Ultraflex interview – “We’re trying to master the art of not doing too much”
We meet the Berlin-based new Nordic invaders of coldwave pop
Ultraflex – who’ve just released their second album Infinite Wellness – operate in a world somewhere between the clubby beats of house and techno and the sublimely cool lazer melodies of coldwave and synthpop. Cool enough in itself, but when Norwegian Katrín Helga and Icelandic Kari join forces, this aesthetic cool is filtered through memorable songwriting and candid – sometimes very candid – lyrical content. We had to find out more, so we tracked down the pair. This is what they told us.
You’re both from different countries – how did you team up originally? Are your personalities as different as your nationalities? Any cultural differences/misunderstandings? We ignorantly imagine Nordic countries to be quite similar but perhaps not???
We met through common friends in Berlin, working on the music video ‘Famous’ for Jae Tyler. Shortly after we got the opportunity to write a commissioned piece together, which developed into ‘Vision of Ultraflex’. Our prime commonality is our work tempo. We like to work fast, and we like to work a lot. Our minds are two race horses who finally found someone to run really fast with. There are definitely some cultural differences between Iceland and Norway, but we met when we were both living in Berlin – and people who decide to move to Berlin tend to have things in common. Katrín lived in Norway as a child, so we always speak Norwegian, which can sometimes lead to fun misunderstandings. Katrín can get pretty inventive with her limited childhood Norwegian vocabulary so she’ll often say strange things that make Kari laugh really hard. In general we’d say that Icelanders are more impulsive and untamed than Norwegians, who tend to be responsible and think things through more. We like to say that Ultraflex channels the cheekily frank Icelandic nature through Norwegian acuteness and reason.
Likewise, what flavours do you individually bring to the project? What are the things where you think similarly and which are areas you bring different thinking to?
Ultraflex is shiny and dirty at the same time. We could probably generally say that Katrín brings the dirt and Kari the shine, with exceptions of course. We both edit each other. Katrín might for example bring a lyric draft and Kari will say what parts she likes and which parts need more work. In a similar way Kari will lay down a beat and Katrín might come up with references that we can continue to build the beat on, etc.
What are your earliest musical memories – early listening, parents’ tastes etc, first instrument and embarrassing bands here please!
Katrín almost got kicked out of a flute course when she was four because she refused to play what the teacher told her and ended up just dancing at the concert. That was her first instrument. A pure moment of bliss for her was when she brought the Aqua ‘Aquarium’ album to kindergarten and got to run around in circles listening to ‘Dr. Jones’ on repeat. Her parents used to listen a lot to Kari Bremnes at home, and that’s where the idea for the Norwegian reference in the start of ‘Melting Away’ (“gjemt i dine sansers mørke prakt”) comes from.
Kari’s first ever CD was Rednex’s classic album ‘Sex & Violins’ that her dad bought for her on a work trip, along with Scatman John’s single ‘Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop)’, and those two which was pretty much the only CDs she listened to for the next year or two. Also, Robyn used to be a child star in Scandinavia in the 90s and her debut album ‘Robyn Is Here’ was (and still is!) a huge inspiration for Kari. ‘Do You Really Want Me’ actually has the best keychange ever when it first goes up a semitone in the last chorus, but then all of a sudden it modulates down two semitones for an unexpected bonus chorus.
And there was a Eurovision experience as well, is that correct?
Not sure what you are referring to here. Katrín’s solo project Special–K won an Alternative Eurovision radio contest a couple of years ago on Amazing Radio, and Kari was asked to perform in the Norwegian pre-eurovision contest, but decided not to… yet at least. Also Katrín’s former band Daughters of Reykjavík competed in the Icelandic Eurovision finals last year, but that was after Katrín quit. Take your pick!
What set up do you use and how do the tracks tend to come about – what comes first?
We pretty much always start with the beat. We normally find a reference track or two that we really like, and Kari starts modeling the beat after that. We mostly use the RX7, Linndrum or 909. When we have a good beat going we start working on the chord progression together, and once we have that down Katrín starts working on lyrics while Kari works on shaping the synth soundscape. The work horse for Infinite Wellness was the Korg M1, mostly for pads and melody lines, then DX7 or Yamaha CS-15 for bass, and the OB-Xd soft synth provided some really good glides. Also we love using the H910 Harmonizer, it provides really interesting and surreal sounding textures to beats or vocals.
As well as songwriting, the beats are quite interesting and unusual – where does that influence come from? What songs/artists/albums do you turn to for songwriting and how about beats… do you go clubbing a lot or has that come from elsewhere?
As mentioned above we tend to find reference tracks that we model the beats after, at least that’s how we start out and then it tends to change quite a bit and become its own thing after working on it for a while. For example the beat in ‘Melting Away’ is taken from Madonna’s ‘Live To Tell’ and you might be able to hear it still. The beat for ‘Relax’ though was modeled after Taylor Dayne’s ‘Tell It to My Heart’ but it changed so much that you can’t really hear it anymore. All of the beats are definitely shaped by Kari going clubbing in Berlin, getting a lot of inspiration from going to her favorite club night Altered Soul Experiment (RIP) at Ohm. Other artists that shaped the songwriting on this album are Spice Girls, Enrique Iglesias, Usher and Snoop Dog.
Your lyrics are very bold – you discuss some quite difficult things very openly…. Is this what you are like as people or does the process of being in a band and performing make it easier???
Haha, it’s probably the former, cause we don’t think they’re that bold or unusual.
What else has shaped your sound since the last album, and what did you learn about making albums from the first time round?
This time we took in a lot more diverse influences, rather than the pretty narrow Soviet disco theme of the first album. We’ve both been making albums for a decade with other projects, so perhaps the thing we’re learning most about between albums is how to best work together as a team. Also – we’re trying to master the art of not doing too much and learning to say no thank you to some of the opportunities.
This album is called ‘Infinite Wellness’ – is that slightly tongue in cheek, because it seems to deal with longing and the dissatisfaction with modern life?
Can something be tongue in cheek if you admit that it is?
What’s next, live shows etc and any plans taking shape for a future release. Will there be a new set of lyrical concerns next time round?
In October, we’re playing in Paris, Berlin, Oslo and Trondheim. In November we’re playing at Iceland Airwaves and most likely a show in London in December. We are already planning our next release but it’s too early to share any details about that 🙂