What are some of your post-rock idols? What is it about them that draws you? Post Rock? Hmm… been a long time. We were very heavily in to Slint when we were starting out, I think they were a big influence on us. Same can be said for Tortoise.
How have your motivation and sound changed or evolved over the last 15 years?
We just go where the music takes us and it takes us very many different dirctions, I don’t look at it so much as a linear progress. Not playing the same song all the time and not making the same album all the time is what keeps us motivated to keep on keeping on.
You’re quite a large collective—how do you guys keep your relationships positive while on tour?
Yes, I think all in all you might say we are quite a big clan, but the great thing is that we rotate a lot and it varies all the time who plays the shows. People take breaks for shorter or longer times, but it’s easy to come back. As for being on tour, I guess it took us a while to learn just to be polite to each other and sensitive to other people’s needs and then you’ll be all right. Same goes for everyone individually, it is important to get yourself into the mindset that helps you get through the stress as easily as you can.
How would you describe your music if it was a drink and what would you call it?
Haha, good question. It would be some sort of strange smelling cocktail and it would have so many different ingredients that it would be hard to tell what’s in it. People sitting around a dinner table would pass the drink between them and have a taste and everyone would have a clear idea what it tasted like, but nobody would have the same idea or agree about what is in it. I would call the drink Ambiguous Undercurrent or Sigmund Void or mr.Spaghetti Pants or Sylvester Alone or Jambon Jovi.
Bjork once said, “Most Icelandic people are really proud to be from there.” What are you proudest of?
I don’t know if I am especially proud to be Icelandic, I do not think it is any better or any more interesting than being from somewhere else. I realize that the nature we have in this country is amazing, but it is important to remember that the people who live in the country do not own the nature and are not entitled to it in any way. And nature does not make you a better person; it only provides you a chance to become one.
What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had on stage, whether it be good or bad?
A couple of years ago we played a show in Warsaw in Poland with a polish choir and string orchestra which was amazing, but the best thing is that we got to invite very many of our friends to play the show with us, so they came and did one song with us each. We had Sin Fang, Benni Hemm Hemm, Amiina, Jóhann Jóhannson and many others and it was a magnificent evening. So that goes in to the good experience pile. I can’t recall any bad memories from stage at the moment, maybe I just suppress them. Maybe they are not worth thinking about, I don’t know.
Name one artiste the band would love to work with. Why?
Oh, I don’t know… the Singapore Symphony Orchestra? Are they available? We like playing at Esplanade last time and we really liked the building. So, it’s perfect. If they are not available, we can try and go for… Ennio Morricone? First one that pops into my head at the moment. And why not?
If you could turn back time and change something, when and what would it be?
It’s not about the choices that we make, but what we do to make them right. That being said, I don’t know. Not sure if it is a good idea to go back in time to change things, I have recently been watching Back to the Future and I think this film proves that it is a bad idea. Not that it stops Doc or Marty. Maybe I would change some football results, that seems harmless enough.
What are you guys like when you’re jamming and creating?
We keep it very loose and sloppy. 95% of the time will go into joking and about 5% into the music. When we write the songs, Gunni and myself will do that often very individually and then we meet up and mash things together.
What’s a typical moment of inspiration like for you?
I get inspired while swimming. There is an isolation you can find by swimming that you cannot find anywhere else. The problem is though, that you can’t write anything down or record anything underwater, so many inspired thoughts, melodies or words are lost in the water.
Múm performs alongside Shelves and Wavves in a triple-bill concert at Zouk, Jun 15.
