Extraordinary sounds born in translation.

Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen looks like an ordinary man to all visible standards. He's wearing ordinary clothes and he has an ordinary walk, he even has an ordinary European way of talking very quietly. He seems polite and shy and nothing as complex and talkative as the title of his band's new album; "No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away."
    In spite of fulfilling all visible standards of an ordinary guy, Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen, who usually is mostly established by the name Silas Graae, is in fact not an ordinary guy at all. First off; his name speaks for his Danish heritage as well as his careful accent as he opens his mouth. He's not just another guy from an American pop band. Actually, he plays the drums in a band that's anything but ordinary.

"Music speaks to you in a way that is a very direct language"

Graae describes Mew as a three-piece orchestra but hesitates a while with how to describe the music itself. "I don't really know what to call the music. I guess it's just sounds put together", he says. "And kind of rock music."
    Formed in 1994 in Hellerup, Mew has had a profound impact on the Danish indie scene. "Of course when you start out you're kind of green and try to find out what you want and try to figure out what the whole band wants. And of course on the way you can find out which way and what you want to explore and what you want to do. I mean we've been together over ten years; we're still… we're still looking."
    Mew has such a unique sound that it's very hard to find a band to compare them to. "We also make this music we want to hear and there's no one that's doing what we're doing. So we have to make it our self."
    Graae says that it's hard to name their influences but they have certainly listened to music a lot and those minor influences still have to appear somewhere in their music. He still can't name any direct influences. "We don't want to have a sound like someone else's. We try to sound the way we sound."
    As we get into talking about inspiration his face is wiped with glowing happiness and excitement. There's nothing Mew wouldn't get inspired by. "Everywhere! What you're surrounded by and what you take in…" That is certainly what can also be heard in Mew's output. Their sound is very dreamlike as well as their live performances look a lot like a dream – or a nightmare came true. "I think Jonas [Bjerre], who sings in the band sometimes gets his ideas out of dreams or nightmares", Graae says and adds that a part of their sound and especially lyrics probably come from there. "But I can't speak for Jonas. Musically it's more an awakening thing", he says, smiles and adds "For me at least."
    As I ask what he has been listening to lately, he mentions a composer who he admires very much. "He's been doing music for a long, long time. He's still growing and he's becoming better and better. His music has had the biggest impact on me for a long time." Graae pauses and smiles; "I know that he has been listening to Sibelius. I think he still is", he stresses the name Sibelius to make it clear that he's on top of his game and knows that the composer is in fact Finnish, as am I.
    In spite of Mew's songs "Hawaii" and "Hawaii Dream" the members of Mew have apparently never been to Hawaii. Jonas Bjerre recently stated out in an interview that the members of Mew try to change the method of writing a lot. "Sometimes it's good to change the environment", he said.
    Graae says that the location in the writing process might reflect on the creation as well. "Maybe at the writing process it does matter a little bit where we are and what we're doing at that certain time. We've been doing this album a long time and in a lot of different places and that could have a little reflect", he says. "But at the same time… I don't think that it means that much because we recorded the [And the Glass Handed] Kites album during the summer and I'd say it's kind of the darkest record we've done... So I don't know if that goes hand in hand, I'm not sure", he continues and adds up that it certainly has a minor impact on the output. "Of course it does; where you are, where you belong to… Of course it matters a little bit."
    The single parts in music or songs in general matter as much as the entity to Graae. "It doesn't matter if someone is a good guitar player or someone is a good drummer or someone's a good singer. It's not the one expression that comes out but that one thing that comes out of it that is the most important thing."
    Graae seems to think music is so important to so many people because it's something everyone can get into. "It speaks to you in a way that is a very direct language in a way even though you don't have to understand that language. It's instant; could be emotions, could be anything."

As I later during the night sit in the crowd of the old Ice Hall of Helsinki and witness the performance of the band, everything Graae has said earlier surely applies. Mew is and always will be in an exploring in a world of sounds, but that means in no way that they hadn't found theirs yet or would be unsure of what they're doing. It means that even though they have found their own unique sound, they're not afraid to explore what else is out there or use the alternatives.
    It's good to see that even though Mew has just put out their new album No More Stories... they haven't wiped the old songs off their set list. In fact, they played a lot of the old favorites such as Special, Snow Brigade, Comforting Sounds, Am I Wry? No, 156 and many more.
    I've seen Mew before; in 2006 they performed in a smaller venue at The House of Culture. A weird feeling wiped across my chest as Mew took the stage this time. After exploring this feeling a while, I realized that I have missed Mew ever since. I've missed the amazing visual side of their shows as I've missed their sound too. Mew is a band that's very hard to just forget and in many ways so much more than just music. Mew is art at its finest.
    Apparently it's clever to end an article with a quote, so here's it is. In 2006 Jonas Bjerre said this after visiting Finland;
    "Helsinki! You are some kind of generous galaxy of pure warmth and glowing excitement in spite of your -24 C temperature (a reverse fever). I can't believe how much people have taken notice of our subtle magic! Every time we go to Finland it is like some strange wonderful dream." It's been a while but I still love the quote. So this is what I have to say:
    Mew! You offer us some kind of generous galaxy of pure inspiration and glowing excitement with your music! Your subtle magic has blown us away like some strange wonderful dream and in all our hopes you will continue to do so for many years to come!
    Mew is anything but ordinary. Mew is extraordinary. ****/*****

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Text: Joanna Tzortzis.
Photography: Nelly Tatti.