Interview Reeperbahn Festival: I Am K
I Am K im Interview – „We are definitely very multifaceted“
Wir haben für Euch im Reeperbahn Festival Special die Electro-Pop Band I Am K aus dem norwegischen Städtchen Kristiansand im Interview.
Der Sound der norwegischen Band I Am K ist wirklich krass facettenreich. Von düster und dunkel, kühl über euphorisch und enthusiastisch bieten sie ein breites Spektrum an musikalischen Farbpaletten. Damit haben mich die fünf Musiker und Musikerinnen der Band überzeugt. Beim Reeperbahn Festival werden sie am Mittwoch den 19. September aufspielen. Wer also noch einen energetischen Geheimtipp sucht, der sollte I Am K ganz oben auf seiner Watchlist notiert. Lohnt sich!
With five band members you have a very “compact” setting and instrumentation. Recently you’ve released your first full length album “Humans”. How do you feel that you have exhausted everything on the album?
I Am K: Humans is an album that describes our musical development through our first four years as a band. As musicians we come from very different musical backgrounds. We wanted to make something new and groundbreaking, without any genre limits. We believe we did a good job on the first record, but we are very excited to go further into this sound and explore it more on our second album.
For me there is very big ambivalence between your high vocals Oda and the very heavy accompaniment of drums, e-guitar and heavy synthesizers. This is an element which makes your album very multifaceted isn’t it?
I Am K: We are definitely very multifaceted. Starting of as a band in 2014, our main goal was to cover electronic music, like MGMT (remixes), Justice (remixes), with regular band instruments like el-guitar, drums, bass and keyboard. We maintained this mentality when we started to write our own songs.
On Facebook and Instagram I have seen some beautiful pics you playing at Open Air Festival in a beautiful and enormous landscape like the Hillbilly Huckfest or the UTKANT. Would you agree if your music has a different effect in certain places and landscapes?
I Am K: Well, the music will always be the same, but its quit different to play a concert outside in Jotunheimen than playing at a club in Oslo. To play at open air festivals like Strynefestivalen, Hillbilly Huckfest and Utkant is definitely something special for us and it might make the music come alive in a different way. Its also a lot of fun to perform in beautiful surroundings.
You are playing at Reeperbahn Festival this year. What are your expectations for the time you spend there including networking, floating around the festival etc.?
I Am K: We are very excited to play Reeperbahn Festival this year. It has been goal for some time and we´re happy that we can do it this year. We hope to see a lot of people in our audience. It will be our first concert in Germany and we hope to do a lot more. It will be fun to meet other bands and artists, and we are looking forward seeing a lot of great shows and discover new music.
In which way this gig could be a great help to expand your fanbase out of Kristiansand and Norway to a brighter audience?
I Am K: Reeperbahn is definitely a great place to expand our fanbase from Norway and out. We are looking forward meeting new people in the industry. Its a new city, in a new country, with a new audience and we believe we will make a good impression and hopefully get some new fans.
The year is almost over. Have you already achieved your goals for 2018?
I Am K: 2018 has been a crazy year for us. We have been on a tour since January, doing concerts all over Norway. We have released our debutalbum, which has received a lot of great feedback. We have recorded our second album this summer, in-between festivals. So I think we´ve achieved a lot this year.
Have you not achieved one of your original goals you’ve setted up in the beginning of the year?
I Am K: Yes, we have. Releasing the album was our main goal this year and also playing at Reeperbahn.
Last question: Why should we come and visit Kristiansand on our next trip?
I Am K: Kristiansand is a beautiful city with a lot of fun things to do. People from south of Norway are very welcoming and we have the best summers in Norway. If you´re going to Kristiansand, we recommend that you come in the summer. A lot of great concerts, festivals. The city comes alive in the summer 🙂