Interview: Karla Kvlt
We invite you to dive into a deeper level, into a sphere where you can lose yourself and find yourself again.
Thunderhunter, the debut album from Hamburg, Germany’s Karla Kvlt merges sludge/noise/doom/shoegaze and more into seven totally hypnotic and epic tracks. Gavin Brown caught up with the band that consists of Markus E. Lipka (guitars, guitar soundscapes, voice), Teresa Matilda Curtens (bass, vocals) and J. Victor Wientjes (heavy drums, synth soundscapes) to hear all about Thunderhunter, the family connection in the group and the their other musical projects.
E&D: Your new album Thunderhunter has just been released. How has it been received so far?
Markus: So far, exclusively positive. It is remarkable that most of them are authentically based texts and not uninspired copy/paste products, just because someone got the assignment to report about the album and its release without any personal interest in it. We appreciate that this is the case so far and of course it fits the ethics of Karla Kvlt.
E&D: What are the biggest influences behind the sound of Thunderhunter?
Markus: As far as I’m concerned, these were decisions made by the universe that fully correspond to my personal taste, rather than a question of pre-existing influences, which for me are just the tools!
E&D: What do the songs on the album deal with?
Teresa: It’s about dedication. A fusion of sound, emotion and identity. We invite you to dive into a deeper level, into a sphere where you can lose yourself and find yourself again.
E&D: Was the creation and recording of the albums a smooth process?
Markus: Absolutely smooth.
E&D: How did Karla Kvlt start as a musical project?
Markus: One day, about 2 years ago, we met in the rehearsal room to make some noise, without a plan, without a concrete idea, without any real ambition. just for fun, but it worked so well that the first song was already written on the first day, which prompted us to continue in the same way. And that’s what we did for the following months, still without a plan but with deep passion.
E&D: How has the experience been creating music with the members of Karla Kvlt being a father, son, and daughter-in-law?
Markus: For me personally, this is a circumstance that is rarely present. It feels natural to me, because I also played music with my parents, even if I didn’t compose my own music with them. That is indeed a difference, but the relationship I have with the people I create music with only plays a subordinate role for me. What really matters is whether everyone involved is on the same wavelength. The rest could be romance, haha!
E&D: Are you looking forward to forthcoming live dates in Germany and unleashing the songs from Thunderhunter into a live arena?
Markus: The main reason to create music for us is to play it live.
E&D: The shows include a show with Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, are you excited about that and is Caspar an influence on your work?
Markus: It would be a lie to say I was influenced by him, as I didn’t really take much notice of his music yet. I think I may have listened to more of his father’s music. But I really liked what I heard of the Massaker and I appreciate the concept he works with. In 1992, I shared the stage with the CBM at a festival evening in Berlin with the ROSSBURGER REPORT at the music trade fair Popkomm, if I’m not mistaken. So, sure, I’m looking forward to meeting him again in person soon and hopefully being able to talk to him this time.
E&D: What current German bands do you feel a kinship with at the moment?
Markus: I don’t know if I’ve ever really felt ‘connected’ to other bands, which may be because I’ve never felt that I belonged to any genre. But in a personal sense, of course I have.
E&D: Markus, can you tell us about your time with Eisenvater and what were the highlights of the band?
Markus: Tough question! It’s hard to keep it short. The band started in 1990(!), by 1995, we had released three albums, done a few tours and then stopped working on it in 1996, at a time when public interest was at its peak. Stupid? maybe, but we were no longer able to develop art together. Anyway, until the early 2000s, we hid individually and made exclusively electronic music independently of each other. It was only in 2002 that I started writing songs for Eisenvater again with Jim, with whom I founded the band back in the beginning. From that point on, the last phase of the band began, with a different concept and a different lineup, only one composer, no band compositions that arose from jams. the fourth album, IV from 2009, resulted from this. The rest of the band’s history would completely go beyond the scope of this interview. I can’t name a personal ‘highlight’, the strongest phase of Eisenvater was certainly the time 1992 – 1996 in my opinion.
E&D: Will the band ever do anything again?
Markus: I don’t own a crystal ball, haha! At this point in time, I can say: nope!
E&D: Johann and Teresa, what have your other bands Melting Palms got planned for the future?
Teresa: We’re currently finalising our EP, which is set to be released later this year and a tour is planned for autumn. Since Johann and I became a family a lot has changed but in the best way possible. We’re incredibly grateful for the band’s support and excited for this new chapter. The future looks bright and we can’t wait to see how our journey as a band continues to grow.
