It’s that time of year again, with the collective anticipation and excitement surrounding Krank’d Up Fest building its way to a fever pitch.
In preparation for this monumental event, The Metalist za got in touch with Sven and Gehart of Pretoria heavyweights, My Columbine, to talk about the groups recent activities (including their upcoming album) as well as how they feel about sharing the stage with the cream of our local crop of artists and international visitors Intervals and Memphis May Fire.
Firstly, thanks for taking the time to chat to us!
And thank you as well.
So, Krank’d up is less than a month away, and I’m sure the band is excited to perform alongside the best that our local scene has to offer, as well as the international acts. Are you personally fans of these visiting bands? If so, what are your favourite songs/albums from these bands?
You are so right! We are extremely excited to perform with all the awesome local artists as well as the two international headliners. To be honest I have only recently discovered Memphis May Fire’s music and it is really impressive, those guys have some serious chops! Intervals on the other hand I’ve been listening to for a while now and I really dig them. – Sven
to be honest, I hadn’t even heard of them until the announcement… *awkward* Since then I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Intervals and quite enjoying it, so looking forward to getting the live bite out of their sound! – Gehart
This year has been a great year for My Columbine live shows, but are there any plans to record any new material?
Without giving too much away the short answer is yes and the long answer is hell yes! And, it may be sooner than you think. – Sven
The football manager’s question! In truth I suppose I can reveal that there aren’t any plans, only in that the recordings are finally done! In light of that, our first full-length album is rearing its ugly head and we’re looking towards introducing him to your in-laws very soon. So in short f*ck yes and let the countdown begin. – Gehart
You guys took a trip down to Bloemfontein earlier this year, what was your reception like that side of SA?
That was an awesome experience, there is a great really dedicated scene down there and we had an awesome time playing for them! We were really well received by the crowd who were really responsive and really started moving with us as the show went on, I’d recommend a trip down there to anyone. – Sven
Mad, is the word that comes to mind! It really was a treat. When we stepped inside the pub people were already fired up and ready to throw down, so that feeling of walking to a new stage at a new venue in a new city (i.t.o gigging) is really galvanizing! We genuinely enjoyed every second of it! – Gehart
What can people expect from your performance at Krank’d Up this year?
We probably work harder on our live performances than anything else because we feel the energy in our music and we want to communicate that to our audience. We want everyone to move, jump, go crazy, etc. Krank’d Up isn’t just any old show though… so we’ll be bringing it as hard as we can and we hope the crowd is keen to follow us down the rabbit hole. – Sven
We always want the energy to permeate to the people. As a genuinely close-knit group I think that’s what we would like to share most with our audience. There is naturally a lot of energy and banter flying around the room for us internally, but to set Krank’d Up apart from the norm, we want to emphasise the details and the deeper dimensions to our songs. So people can expect a tighter showing and we really want them to have a closer listen. – Gehart
If you were to collaborate with any one of the acts on the Krank’d Up lineup, who would it be and why?
For me personally it would have to be Maximum Carnage and Megalodon. Maximum Carnage just have such great groove you can’t resist them! I first heard Megalodon this year and they blew me away, I really like the heaviness they achieve mixing some techy sounds with the djent stuff they do making them sound really unique. – Sven
We’ve been good friends with Maximum Carnage for some time now, maybe we could collaborate on some Stoner Metal. #jirretjie – Gehart
What are you most looking forward to about Krank’d Up 2017?
That’s easy! I’m most looking forward to playing Krank’d Up 2017! Playing live is far and away my favorite thing to do and to have the Krank’d Up stage to do it on makes it even better! – Sven
Krank’d Up is special you know. This is our first time playing KU although we know Sundowners well. We look forward to sharing in the occasion and all the festivities, from drinking to gigging. Admittedly, performing remains a highlight so personally I’ll have to say I’m most looking forward to killing it! – Gehart
What would you like to see/see more of at South African festivals?
That’s actually a tough question to answer as there isn’t much wrong with our festivals really. Overall support for local festivals would definitely help event organisers to go even further by being able to enlist sponsorships, etc. and make the events even bigger spectacles. So I’d say if you want bigger, better, leaner and meaner festivals, try go out to more of them and bring your friends along. That way you are investing in what you want the festivals to be in the future. – Sven
We have some pretty decent festivals i.m.o. In general their well organised and thoroughly enjoyable. I think I’d like to see more free beer. Yeah that would be great!
But more seriously I’d say I would like to see more youth. Getting the new kids into the scene, coming to the shows, liberated from the pop-cultured brainlessness. That would be great too! – Gehart
YOU CAN CATCH MY COLUMBINE AT KRANK’D UP, 30 SEPTEMBER 2017
FESTIVAL DETAILS:
Taking place on Saturday, 30th September 2017 at Sundowners, Alberton and featuring 2 highly acclaimed international acts along with 19 of SA’s best alternative acts across two stages, Krank’d Up 2017 should not be missed.
Tickets available from Computicket or http://www.krankdupfestival.co.za/
KRANK’D UP LINEUP:
Memphis May Fire
INTERVALS
Red Helen
Megalodon
albinobeach
State Society
CMR
Ohgod
My Columbine
Mezzanine Floor
Deadline
Vulvodynia
Held On Till May
After Robot
Maximum Carnage
You, Me and the Harmony
Savage Lucy
BloodBeast Band
De Wallen ( Band )
Coldfield
Mad God
Interviewed by: Sammy
Date: 13 September 2017
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