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Anger as a source of energy: introducing the charged club music of KABLAM
The Swedish artist has produced an incendiary debut EP
Metal is something you seem to be referencing quite a bit now. The title of the last track is 'Nu-Metall' and you've been seen sporting a Slayer shirt. And Scandinavia has a pretty intense relationship with metal. How does metal factor into KABLAM?
It's funny, I used to hate it when I was younger. I really disliked it. And then a few years ago, I was like, "Maybe I should listen to some death metal. Maybe that's something that I would be into." I’m really into some aspects of it. I love the sound of double pedals, which is something I really used to be repulsed by when I was a teenager.
Metal is ridiculous in a way. As in, what it wants to be in relationship to what it actually is. Because it doesn't sound that hard, or dangerous, or whatever. But the bands take themselves very seriously, they believe what they do is dangerous somehow. It’s very dramatic. I’m into that.
The drums in 'Nu Metall' and 'Choking' are both definitely inspired by that kind of music. But it's not really something I listen to a lot.
The EP has got such an intense energy to it, and you named the record 'Furiosa', and one of the titles is 'Crisis'. I wondered if the contained rage of metal is a useful outlet?
Yeah, I think so. A few years ago, I was asking people what kind of metal they would listen to, because I think I was looking for something that sounded really intense and hard. But I ended up listening more to really angry hardstyle.
When you think about all of the social side of what goes along with metal and how bro-ey it is, that seems really antithetical to what I know of you as a person and your politics. I think your willingness to call out bro-culture is useful. How are you interacting with that kind of culture, or coming across it? Is the scene you're in now becoming more exposed to that?
I feel like I'm really protected from that whole thing, especially in the context of where I started out and the people I work with. I've definitely been in contact with that. But now I'm in this all-female studio collective which started because we wanted to have a space for women in electronic music to be able to exchange knowledge and learn things without a dude being at all involved, or having some dude over your shoulder watching everything.
But also when I started in Janus, no one ever tried to teach me anything. I could ask, but no one ever mansplained anything to me, which was great. But when you are in a different context, you think, "Oh this is actually the real world. This is what most women deal with in the club world." I can't even imagine how hard it must be to elbow your way through a really bro-ey scene. Like what if I was a drum 'n' bass DJ or something?!
That's poignant that you recognise how lucky you are to have come up in a more supportive environment, where you didn't feel constantly pushed down. I read that you named the EP after the Mad Max: Fury Road character, but before I saw that I thought it was a general distaste for the state of the world. And one of the key tracks is called 'Crisis'. I read it as some sort of political statement. Was that the case?
I had been thinking about anger as a source of energy. It is about political frustration, or a general frustration for the state of the world, and about how connected it is to our emotions. It’s about acknowledging those feelings of anger — and sadness — that comes with political frustration. Especially in anger, there’s this energy that can be transformed and used for real change. So, in a way, there’s a glimpse of hope to it also.
'Furiosa' is out via Janus tomorrow, June 17
Lisa Blanning is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to Mixmag, follow her on Twitter here
