Crack

Musicals suck, right? Right. The idea of a bunch of has-been actors prancing about belting out ‘feel-good’ songs doesn’t quite appeal to those of us who enjoy something a little more wholesome and engaging from cinema. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a group of hardworking, talented musicians that saw the idea of a music-orientated film as a challenge to create something meaningful, rather than as a financial falsetto about Technicolour Dreamcoats and high school corridor clashes? Cue Efterklang…

Efterklang are a Danish band that sit, though not comfortably, somewhere within the realms of indie rock. Their strong post-rock and electro-orchestration leanings have earned them something of a reputation as a highly reputable international outfit. They are fantastical without being flimsy, organic yet not sterile, and their widespread orchestral arrangements still manages to achieve that intimacy of a real band. It’s pop music for sure, but not without it’s esoteric moments. The occasional wailing harmony or heavily syncopated 7/8 rhythm ensures that Efterklang always keep from sounding too safe.

An Island is Efterklang’s latest accomplishment. Imagine an extended music video with a running narrative shot by an indie filmmaker and you’re half way there.

Following the return to their small homeland island of Als, Efterklang, with the aid of cult director Vincent Moon, retrace their childhood and perform tracks from their latest album, Magic Chairs. Moon, highly regarded for his long-lasting relationship with the fusion of music and cinema, is as good as ever. With past directorial credits on projects with R.E.M and Arcade Fire, you get the feeling he enjoyed a freer reign on this project, allowing his filmic idiosyncrasies to seep through.

The locations are bleak, often rainy, and yet Efterklang find great pleasure in revisiting the surroundings in which they grew up. The positively heartwarming collaborative performances (I defy you to not break a smile as an elderly lady learns keyboard parts as another islander shuffles around her, sweeping his broom in time) turn this film from a bumper-sized music video, into an enchanting performance film.

It’d be too easy to dismiss An Island as a self-promoting soirée. But it’s more than that. In fact, it’s not even truly that – the band released the film in what they describe as ‘private-public’ screenings. Fans across the world were invited to hold their own screenings of the film with only two conditions; that there would be five or more attendees; and that the screenings would be free.

Don’t let the wealth of Efterklang’s collaborations fool you either (past collaborations include Tobias Stretch, Hvass&Hannibal and the Danish National Chamber Orchestra). They are very much a self-sufficient band, writing, recording and producing all their own material and yet still finding time to put together huge live performances, work on films
and run their own record label.

Rasmus Stolberg, multi-instrumentalist of Efterklang, took a short break from the current tour (Efterklang has been touring almost constantly for three and a half years) to talk to Crack about An Island, being Danish and getting paid in sandwiches.



How did the idea for An Island come about?

For about a year or so we had been talking about making a longer film together. We’d worked with him a few times prior to An Island and after we’d helped him create TemporaryCopenhagen.com we started making plans. We came up with the idea to go to the island of Als, then made the list of songs we would perform and how. Using all the material and locations, Vincent sculpted the story.

You chose to release An Island by inviting people to host ‘privatepublic’ screening events. How did that idea come about? How does it change the distribution process?

I got the idea in the van after our concert at Green Man Festival last summer. I was trying to figure out how I could get the film screened and how we could get people to watch the film. I’m the producer on the film but I don’t have a network that covers film festivals and film distributors so this idea sort of came to me as a way around that. Everyone these days has nice TVs, beamers and Hi-Fi stereos, broadband etc. When five friends meet to watch a film together, it turns into an event. We have their attention and at the same time our film has brought these fine people together. We are super happy about this and it seems that many people that have hosted and attended screenings feel the same way.

Efterklang have a rich history of collaborations. What does collaborating with other artists add to the creative process? How can it affect your vision?

The four of us in Efterklang are very open towards which roles we have. We all play different kinds of instruments and we don’t have big egos. We don’t all have to play our instrument on every song to feel a part of it. I think I only play on four of the eleven songs on our second album, Parades, but I feel just as much a part of the songs I didn’t record anything for. We also like to orchestrate and think big, so collaborating with a lot of people is just really fun for us. It’s also challenging. You learn a lot about your own music when you have to instruct other people in participating. Collaborating with filmmakers, especially Vincent Moon, is also challenging, but very rewarding too. It’s interesting for us to use our creativity with another medium. We like ideas and trying to make those ideas come to life. Collaboration is a big part of that.

Your live shows include a lot of interaction – both with the audience and with extra performers. What are you trying to achieve when you play live?

We are primarily trying to have fun playing the songs, but we’re also trying to invite people into our world and engage them in some way. We really enjoy playing music together on stage and we have no intentions of trying to hide that fact.

I’m interested to know about your song writing process. Is it a group effort or more of a solitary thing?

Usually Casper records a lot of ideas and then gets together with Mads. They try to structure the ideas and work more on them until sketches for songs appear. This can take a long time and often they work on many songs at the same time. At a certain level, they introduce Thomas and I, and we add our thoughts and ideas. If we all like a song, we’ll record it. But we always work with albums in mind, so we only start recording once we have set out a direction or have an overall idea for the entire record. The recording process also works as a song writing process for us. Actually, I think we write/work on the songs all the way until we deliver it for mastering.

How important is it for Efterklang to develop their sound with each new release?

It’s our motivation when making a new album – to investigate and come up with new sounds, ideas and a direction for our band.

You’ve said you’re very happy to have a Danish band name. How Danish would you say Efterklang’s sound is?

Not very – but of course a lot of Danish music has inspired us over the years so I’m sure it’s a lot more Danish than any band from the UK or Germany. We feel like an international band. We just recently moved our studio to Berlin and we’ve been travelling the world constantly for more than three years now.

Can you recommend some great Danish bands?

The Late Great Fitzcarraldos, Pinku Noizu, Murder, Cody and many, many more. There’s a great scene in Denmark these days!

I’ve heard stories that the UK is pretty bad at hosting foreign bands. How does playing in the UK differ to other countries?

There are many more private promoters and venues in the UK, whereas the venues in the rest of Europe are often subsidised by the city or the state they belong to. US venues are worse than UK venues though and now that we are able to play some more established venues in the UK, we feel very welcomed. For our very first gig in London, back in 2005, we were paid £200 and nine Tesco sandwiches.

What can we expect from Efterklang in the future?

On March 18th we finish three and a half years of touring and then we’ll be taking a break. We’ll be back with a new album. We already have some ideas, but first we are taking a break to recharge our brains.



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Tune: Mirador

http://www.efterklang.net

Words: Ed Collings-Wells

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