Broke Magazine speaks to Eik Buhl Petterson and Helene Høier, the Danish music duo AICK ahead of the release of their single ‘Default’ from their upcoming EP.
This EP comes after the success of their self-titled debut, released in 2021. When asked how they’d describe their sound, the pair explain that they toe the lines of pop. The specificities of their sound can be found in the 80s-style synth and guitars.
Their lyrics ooze youth and confusion, “it’s dreamy, but still pop”. ‘Default’ and its accompanying video are exemplary of such dream-pop.
How did AICK come to be?
Eik: We met at high school. We made a lot of music together for fun, but not seriously until a few years after. We were drunk on the way home from a party when we properly decided to form a band.
Helene: Eik has such a good name, we had to use it for the band but we’ve changed the spelling. I’m a dancer and knew that I’d take up all the space when performing, so by using his name it’s even! I’m the face and he’s the name.
Do personal experiences inform your work, is lyric writing cathartic for you in that way?
Helene: It’s like I have a spontaneous jolt of thoughts which then hopefully transmit into something relatable. Though ‘Default’ is one of my more specific songs. It’s about something I go through and hopefully other people relate to. The video is a visualisation of that– if you don’t resonate with the lyrics, the video should give you a sense of the feeling.
Did you learn anything from your first release that informed your upcoming EP?
Helene: We learned so much recording our first demo and we were so busy. We recorded it on our own with a friend mixing it. On this record, the vocals have changed quite a lot. I got more confident with my singing. A lot of the tracks have been performed live since we first recorded them so we’ve rerecorded them, having been through that process of questioning how they can be changed. ‘Default’ is a good example of that, it’s sassier than what we’d initially made which I suppose comes from the confidence of having released the first EP.
I often wonder, how do you decide what to release as a single?
Eik: we listen to it a lot of times and then discuss it a lot, we don’t always agree.
Helene: ‘Default’ made sense on its own. Back when we made the video, I had this feeling that I wanted to film it with a car in the middle of nowhere. It was so funny because Carrie (Caroline Hajny), the director, had the same vision. The song has a strong feeling.
It opens up the party…and closes it as well, it’s also a song we’ve used to open up sets, it has that kind of energy for starting something off.
It’s always a tricky one to discuss though, I don’t have favourite songs.
Eik: I do! Don’t you?
Helene: no! They’re all my babies.
Can you talk me through the creative process, specifically for the Default music video?
Helene: Our other videos are more dance and performance-oriented but this time we wanted to tell a story. I had the idea with the car and told Carrie. She came over and got some friends on board; Philip who did the filming is an amazing filmmaker. We had a nightmare finding the right car, we looked for months. I was on a road trip with my friend and we’d just been discussing how we needed to change the plan because I was never going to find a car. Then, across the street from us, this perfect car is parked and we got permission to use it from the owner. It’s so crazy that it worked out. We filmed it at 5 am at this place up by the sea. It was really fun. We captured that feeling when you are really into the party and it is kind of beautiful but also lonely, everyone really got that contrast and it made for some beautiful performances. We’ve been so lucky to have some incredible people on board to trust the vision.
Finally, since it’s the new year, what were you hoping 2023 brings for you?
Eik: we just really love making music, it is so strange and fantastic to see when our music means something to someone else.
Helene: and also, to make new music, every time it gets to the release you just want to get back in the studio!
Eik: Yeah, now we want to show our new new songs!
Helene: I also can’t wait to show people this music video, we’ve been holding it to ourselves for way too long it’s so exciting.
Interview by Molly Boniface