Efterklang has been around for what feels like an eternity. After 12 years, four records and a string of innovative, ambitious live shows, it was clear to Casper Clausen, Mads Brauer and Rasmus Stolberg Christian that they had to try something new. Tired of the nerve-wracking process of song writing, they teamed up with the Finnish drummer Tatu Rönkkö and started the live improvisation project, LIIMA. The result is raw and dreamy music that takes you far, far away. i-D sat down with band member Casper to discuss the new project and the self-confidence that develops from improvisation.
Why did you start LIIMA?
For years Rasmus, Mads and I performed as Efterklang. Three-years-ago Tatu became our tour drummer. That was around the time the last Efterklang album, Piramida, was released. He has such an insane energy, during concerts he sometimes would improvise between our normal songs and we went along with it. If you’re playing as many shows as we used to, these moments are the most exciting ones. After the tour, we decided that we have to start a new project in which Tatu would be a proper band member. We were invited to perform at Our Festival in Finland, locked ourselves into a small summer cottage in the middle of nowhere and played our first gig after just seven days of rehearsing together.
Were you nervous?
I haven’t been that nervous for a really long time. It was wonderful being outside of my comfort zone. We had to provide an hour of live music. With Efterklang we would have worked for months on something like this – now, we only had one week. You trust your own intuition. It’s wonderful. In the end it might not be perfect, but you try things you wouldn’t have normally dared to when you have a lot of time to go over your work over and over again.
Explain the concept behind LIIMA.
Every now and then we meet in a city, experiment for a week and present the final results by playing a concert – without any form of editing. It’s about the spontaneous creation of music. With Efterklang we worked for years on an album and were – often because of over-editing – rarely satisfied. We went to Finland in August, then to Berlin in October and just recently to Istanbul.
How often do you want to go on such trips? Is there a long-term plan for LIIMA?
In the springtime we might go to Madeira or Copenhagen. The long-term plan is to gather all the recordings, choose the best material and perhaps create something new out of them.
Do you think your work with Efterklang and the knowledge about the proper way of creating music has given you the confidence to work so freely?
Writing songs is really scary. With LIIMA self-confidence develops during performing. We do not need songs as we just play. If you write lyrics that should mean something, it gets more difficult. Since we don’t do that with LIIMA, it does not bother us.
How did you choose the name?
Liima is the Finnish word for glue. In Efterklang we’ve known each other for over 16 years now, and have built quite a unit. For me the idea that Tatu is glued on to us is a beautiful metaphor. He was not there in the beginning, but now he is here to stay.
What can we expect from your live shows?
Well the listeners must know that they’re listening to raw music. It isn’t finished yet and hardly perfect, but perhaps that’s its beauty. We do not want to control the music.
Credits
Text Alexandra Bondi de Antoni
Photography Aylin Gungor