This month saw the release of Butter, the new EP from Amsterdam’s The Klittens. Having begun in 2020, the band have gone from the depths of their underground scene to touring the UK with Personal Trainer. This is largely due to their infectious sound, which is in full swing on the EP.
While it would’ve been easy to rave about Butter in a review, we also wanted to learn about The Klittens, their songwriting process and overall DIY approach to music. Thank you to guitarist Winnie Conradi for taking the time to chat with us about all that for this month’s Peeled Back.
Hello, The Klittens! How’s it going? Pretty exhausted but looking forward to the release! Musically and physically. Is that too honest? Dutch people apparently have a way of answering this question too seriously. We’re going great.
What can you tell us about your new EP, Butter? It’s five songs and each song ‘belongs’ to one band member, either roughly composed by one of us or conceptualised by one of us. For me it’s a step forward into us becoming more serious composers. I think that is what “Butter” taught me, that we are not so much a band that jams and then a song comes out, but we love composing together, sitting together and arranging, making musical collages out of sketches.
‘Universal Experience’ sets off with a hard-hitting intro that mellows into an instrumental that’s full of life. Drums let loose with a snappy beat as they’re joined by basslines and melodies that make their way through all crevices of the mind. The guitars ring out chords and riffs that add to the upbeat feel of the song, while the vocals and harmonies cut a more sombre performance to create a strong contrast that invites you to dive in. It also introduces us to the bright, laid-back vibes that exists throughout the EP. Bringing a fresh slice of Indie Pop that immediately sinks into the good books.
Melodies are a constant on the EP. Is that where it starts in terms of songwriting? I think for Kat it does, our other guitarist. She excels in writing pretty melodies which she did for ‘Atlas’. We should honestly make an ‘Atlas’ part two for all the melodies that did not make the final cut.
‘Atlas’ follows and as Winnie says, it is full of melodies. Setting aside the more driven riffs of ‘Universal Experience’, it offers melodies from all instruments – even the bass guitar gets to contribute some chords to the mix – to create a well-rounded sound that’s all encompassing. It gives off a darker sound but feels like a team effort, as you can feel that each member of the band is locked in to the performance. Allowing each of them to shine without compromising the flow of the song.
The biggest contrast on Butter appears on ‘Reading Material’, a song Winnie had written during a time of extreme illness. Instrumentally, it is bright and is possibly the catchiest song on the EP, with a sprawling intro that takes all the best parts of Math Rock and converts them into a verse that attacks the hips and gets the grooves flowing. While the topic is heavy, the vocals sound like they’re having a lot of fun. Bouncing and floating through the mix to deliver an entertaining, intriguing listen.
The latest single ‘Reading Material’ was written by yourself during a period of extreme illness. It’s, quite ironically, probably the most upbeat song on the EP. How does it feel looking back at that time and that song now that everything is okay? I’m not sure, I have mixed feelings. Music can be cathartic if you find a way of being dead-honest to yourself in the writing process and I wasn’t at that stage when writing “Reading Material”. A lot is blurry from that time anyway and I didn’t really intend on releasing it yet, but the rest of the band was very hyped and I trust them. I’m happy it’s on this record though because we also get to play it live, and it’s my favourite tune to play. Makes me cement into the set the most! I guess that process of trusting your friends and going with that flow is also very cathartic.
In an interview with Still Listening, it was mentioned that the process for Butter was different from your other projects. With each member responsible for designing a base for each song. How did you feel it went and would you take this process into future releases? It went great. What I love about this process is that every song begins as a brainchild of an individual and we feed it through the Klittens mill. This process of Klittifying a song comes with a lot of negotiating, letting go and trust. And for each of us change and letting go can be difficult so it’s almost like relationship therapy. I would say we will use this method again.
It really highlights the group dynamic that The Klittens have, and how supportive they are of one another and their ideas. I think that’s what makes their music so engaging, is that you can peel back (pun unintended) the layers to reveal deeper meanings inside the lyrics, that bring a different perspective to their songs. With each listen to Butter, you can uncover something that changes a particular moment, which is why it’s so enjoyable. Even after repeated listens.
There’s quite a laid-back vibe that exists throughout the sound of Butter, but there are underlying political themes and the weird journey of growing up embedded deep inside. Do you like keeping the heavier topics quite subtle in your music? Yes we do, but when it gets overly cryptic it’s usually not on purpose. We try to find a balance between using the songs to process our emotions and experiences without giving ourselves away in the process. We want to tell you about everything but we don’t have to serve our inner turmoil on a silver platter for easy digestion. It’s funny because we already had people come up to us who perfectly understood what we were trying to convey in certain songs, even though the lyrics only grazed the full scope of the message. Somehow, they get the other 95% percent, it must be embedded in the track somehow.
How is the songwriting process for yourselves? I really like how your music brings lots of elements together so quickly. Like the intro and close to ‘Eye Contact’ with its melodies and fuzzy guitars. Thank you. A typical Klittens-song is composed and arranged by the whole band. Usually one of us has a sketch, maybe a melody or a drumbeat with bass and some idea of what the general aesthetic of the song should be. Then one by one we add our own parts to the song when we’re in the studio together. Either the song comes together in one session or it’s weeks or months when someone announces they made a new part for a particular song. Lastly, we love going ham on vocal arrangements. Although we are not a professional choir we love making choir-like vocal arrangements and practice them the best we can.
What’s the best way to use butter? I once saw a ‘5 minute crafts’ video on my TikTok feed which suggested that if all the power in your house shuts off, you can grab a piece of butter, put a toothpick in it and light the toothpick to use it as a candle. Although chances are bigger that I have a whole collection of candles in all different weird shapes and sizes in my house rather than a piece of butter and a toothpick, I thought it was a very clever idea.
What is the underground scene like in Amsterdam? Hmm, it’s difficult to say. As a band we’re not so much part of the underground scene anymore, which is sad to say. The underground/DIY scene seems quite different from the UK one, where it feels more alive and more mainstream, almost. At least, it feels like we fit in that scene better. It’s difficult to garner an audience in the underground scene here, it focusses a lot on more heavy punk and riot grrrl bands. When we started we identified more with this but as the band grew we stepped out of this scene more and more, to be able to sustain the band financially. I do like to go to underground venues and parties but these autonomous spaces are disappearing more and more due to privatisation and what the government chooses to fund etc.
Are there any bands that you could recommend? Try the album “Midnight Mess Vol.1” by Teis Semey! If you like choral stuff, Danish folk music and Arvo Pärt. And Real Farmer hailing from Groningen, who are releasing their debut album on the same date as we release ‘Butter’. We went on tour with them in the UK as a support act for Personal Trainer. Great people, great musicians, great live show, amazing songs. We’ve seen them live six nights in a row and we’re still not fed up with them.
Butter is a fantastic EP that blends together different styles and moods to deliver a listening experience that’s memorable, catchy, and absolutely ready to be consumed over and over again. It’s probably the most exciting, enriching butter you could find. Even more than salted butter.
As jovial and bright as it sounds, there’s an underlying darkness to it that makes you want to explore further. This is probably highlighted best in the freefall of ‘Traffic Light’. The Klittens add just enough subtle references that create a sense of mysteriousness that catches your attention and makes you wish to go back for more.
There aren’t many bands out there doing it like The Klittens do, and Butter is one of the best EPs I’ve heard this year. If I could, I would spread this on toast all day, every day.
Finally, what’s your favourite fruit? Watermelon.
