstly, I think that if, if it is possible, I've, I've been wondering how it is for solo artists when you're actually by yourself, it must be terribly hard. And I, I've, I've been thinking about people like Justin Bieber, you know, starting really young and being like super, super duper famous or, or Ed Sheeran or whatever, that they can maintain their sorta. So like psychological sobriety that they're sorta, you know, everybody's a bit wonky at times and we don't have the best of days every day.

55:36?But, um, but, uh, I think in my case, it was the band, we were really good friends.

55:40Ville ValoSo there was that support from really close by and then being friends, the liquid support. So, but that I don't recommend because, um, uh, you lose more than you gain.

55:52?I think.

55:53HostWell, family, friends and surrounding people, the most important, probably.

55:57Ville ValoYeah, I think so. And then it's exactly what we just said. People who can tell you straight and, uh, what they mean. And, uh, you know, that's without that, the criticism is hopefully constructive. Yeah. And it's, and at the end of the day, as a human being, you don't have to be an artist. You know, it's, it's fantastic. If you do have a support system, if you have a family or if you have good friends, not a lot of people do have good friends, you know, you might have gazillion bazillion social media friends, but that's a, that's a different thing. As somebody, you can actually tell everything you're feeling at whatever given moment, whether it's positive or negative. So, so that, that, that, that helps. That helps.

56:32HostAll right. Really? Let's ask, it's not a question. Could you please give us a song that they'll put at the end of this interview? A Billy Valdez song. That's a good introduction to your band.

56:43Ville ValoOh man, that's always the hardest one. You know, I have to, I have to, um, give it to you for like in Saturn, Saturnalia, and I'm talking about worlds and world building. And cause that was a big deal. That was a big deal for me. And there was a big inspiration thinking about that stuff. So, so Saturnalia, Saturnalia, you get a good idea. Uh, it's a bit more rocking. The album is a bit more, you know, tempoed up. Um, but, um, that gives you a nice idea. And it's good. It's a good way to waste seven minutes of your life.

57:10HostPerfect. Could you please say the title of the song again, with a feeling, an attitude.

57:15Ville ValoOh, with an attitude. Yeah. Do you want me to introduce the song?

57:19?Just the title of the song. Saturn and Saturnalia.

59:34?Thank you, Ville Vallo. And thank you, dear listener, for staying to the end. Don't forget to follow this podcast if you dig it. Don't forget to rate the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts or any other platform. Please rate it. It helps a lot. More stuff to come. Until next time. Stay safe. Bye.