A Chat with Koalra (09.09.20)
Fusing distorted guitars with powerful synths and hypnotic vocals, Chicago-based noise-punk band Koalra is breaking all musical boundaries with their unique sound. Hot on the heels of their previous single ‘Hooked’ (which we reviewed), the foursome release ‘Tell Me I’m Not’ – the second single off their upcoming album The Wakes. We spoke with Koalra about the new single, the upcoming album and favourite desserts.
OSR: Do you feel ‘Tell Me I’m Not’ differs from your previous tracks and how?
Koalra: Yeah, totally! It’s a different song. We made all new lyrics and guitar parts for this one.
OSR: Do you think it is important for artists to continue developing their sound – evolving, so to say?
Koalra: Definitely. Bands should develop. Not us though; we just want to write tones of shit even if it sucks. Quantity over quality.
OSR: What can you tell us about your new single ‘Tell Me I’m Not’?
Koalra: ‘Tell Me I’m Not’ is a song from our new album. There’s 13 other tracks on it also. We ordered the album by how good the songs are – don’t listen to track 14.
OSR: What was the recording and writing process like?
Koalra: We recorded the album in a bar near Chicago called Twincade. Our singer and his wife own it and it was shut down during the pandemic. It was strange but also a blast having the place to ourselves to cut loose and record.
OSR: What can you tell us about the official video for ‘Tell Me I’m Not’?
Koalra: We filmed it in a car wash. We used to drive by this car wash every day and always thought the lights from it were totally beautiful and colourful and vibrant. At the time our car was totally filthy, so we put two and two together! Clean-ass car. Clean-ass video.
OSR: What challenges did you face when filming the video?
Koalra: Surprisingly, none. We kinda had a blast filming it and it all went pretty smooth.
What can you tell us about your upcoming album The Wakes?
Koalra: It’s 14 songs long and we worked super hard on it and hope people dig it.
OSR: COVID-19 is taking its toll on various industries, but how do you think the pandemic affects the music industry?
Koalra: If some of our favourite artists get COVID-19 we could see that affecting the music industry pretty negatively because albums we are looking forward to won’t come out. On the for real, we hope everyone stays safe.
OSR: If you were a plant, what plant would you be?
Koalra: I don’t know. Is there a plant that drinks beer all day long and is kinda a blight on society? If yes, then that one.
OSR: What is your favourite type of dessert?
Koalra: How much time you got? We really like desserts!!
OSR: What are your future plans?
Koalra: Koalra’s new album The Wakes is out at the end of 2020. An animated video for the song called ‘We Can Scream’ will be out in a few weeks and we are almost done with the follow-up album that will be out in early-2021. Also, look out for a collab album with krautrock band Montecore and tons more.
Thanks for the interview, it was a pleasure!
You can find out more about Koalra on their Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
