INTERVIEW: Niki & The Dove

We can't get enough of Scandinavian duo Niki & The Dove's quirky, slightly dark take on electro pop.

Made up of the ever-stylish, well-lunged Malin Dahlström (think Cyndi Lauper meets Björk) and lofty musician Gustaf Karlöf, the band formed in 2010, and have been taking over our aural senses with euphoric singles like DJ Ease My Mind, Under The Bridges, Last Night and The Fox ever since.

As they prepare to release their first album, Instinct, in May, we catch a few moments with the dynamic pair...

GLAMOUR: How would you describe your sound?

Malin: Kinque-klonque, big drum, small drum, sxxxcchhhwuuuiiiissss, choirs, swwwwwwwweeeeeoooossss, small sounds, a flute, a tambourine, handclap,  kritcha-kratschie.

G: Who would you say your main influences are?

Gustaf: We find our influences in different art forms. Books, visual arts, movies.

G: What's your earliest memory of music?

G:  Good question! My earliest memory was playing the first vinyl record my parents bought for me, looking at the cover, the majestic power of this object, it was something other-worldly.

M: Mine was actually when I sneaked into my big brothers room and listened to his vinyl too.

G: Tell us about the day you first met each other…

M: It was in Gothenburg. I noticed Gustaf's voice, it is very loud! But he was saying intelligent things. So before I saw him I heard him.

G: Why do you think that Scandinavian pop music has seen such a surge in popularity recently?

M: Scandinavia has produced great pop music for many years. It just wasn't exposed until now. It is more acknowledged abroad than inside Sweden… Nobody talks about it there.

G: You were featured fourth on the BBC's Sound Of 2012 poll - what was your reaction to that when you heard?

M: We were very surprised and very happy. We would never have thought we would be one of the bands that we re chosen.

G: Who were your celebrity crushes growing up?

G:  The Bangles , Helena Bonham Carter.

M: An actor in an old cowboy movie. And also, when I was really young, Dean Martin.

G: What's the best gig you've ever been to?

G: While we are talking Swedish bands, Svenson. Also in New Dehli we heard a woman play the Sarod and it was totally amazing and magical, it took me to another world.

G: Who are your favourite fashion designers?

M: Maria Nordstrom is a Swedish designer who we regard highly.  Also, we went to the market in East London the other day and there we met amazing fashion designers. They sold their clothes on the street and they made the clothes themselves. It was two Japanese girls who had clothes with huge collars… Sorry we don't remember their name!

G: This season, you will be mostly wearing…

M: My parrot earrings that I got as a present from a very special person.

G: What's your biggest ever fashion faux pas?

G: The page haircut and the back-comb-crater-over-sprayed-puff-lugg.

G: Which deceased/defunct artist or band do you wish you'd seen?

G: Django Reinhart

M: Frank Sinatra

Niki & The Dove's new album, Instinct, is set for release in May 2012. Their latest single, DJ, Ease My Mind, is out now.