IN THE REALM OF FIRE GIANTS

Interview with Musspell

Two years ago, I had the privilege of listening to the initial rehearsal process of our good friends and my favorite girl duo, Musspell. It was obvious to me from the start that something of a miracle was in the making. The girls have upgraded themselves from bedroom duo to big-stage contemporary act in no time, and they have accomplished more in a year than any recent production in their environment has. Their unique indie sound is something that is theirs alone in the country.

MUMUSH: Long live the newlyweds! , Noncsi, you just got married! It might not be an exaggeration to say that you’ve also had a wife for a few years, your little duo is in a way equivalent to a marriage, isn’t it?

NONCSI: Yes! It's quite a good analogy because the process of working together is a challenge both as a person and as a musician, there are challenges and difficulties in this relationship and it's important to keep the communication flowing and to set common goals. At the same time, we share successes and joys together through shared experiences, which is also something that is constructive in marriage.

MUMUSH: How did you start working together?

ANNA: We've been each other’s company for almost four years, Noncsi had the idea to start a girl band, she approached me, and we shyly started showing each other our ideas, and then we started playing around and experimenting. The essence of this project, I think, is defined by our voices, because we know of few formations, especially here in Romania, where two vocals are equally present without any hierarchy.

MUMUSH: Where did the name come from and what does it mean?

NONCSI: In the beginning, it wasn't clear to us what kind of music we wanted to make, and then we started to gravitate towards the northern, slightly ethereal soundscape. We got into Scandinavian mythology and that's where we came across the word ‘Muspelheim’, which marks the realm of the fire giants. We liked the sound and look of the word ‘Musspell’, which clearly points to our own musical realm.

MUMUSH: When did the project go from dreaming to serious action and planning?

ANNA: We hid from the outside world for a long time in the beginning until we found our own world, experimented, and prepared to share our work. After about one and a half year we worked up the courage to play live in front of people, and after that the feedback and opportunities made us realize that the dream was becoming a reality and that it was worth it for us to put more energy and focus into this project.

MUMUSH: Tell me about the most powerful experience you had with the audience.

NONCSI: We've been searching for a form of communication through which we can connect with the audience, and it's always a challenge for us, we would like to say everything and not say anything at the same time because the message can be found in our songs. In Budapest, it was at our album launch that we experienced the most active presence of our small audience. A lot of the reactions came back to us during the concert, and it was quite liberating. For us, the album launch in Cluj-Napoca was a defining moment, as we had two people, a cellist (Réka Adorjáni) and a drummer (Patricia Stroia), join our duo. Their presence provided a security in which the energy of the experience of playing music together was in a much stronger flow.

MUMUSH: Noncsi, I understand you left your job...

NONCSI: Keeping the project alive takes a lot of work and energy, so at a certain point, I/we didn't have the physical time to meet the current challenges and tasks besides an 8-hour work schedule. We were faced with the fact that this was not sustainable in the long term, either financially or creatively.

MUMUSH: An album was created...

ANNA: The album was made possible by the Petőfi Sándor Cultural Agency's program. We had the pleasure to work with Iamyank, he is the producer of the album, Unity All and All. In the beginning, it was not clear to us how this process would end. Unity All and All weaves together the contrast of the unconscious and the conscious, the struggles of being alone and the strength in unity, the hopelessness, and the search for solutions. It is a process from the moment of falling asleep to the moment of waking up, in which the stops between dreams decisively link the experience of the "journey". The order of the songs illustrates the alternation between being alone and existing in unity. Being alone is always accompanied by an unresolved sentiment; the key to the solution is unity. Unity All and All includes the whole, which we are all a part of.

MUMUSH: New member?

ANNA: We've been looking for a drummer for a while, but our encounters so far have never had any decisive consequences. We first met Patricia at the Wonderest festival, where we had a chance to talk to her. At that time, she was also playing in a girl formation. We approached her after the album was released, asking her to join our realm of fire giants. Now we can't imagine our concerts without Patricia. The live sound of rhythm instruments and Patricia's energy bring extra magic to our formation that is inspiring for us and provides a new experience for our audience.

MUMUSH: How was your year? What about the future?

NONCSI: We had a good start to the year. We played at Budapest’s A38 with Mayberian Sanskülotts and Mius, then we went on tour with our album (Cluj-Napoca, Budapest, Brasov, Miercurea Ciuc). During the Summer we played in Kobuci, Balatonakarattya, and we were the opening act for Deva at Dürer Kert, in July we played at the Valley of Arts Festival, and we will be on the scene shortly at Mumush. There are also some concerts planned for Autumn. In the future, we are planning to shoot another music video, we want to spread our music internationally and we are also preparing new songs. In the near future, we would like to collaborate with open-minded artists whose world we can identify with.

MUMUSH: With what feelings, thoughts, and energies are you preparing for the Mumush World?

ANNA: It's going to be exciting to present our expanded formation to the Mumush World this year. We expect that by the end of the festival, attendees will have a chance to open up and be quieted down through our musical world. It is a challenge to play on the last day of any festival, it will either go very well or not, we will see...

- interview by Áron, edited by Benji