Brisbane’s MKO are hitting the road for the Dual Combat Tour... it’s when MKO strips down to duo mode, with only Hannah Macklin and Steele landing on stage. Hannah checks in ahead of the first show tonight in Sydney.
How does it feel to be compared to acts like James Blake, Little Dragon, The Dirty Projectors and Erykah Badu? It feels damn good, actually. Those four are right up there in my top ten favourite current artists — they’re all wildly innovative, but in very different ways. My ultimate goal is to be grouped alongside artists like them. I want to have a separate, unique entity, but one which stands its ground against giants like that.
You’ve mentioned before that you write music quite quickly — do you find yourself having to go back and refine your work or are you usually completely satisfied after the first attempt? Refine, refine, refine! Nothing's ever perfect. There's always a back catalogue of songs waiting to be played and I constantly struggle with keeping up with myself in that regard. Throughout March, I'm releasing a track for free download via Soundcloud each Monday. I'm going to be doing much more of that this year, I'm keen to release more music, even tracks recorded at home and self-produced — and not be so precious about whether things are ‘polished’ enough or not.
Tell us a bit about the MKO Dual Combat show you are bringing to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane? So, for those peeps used to seeing MKO with a four-piece band, the Dual Combat show features me and Steele in duo mode. I'm singing and playing synth and drum pad, and Steele is playing live bass, synth, samples and back-up singing/ effects. The show features predominantly new material that I wrote over summer, plus two revamped versions of older tunes, including a faster, more club-savvy remix of ‘Snarly’. It's at times a little nastier and badass than you've heard MKO before — I'm rapping heaps — with vibes of bouncy ‘90s R&B, as well as plenty of powerful singy moments. ‘Cos I can't resist sinking my teeth/ lungs into a good melody!
What do you enjoy most about performing? Being put on the spot; the spontaneity. I love improvising, I love every show to be different, and I never sing a song the same way twice. I like the vulnerability of being at the mercy of a room, that kind of adrenaline rush I constantly crave! When you win an audience over and you feel their energy riding with you… that's just the most perfect performing experience I could ask for.
We hear from a chirpy bird that you're aiming to head along to New York City... what’s the plan? NYC is definitely calling and has been since I visited in 2009. The plan is to go for an extended stay in October this year, play some shows, maybe do some recording, soak up the scene and the city and then return home when the bank account is looking bleak… with the hope to be able to move there permanently in the not-too-distant future.
Would you rather with MKO... Tour in a van with no ventilation or a van with no mattresses to sleep on? No mattresses definitely! Aircon is a must.
Crowd surf and have no one catch you or crowd surf and have a handful of hair pulled out? Have a handful of hair pulled out. That's so rock 'n' roll. Plus, I don't have much hair anyway, so I doubt I'd miss it. I could just buzz it all off again and no-one would be any the wiser.
Lose your ability to write music or lose your voice? This one is too hard! I've been stuck on it for ages. I'm gonna bail out of answering this. Both options just make me so, so sad to contemplate. Hopefully never either :)
Written by Lexi McKee
MKO TOUR DATES
Fri Mar 21 - Mum @ World Bar, SydneyThu Mar 27 - New Globe Theatre, Brisbane
Sat Mar 29 - The B.East, Melbourne
