Klangstof: "It was quite a shock for a 14 year old to all of a sudden be in the middle of Norway..."

The group - part of Mind Of A Genius, also home to Gallant and ZHU - have impressed with this year's debut LP Close Eyes To Exit, but aren't laying down tools just yet - in fact, they've only just begun.

Klangstof's music skirts a clutch of bold, disparate styles, touching on forward-thinking pop, experimental electronica, celestial post-rock, and more, but the four minds involved manage to keep everything taut - their music is laser-guided, going where it needs to go without dawdling or hurtling down tangential paths. "Hostage" is a perfect example - it takes you on a lightning-quick tour of the universe, from intimate, ASMR-y beginnings to world-beating climaxes... in just four-and-a-half minutes.

Get a taste of Klangstof with "Hostage" below, and get to know the band a bit better afterwards.

Could you introduce yourself for us please?

Hi! We’re Klangstof. We’re two Dutchies and two Norwegians. We make music, like pretty much every other hipster in the universe.

What do you try to do with your music and how do you achieve this?

We try to be this hybrid machine of electronic music and good old guitar music, and not try to make it sound we’re DJ Tïesto’s backing band. It’s quite a challenge sometimes, but in the end the challenge is what keeps it fun for the four of us.

Can you tell us what musical and non-musical influences have shaped your sound?

I, Koen [Van De Wardt], grew up on a lot of my dad’s '80s music. Joy Division, Duran Duran, Pink Floyd, The Smiths. As soon as I had some money to buy music myself, I got into the more melancholic sounds of bands like Radiohead and Sigur Rós.

At that time I was living in Norway, which is the biggest non-musical influence/brainwash a teenager can get. Coming from an over-populated country like the Netherlands, it was really quite a shock for a 14 year old to all of a sudden be in the middle of Norway. But something good came from it. I think I would have been a musician if I wouldn’t have moved to Norway.

What should people expect from your Five Day Forecast show?

It’s our first show in the new year. We haven’t played since we came back from the US in the start of December. Usually those small breaks work really well. You sometimes forget how much fun it is to play on stage when you do it too often. Right now we just can’t wait to perform again.

What are you working on now/next?

We’re working on a bonus track for the German release next month (it will probably be release elsewhere as well. Woohoo!). After that we’ll do a filmed live session for people to enjoy. Besides that we’re also in the studio again working on new material.

How is 2017 shaping up? What are you looking forward to next year?

As much as 2016 was the year the industry got to know us a little bit. I hope 2017 will be the time for the people to get to know us. We’re basically going to be on the road all year, hopefully stopping by to play a show at Glasto as well. Playing live is what we love to do most, so we can’t wait for 2017 to start!