Q&A: How Icelandic Band KALEO Made The Rock Record Of 2025 So Far

Forbes

3 hours ago

In 2016 Icelandic rockers KALEO delivered the double-platinum smash, 'Way Down We Go.' The song was one of those generational hits, like Hozier's 'Take Me To Church' or AWOLNATION's 'Sail,' that absolutely dominated rock and alternative radio for a year plus and was ubiquitous in pop culture.
Nine years later, KALEO, like so many bands with that initial astronomical success, have settled into a comfortable groove where they largely fly under the radar. Also, like so many bands with early success they continue to quietly make exceptional records.
The best way to describe their superb new album, Mixed Emotions, is it's a mother-f**ker of a record. I say that in the same way you'd call Led Zeppelin III or Aerosmith Toys in the Attic mother-f**kers.
Like so many of the great '70s rock albums, it is powerful, diverse, rooted in the great American sounds like blues and country, that are blended with a rock attitude and base sound, Mixed Emotions comes straight at you from the opening 'Bloodline.'
I spoke with the band's lead singer and guitarist, Jökull Júlíusson, about the brilliant throwback record.
Steve Baltin: Were the songs written in a concentrated period or was it written over time?
Jökull Júlíusson: Written over time. That's usually my process, once I get to the album. I'll usually have a couple of tracks that I've had for a while and then I like to mix that with like some fresh material.
Baltin: So, how far back does the album go?
Júlíusson: Some of those tracks are like a decade old probably. We've been performing some of them live for a long time including 'Rock N Roller' and 'Back Door.' It was timely to record those. It's fun because some of the fans already knew them, but it's also fun seeing an even bigger response once you record them and release them.
Baltin: The other thing that's intriguing about that is I've talked about this with many people. And when you wait to record songs, they can take on new perspectives over time. So, have the songs changed that were a decade old when you got to record them?
Júlíusson: Yeah, it's true. That's kind of the tricky part of recording your songs. I guess because, exactly, the usual thing to do is that you record your songs shortly after you've written them. And, for me, as a vocalist, sometimes it takes me a lot of takes to sing some of these new songs because I'm searching for maybe a color in the voice or a deliverance, because I'm still just learning how to sing these songs. And it's so different from some of the songs that we've had now for a long time, including "Way Down We Go." I've sang it so many times now that I can do it flawlessly because practice makes perfect. But I guess you have to accept that you're just recording the songs and you're trying to make them the best that they can be at that certain time.
Baltin: Even if you can sing a song like 'Way Down We Go' flawlessly, I imagine it still changes. It's probably important to keep it fresh for you.
Júlíusson: Yeah, you're right. You can take creative freedom to do something like that on stage. Sometimes you just want to phrase something differently. And you're probably right. Probably it is to keep it fresh in some way. But that's the fun thing. We do those things for the live show. Sometimes I'll write a different section just for a part of the show and just to keep it fresh and just to make it a bigger show. I like dynamics; I think that reflects on the album, but you can definitely feel it in the live show as well.
Baltin: Are there people that you remember seeing when you were a kid that influenced you to do that because there are certain bands of course that are just great at changing things up live, like Led Zeppelin?
Júlíusson: When I was 14 Roger Waters came to Iceland. And I saw him perform the whole Dark Side of the Moon, which is one of my favorites. That had a great impact on me. I'm one of those people I like to go out to do the shows while rehearsed, same with albums, because my favorites when it comes to guitars and riffs and licks and stuff is the stuff that you can actually sing back like melodic stuff. But at the same time, it is very cool to have a little bit of liberty, like you just said, to keep it fresh or whatever. So, to have still a little bit of wiggle room to go into instrumental sections and I'll mess around a little bit.
Baltin: How do you keep things feeling fresh?
Júlíusson: It's a good question. I'm cautious about letting myself go to a place where I'm sick or tired of anything because at the end of the day, I think it's important to stay grateful just to be able to travel the world to do what you love. But I guess I'm always trying to improve and then at some points I will go to the band, and we might try something new and see if that works better. We all kind of enjoy that, we've always been a band that likes to rehearse. It's really mostly probably just the energy from the crowd because they feed you. Or at least when they do, it really is nothing like it. Then you don't have to think about it, it just comes so effortlessly, and you get so much energy from that. Especially now we're going to new places still, which is amazing, whether it's Morocco or Turkey, and you have thousands of fans and they're screaming the songs back to you. I'm not sure any drug can really beat that.
Baltin: The new material also infuses the old material, because you get to sequence it differently, put songs together, see how they work together
Júlíusson: Obviously it's great when you have new material you can bring to the show and we're stepping into that. This is the third record so stepping into for one of the first times that you have to pick and choose, you don't just play all the songs. You have to pick which ones to let go of and everything but that's a fun thing to be able to build your set with the stuff that you know is just really going to come through for the for the fans. You're building a catalog in a way, which is acool thing I could imagine. I saw AC/DC last summer in Paris, 80 ,000 people, and it's just hit after hit after hit. So, that's one of the good things about releasing more and more music.
Baltin: What are the newest songs on this record?
Júlíusson: 'Bloodline' is one that we're still rehearsing, trying to get that one sitting good for the live show, because we approached that one from a producer standpoint, more from a hip -hop thing. It's more of a loop rather than some of these that are very much just recorded live with the band. There are a couple of songs that maybe I was doing more without the band, and then I'll go and have rehearse it from ground up with the band, which can be cool. But playing it live for the first time is always a kick, and then it usually gets better as you go on.
Baltin: Do you live in Paris now?
Júlíusson: I spent quite a bit of time in Paris. But basically I split my time when I'm not touring in Iceland, when I'm from, and Nashville. I do so much recording there, but it's kind of just become my city in the US too. I have so many friends that have moved down there now, and I've always spent quite a bit of time in Nashville for the last decade. But it's also just a really happening place at the moment. A lot of creative people and I'm obviously seeing a lot of people from California and tech or whatever moving down there. But it's pros and cons. I just hope it doesn't lose that little town soul that it has. But at the moment you get the best of both. Six years ago, there, it was pretty challenging getting a healthy meal. Now you have all the restaurants and all the good stuff. But like I said, I hope that community, which is a very special community, sometimes reminds me of Iceland. If you're in that circle, everything seems like a phone call away. And now we have we a direct flight from Iceland to Nashville every other day.