Múr – interview met Kàri Haraldsson (vocals, keytar, synthesizers)
Kàri Haraldsson: “I think progressive tinged metal just blends into the more general metal scene in Iceland, which is a very tight knit and active scene, with members overlapping and people supporting each other at their shows, across sub-genres.”
Nog net op de valreep voor we weer lijstjes met favoriete albums van het jaar gaan samenstellen, was daar plots – schier vanuit het niets – een overweldigend debuut van de IJslandse band Múr. Hun muziek valt niet in dovemansoren, want datzelfde debuut komt uit op het grote Century Media label en het regent lovende kritieken. We waren nieuwsgierig hoe dat alles tot stand gekomen is. Zanger/keytar-wizard Kàri Haraldsson was zo vriendelijk om tijdens hun eerste Europese tournee even onze vragen te beantwoorden. Hou deze band in de gaten!
Vera Matthijssens Ι 6 december 2024
Hello Kári, things suddenly go fast for Múr. Your debut ‘Múr’ is promptly followed by a first European tour with Wheel. So how are you doing at the moment?
We are doing really well, the tour has been going super well so far, Wheel are absolutely great and we have had great turnout and reception to our shows! We are excited for the future.
How and when did you meet each other and how did it turn into this constellation Múr?
I (Kári, front man) met Hilmir and Jón, the guitarists in high school around 2016, but we started meeting during the weekends to jam and play cover songs. We met the rest of the guys when we went to music school and the band slowly started morphing into Múr as I started writing the first original material in spring 2018. We were originally going to play our first show in early 2020, but then the pandemic happened. That didn’t stop the band from happening though, as we just got a lot of time to practice and were really tight when we could finally play our first show in summer of 2021.
What does Múr mean or where does it stand for?
Múr is Icelandic for brick wall or the mortar used to stick bricks together. We chose the name as we felt it represented our sound well, something solid and impenetrable.
Musically one can discover an engrossing blend of progressive (death) metal and other influences. What can we see as important influences/elements in your lengthy compositions and what is your musical background?
Our musical background is all over the place, Ívar (bass) has been very active in the local pop and jazz scene, Árni (drums) in the punk and hardcore scene, Jón (guitar) is very involved in classical and flamenco guitar, and Hilmir and I studied film together, so there’s definitely influences from a very broad spectrum of sources. I have done most of the song-writing so far and before Múr I had written some music for short films, feature films and TV, so I think that has had an effect on my approach to song-writing. I’m influenced by atmospheric and ambient music, film soundtracks and lots of different kinds of electronic music. I listened to some post and progressive metal during my teenage years, but less as I started writing for Múr to try and fill a gap in the music that I wanted to listen to.
The progressive tinged genre is not that crowded in Iceland I think… actually, is there a prog scene at all?
I think it just blends into the more general metal scene, which is a very tight knit and active scene, with members overlapping and people supporting each other at their shows, across sub-genres.
The first steps to ‘fame’ for the band were linked to the Wacken Open Air battle. Please tell me what happened and the experiences and the results of this context?
We won the Icelandic Wacken Metal Battle in 2022 with an overwhelming number of votes in our favour (I think all 15 judges voted for us in first place except for one, who placed us second). That led to us competing and placing fourth in the international grand finale of Wacken Metal Battle at Wacken Open Air, but there we received some attention from record labels wanting to release our first album. We were never fully happy with the offers though and realised we would really need to educate ourselves in order to navigate this industry better. Through the attention we received at the time we met our manager, Erin Lynch, and she has been instrumental in getting us to where we are today.
What can you tell about the way you compose?
I get ideas constantly, so I’m always pulling up my phone and humming some melody or rhythm on my voice memos app. Then after those ideas have marinated for a while I start writing a full song and recording a demo on my laptop, mostly using my analogue synthesizers, my guitar (which I can only play to the extent needed to write music, being a keyboard player and drummer) and some digital instruments on the computer. I then bring the demo to the guys and we arrange the instruments and parts in a way that works best with our line-up.
What kind of lyrics can we find in the songs? Is there is red thread or a main thing that inspired you this time?
The lyrics explore themes of coming to terms with yourself, dealing with inner turmoil and finding your place in the greater scheme of things. I originally intended for the album to have a more linear narrative, but in the end the songs all deal with similar issues from different perspectives.
‘Eldhaf’, the first song, is actually super impressive and illustrates the mighty manner of you, building up tension. Can you tell a bit more about this first entrance of the debut album?
Thank you. This was the first song I wrote for Múr and my first proper foray into writing music for a metal band. The lyrics revolve around rising from the deep, dark ocean floor, flying into the sun, embracing it and burning up to ashes. Like some of the other songs it deals with the catharsis one can experience in letting go.
The song ‘Frelsari’ is graced with a self made visualizer which goes back to the youth of you Kári. That imaginary has a special origin… Can you go deeper into that?
It was an animation I originally did for a school project, shortly before I wrote the first song for Múr. It seems to deal with similar themes of facing the uncertainty of what is holding you back and diving head first into dealing with it.
Is that a segment of art you’d like to dive deeper into for next visual exploration?
We have a lot of interesting concepts we’re working on for our next music videos, everything from 3D animation and dance projects to dystopian sci-fi.
Another song is ‘Heimsslit’ and I’d like to hear more about that song and its reminiscence with the folk/horror infused video clip?
I wrote ‘Heimsslit’ when I had to spend two weeks in my room during the first quarantine I had to take during the pandemic. The music video idea was brought to us by the director, Hrafnkell Tumi Georgsson, who had a completely thought out concept ready from the start, but he was influenced by Icelandic folklore stories about the huldufólk (Icelandic hidden people, elves) coming out during midsummer night to tempt travellers with gifts and treasures.
You live in Iceland, a really fascinating country of fire and ice. Where on the island do you reside? Did the country and nature influence your music in a way? How?
We all live in the capital city, Reykjavík, but Árni and Ívar grew up in the east of Iceland, in Egilsstaðir. I think nature definitely has an effect on me as a songwriter, but I think you can’t help being influenced by the environment you are surrounded by.
Icelandic bands usually have a personal touch in their sound. It seems that life is slower over there than in central Europe for instance. Do you agree on that? Are there certain pros and cons on being from a far away island?
I don’t really have a good frame of reference to make a proper comparison to life in central Europe, but I think I have benefited from being able to spend a lot of time on writing the music and fleshing out our sound and image. It also helps having the support of being in a smaller, tight knit community, where people help each other out.
The most recent clip is for ‘Holskefla’ and that should be one of the oldest songs written for the album, so please can you tell a bit about the lyrics and the musical approach?
‘Holskelfa’ was our first foray into writing in odd time signatures, being mostly in 7/8. The lyrics are about dealing with something that’s been eating at your mind, becoming larger and harder to even think about facing the longer you put it off.
What are the expectations for this tour with Wheel?
Meeting and playing for new people and hopefully gaining as many new fans as possible!
Is Múr a band who considers improvisation in a live setting or not?
We don’t improvise a lot musically live, or haven’t done much of it so far. We like presenting ourselves in a consistent and tight way, but we’re not against the idea.
I wish you a grand start with touring with Finnish progressive band Wheel! I’ll see you most likely in Antwerp and really look forward to that! What are the further plans for the near future?
Thank you, we’re really excited for the rest of the tour! The next big thing on our agenda is a big song-writing period as soon as we come back, as we’re going straight into recording our next album early 2025.
If there is anything you would like to add, please feel free to do that… Thanks a lot for your time! Your debut album is refreshing, serene and dark at the same time and has a lot of depth! Good luck with all your endeavours.
Thank you so much! And thank you for having us.
