Foto-© Maximilian Ko_nig

Die Geschichte von Kiasmos beginnt im Jahr 2009. Als Ólafur Arnalds und Janus Rasmussen vor 15 Jahren erstmals gemeinsam Musik machten, hätten sie wohl niemals damit gerechnet, dass dieses Neben-Projekt irgendwann derart erfolgreich werden würde. In der Tat war es zunächst einfach bloß der Sound, der entsteht, wenn zwei alte Freunde von benachbarten Inseln zusammenkommen und ihr angestammtes Solo-Terrain – Klaviermusik bzw. Electro-Pop – bewusst hinter sich lassen, um stattdessen ihren geteilten Hang zu Clubsounds auszuleben. Und doch traf ihr Debüt 2014 so etwas wie den Zeitgeist – 10 Jahre später sind sie zurück mit ihrem zweiten Album II. Man hört darauf ganz klar, wie sehr sich Kiasmos im letzten Jahrzehnt als Sound-Architekten weiterentwickelt haben: Die akustischen Texturen gehen tiefer, die Stimmungen sind atmosphärischer, die Beats atemloser unter den ambitionierten Streicher-Arrangements. Jeder einzelne Song des neuen Albums entfaltet sich wie ein Miniatur-Epos.

Trotz vollem und streng getakteten Zeitplan nehmen sich Kiasmos für uns auf dem Maifeld Derby Zeit für ein Gespräch. Wir treffen sie in ihrem Artists Pavillon und all das Gewusel des Festivals ist schnell vergessen.

First of all. Thank’s a lot for having us. But what a weather for an open air festival.
Ólafur: It will be raining all day long. But we are playing in the tent. So we don’t care.

You played in Berlin last night. How was the concert?
Janus: It was great. Warm and sweaty. What could be better than playing electronic music in Berlin on a Friday night? It was simply marvelous.
Ólafur: The concert was sold out. Everyone danced and had a good time.

You haven’t played together for a while. What was it like for you to start over again? Did you prepare for it in particular?
Janus: It felt pretty the same but in a good way. Kind of familiar, the production is a bit different. But it is lovely to do something new for us.
Ólafur: Yeah, apart from rehearsing we just have a coffee and some chocolate.

How do you work on new songs? Do you have standardized work processes? Do you work on them together? Or do you have a specific division of labor?
Janus: The songs usually happened together in the space of the studio. We are starting and finishing them together. Most of the time we are trying to create something new. To improvvise.

So you always work together in the same place, on the same song?
Ólafur: We work together in the same studio. Only the studio sometimes changes. But we work together at the same place, on the same song. For the album we did it in some different studios.

And it all took place in Reykjavik?
Janus: Most of the songs for the new album were written in Reykjavik. But of course we also travelled around for it. A few of our new songs were also written in Bali. Four songs were written there. We were there during the pandemic and it was good to be able to break out of our own rut and explore new musical paths in a more carefree way. The rest was created at home in Reykjavik.

How exciting, that the album still seems to come from the same mold. In a romanticized idea of music, we would think, that it makes a difference whether a song is created in Bali or in Iceland.
Ólafur: It’s not so much the place as the people, who create the song. Kiasmos sounds like Janus and Ólafur no matter where we write, record or perform a song. It is always the artist, who makes the music. Of course, the location influences everyone. But we have the luxury of being able to find good conditions for making music everywhere. That’s why, we only need the two of us for Kiasmos.

You both have successful solo careers. What is it like for you to create music together?
Janus: That’s something we don’t know any other way. When we first met, I was playing in another band and was already producing solo tracks. Ólafur was already successful solo back then. We don’t know it any different. And our music as Kiasmos is completely different to the music we make on our own or in other projects. We just keep it separate.
Ólafur: We always had something of our own in parallel with Kiasmos. But Kiasmos was always our outlet to do something completely different. Our little escape from all our other projects.
It’s the same but also different.

Compared to the music you release solo, you serve a different genre with Kiasmos. Was that a conscious decision?
Janus: We wanted to do something without blinkers. It is our luxury to be able to do something different here. And to break genre boundaries in the process. Perhaps Kiasmos is our playground where we can let off steam musically. Where we can approach new music in a rather unconventional way. Just do it.
Ólafur: Even though we still like to experiment, we have of course found our sound with Kiasmos and are not completely leaving our musical paths. There will probably never be a Kiasmos song that is completely different music.

And how do you recognize when a song is finished for you?
Ólafur: A song is never finished. We just decide at some point, that we’re not going to do anything else, that it’s going to be recorded and that’s enough.
Janus: A song can never be finished. Even if it has made it onto our record and has been recorded. On stage, each of our songs has a life of its own and is allowed to change live.
Ólafur: Even now, that the album has not yet been released. Individual songs have been recorded but not yet released, we are already changing these songs for and in our live-sets.
Janus: We can see from this. Our songs have to live, they are never finished.

How do you plan your actual set? Do you already play new songs tonight?
Janus: Most of the set is actual new songs.
Ólafur: We are introducing the new album. Of course we play some old songs. But more new ones. Perhaps 60 to 40 percent.

We’ve already had the chance to listen to your new album and we really like it. It’s absolutely great. It’s hard to imagine that the songs on it already sound different live.
Janus: Yes, they have a life of their own. They sound different on stage. We arrange our live setting differently. We want more groove live. A bit more fun, pressure and less ambient. Especially at a festival. People want to dance and we want to keep the energy high. A festival performance is always different to a club show.
Ólafur: People come to our own club shows precisely because of our sound. There are always people at a festival, who don’t know us yet. They also want to be entertained. That’s why our sound at festivals is always a bit clubbier, more driving and more danceable.

There was a lot of time between your last album and the new one. What happened in the meantime and how did your sound change?
Ólafur: There are 10 years in between. Of course, a lot happened in between. We cannot deny that we are now in a different place musically and personally. We are completely different people today.

But the sound is still Kiasmos. They are new songs. But they sound like you. How do you do that?
Janus: It is just the sub context. We never tried to make a Kiasmos sound. The Kiasmos sound is just the combination of me and him.
Ólafur: I am happy, you think so, because we don’t really think too much about it. Our sound of the new album is pretty different to our former sounds. We never know whether we can take people with us on this journey. But in the end, we just want to make music. It is a bonus when this sounds like us.

So the fact, that people come to your shows is the bonus of the bonus?
Janus: Yes, exactly. That’s fantastic. It’s a dream playing in front of thousands of people tonight. That’s what we make music for.
Ólafur: You won’t get used to it. It’s still a “wow” every time.

Last year, we had the pleasure of meeting Hania Rani for an interview. You did do a song together on her latest album. How did the collaboration come about and how did it work?
Ólafur: Hania came to visit me in Iceland for two or three days. I think we did most of the song in one day. „Whispering House“, the song of the album was a one take improvisation. We edited it a bit. But it was not really composed. Really lovely. I like the song. And I like Hania Rani. She is a good friend of mine. I love hanging out with her.

And we love this festival here: Grandbrothers, Hania Rani and Kiasmos on one stage. And that in Germany.
Ólafur: That’s right, that’s quite extraordinary. Especially as there are otherwise completely different musical acts playing here. Maifeld Derby is not a neoclassical, ambient or electronic festival.

Around two weeks ago, Christian Löffler played in Cologne. You, Janus, have released an album on his label Ki Records. How did that come about?
Janus: I made an album and was looking for a label. I sent it to a few labels and they were immediately interested. They are super nice people. We also have the same booking agency. Christian Löffler and Kiasmos. And also the artists you just mentioned: Grandbrothers and Hania Rani. We don’t just share the booking agency, we’ve also became friends with the artists and our bookers.

What influence does Reykjavik as a city have on you and your music?
Janus: A big one. We are now well networked and rooted in the music scene. Our own studios are close by. We first met in Iceland. Our collective identity as a band as Kiasmos lies here.

Winters in Iceland are very dark. Does the time of year when you start working on new music have an influence on what you are making?
Janus: Of course. As already mentioned, some new songs were written in Bali. They sound like nothing we’ve produced before. Of course, something like that also has an influence on our music. At least subconsciously. We still write and produce in the studio and every studio has its own vibe. I am not sure if I notice any difference if we write our music in summer or winter in Iceland. The location makes the difference. Also because we grew up with the dark as well as the light. We live with it.

Would you like to tell our readers something about the music scene in Reykjavik?
Janus: I really like the scene. It’s very young and intense. Post-punk and electronic music in particular is very present. Dark and consistently noisy. It’s a small circle, where all the musicians are involved in different projects. I like the small things. Everyone knows everyone.

Tomorrow you will be playing at the OPIA Festival in Utrecht. It’s “your” own festival Ólafur. How did it come about and who is playing there?
Ólafur: A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Portico Quartet, Kelly Lee Owens, Sofi Paez, The Vernon Spring, Lara Somogyi, BARTH. and many more other fantastic artists are playing. It is difficult to find a suitable location for this. It should take place indoors and have many different stages. From a concert venue to a club. Small and large rooms. There are not so many places in this world, that fulfils these wishes. With the Tivoli in Utrecht, we found a location, where this is possible and we are really looking forward to it. It’s going to be great.
Janus: And of course we play there as Kiasmos too.

That sounds phantastic. We wish you a great festival. But why on a Sunday?
Ólafur: Why not? We played in Reykjavik on a Monday. And it was great and one of our best shows ever. Don’t judge the day.
Janus: Every day gets better with good music.
Ólafur: Of course, we notice a difference in the audience depending on the day of the week. Friday and Saturday our shows are often more of a party. So maybe Sunday is actually quite good for the festival. It has more concert vibes and then there’s the big party for the finale. In any case, we’re really looking forward to tomorrow.

What else do you have coming up this year?
Ólafur: We’re still playing a few festivals over the summer. The new album will be released in July and we’ll go on tour with it in autumn. As well as Europe, we’ll also be playing in the States and Mexico.

Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us on such a tight schedule. We’re already looking forward to your show.
Janus: Thank you very much for the interview. It was nice to meet you.
Ólafur: Yes, exactly: thank you very much.

Später auf der Bühne zeigt sich dann, was wir im Gespräch mit den Beiden bereits erleben durften. Ólafur und Janus verstehen sich (musikalisch) blind und lassen ihren Songs live ein (spontanes) Eigen- und Weiterleben. Ihr Set ist tanzbarer als auf Platte. Aber trotzdem Kiasmos. Wir genießen es sehr. Wie auch alle anderen, die es Samstagabend ins Palastzelt aufs Maifeld Derby geschafft haben.

Kiasmos live:
20.09.24 Köln, Stadthalle
26.09.24 Berlin, Columbiahalle