A new Mew is set to play in KL soon

Danish band Mew has been around for more than 20 years, but there is just something about the band’s music that makes it sound as fresh as a newly formed indie rock band. Its combination of Sigur Ros-esque atmospheric rock, edgy indie energy and epic expansiveness has garnered the band a global following.

The band will be playing in Malaysia again on May 10 as part of this year’s Urbanscapes creative arts festival, which is due to run from May 5 to 21. Other international acts which will also be performing include Clean Bandit and TTNG. Mew’s show will be supported by Indonesian band The Trees And The Wild, and Lust.

According to Mew bassist Johan Wohlert, the band’s upcoming show here will be very different from the last time the band performed in Kuala Lumpur, in one of Urbanscapes’ standalone satellite shows in 2013.

“We’ve been experimenting with new visual content to go with our songs, and we’ll be playing some of our new songs as well,” he said in a phone interview.

Mew, which currently comprises Wohlert, vocalist Jonas Bjerre and drummer Silas Utke Graae Jorgensen, made its breakthrough in 2003 with the album Frengers, which featured hit songs like She Came Home For Christmas, Comforting Sounds and Am I Wry? No.

The 2005 follow-up album And The Glass Handed Kites was equally well-received.

Mew will be releasing its new album Visuals at the end of April 2017, and Wohlert said the record will sound just like a Mew record, but with a more positive sound.

“We are a slightly melancholic-sounding band that makes beautiful melodic music. This new record is the same kind of style, but is also very positive in terms of the overall vibe. The tempo is also faster,” he said.

“It’s just the way we felt when we made it. The record usually reflects the mood of the band, and we were in a positive place when we made it.”

Mew’s band dynamics have changed over the years as well, Wohlert said. “As we grow older, we became a little wiser. When you start out you don’t know what you’re good at. But you keep honing your craft and pick up things along the way. These days, our roles in the band are more defined; we are each good at different things and we use that to our advantage,” he said.

Wohlert, who left the band in 2006 to concentrate on being a father and rejoined in 2014, said the decision to return to Mew was an easy one. “I just missed the great music we did together, and playing the songs. I had done five records with the guys, and we’ve still got that old friendship going,” he explained.

He reckons the fact that the three of them are such good friends is the secret to Mew’s longevity.

“It’s getting along and trying to be good friends. That’s a key word. If you can maintain the friendship, then you can maintain the need to create together. As long as it’s still fun and we can get along as people, we can go on forever!”

Tickets for Mew’s Urbanscapes 2017 show at KL Live are priced at RM162 (pre-sale) and RM192, and can be purchased online at www.ticketpro.com.my. For more information, visit http://ift.tt/Smo6yG.

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