Kaelan Mikla

Kælan Mikla (literally "Lady of the Cold") are an Icelandic post-punk group, formed in 2013 in Reykjavík. The trio is made up of singer Laufey Sofía, bassist Margrét Rósa Dóru-Harrýsdóttir and keyboardist Sólveig Matthildur Kristjánsdóttir. Their music has been described as post-punk, darkwave, cold wave and gothic.

The three girls from Reykjavík, militant feminists, express their sense of freedom by presenting themselves as witches from some undefined ancestral era, drawing on the folklore and mythology of Iceland's frozen lands.

The Icelandic trio's self-released debut album, "Mánadans", came out in 2017 on tape and was then reissued on vinyl the following year by Artoffact in 2014, with Matthildur on drums rather than synth. Its self-titled follow-up was released in 2016 on Fabrika Records. These were followed by "Nótt eftir nótt" in 2018 and "Undir köldum norðurljósum" in 2021. The former, in particular, marks a clear evolution from the raw but interesting self-titled album, which drew heavily on the work of 1980s artists like Malaria!.

Laufey Soffia, Sólveig Matthildur-Kristjánsdóttir and Margrét Rósa Dóru-Harrysdóttir are striking not only for their very young age, but also for the ease with which they blend post-punk echoes with no wave vocal harshness. All of this unfolds in the vein of an ethereal otherness that looks to the traditions and legends of their island, placing them within a kind of "nordic folk renaissance" in terms of thematic content.

Kælan Mikla have played the famous Dutch music festival Roadburn, were handpicked by Robert Smith of The Cure for a couple of live events (the Meltdown festival in 2018 for The Cure's 40th anniversary, and Pasadena Daydream in California alongside Pixies, Deftones and Mogwai), and have opened for Placebo, Alcest and Ville Valo of HIM.

The three are currently accompanying Chelsea Wolfe on her European tour (here's the review of their Berlin concert).

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