From Iceland — Kælan Mikla's New Video: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Words by

Photo by

Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir

Since playing Airwaves last year, nihilist poet-punks Kælan Mikla have evolved drastically, as is apparent in their new and mesmerising video for “Glimmer & aska” (“Glitter & Ash”). The song, usually performed with the fog machines and bass cranked up to 11, was filmed at the Iceland Academy of the Arts by drummer-keyboardist Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir. The black and white video involves heavy use of strobe lights, glitter, close up body shots, and a circle of candles.

After watching that, we couldn’t help but wonder what it was all about. So, being a magazine and all, we sent a few questions to bassist Margrét Rósa Dóru- Harrysdóttir.

Can you explain the concept behind the video?

The song, written by me and Sólveig, is called “Glimmer & aska” and is about emotional tangles, as well as the pointlessness of everything. The idea was to portray two sides of the same person, called Glimmer (portrayed by me) and Aska (portrayed by [singer] Laufey).

And what are these sides? What do they symbolise?

Glimmer is dreamy, playful, and has a surreal sense of happiness, while Aska is melancholic, depressive, and full of bitterness. Sort of. But the concept wasn’t really planned beforehand, it just evolved as we made the video.

Really? How did it change?

Originally we wanted to play with body shots, shadows, and such, but when we lit up the circle of candles and turned the lights off we became enthralled with these characters. You could say they made themselves to the tune of the song.

Do you know what songs you want to make videos for next?

We really want to make a new video as soon as possible! It’s just a question of when we find ourselves with free time again—we really want to make something for our new synth songs.

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Kælan Mikla are playing the following dates at Airwaves:
-Friday, November 6 at 21:40 at Gaukurinn
-Saturday, November 7 at 20:00 at Gamla Bíó