An Interview With The Duo, IVY FLINDT On The Making of Their Music, Favorite Artists and Much More!

Get to know the indie-pop duo, Ivy Flindt!

Made up of singers Cate Martin and Micha Holland, the pair met when Holland was already a highly esteemed and well-booked musician and experienced in music production. Both felt at once what can be heard in every note of their debut “In Every Move”: this is special.

This collection was released on August 24th, 2018 via Marland Records and it was produced by Per Sunding at Tambourine Studios, Malmo & Atlantis-Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. “Seal My Lips” is currently the single making noise now with airplay at many radio stations throughout the U.S.

Check out the music video for “Seal My Lips” here-

Connect With Ivy Flindt Online Here- Facebook, Twitter and Website.

Learn more about Ivy Flindt in the following All Access interview-

Thanks for your time! So what does a typical day look like for this band? What is on tap for the rest of your day and week?

It really depends. As a band there‘s so much to do, it‘s so many different professions in one. And it‘s about constantly being on top of things, and constantly deciding whether your own artistic vision is reflected in what you‘ve just decided.

“Seal My Lips” just started to make its way to US, and we’d love to follow it as a band for some shows next year! America, can you hear us?

Now that we are at the end of the year, how would you say that 2019 is treating this duo so far? What are some goals that you have for this year and how close are you to reaching them?

It was a year with many live shows, touring Europe. We played the first big Festivals in UK!We had the pleasure to work with the crazy talented video producer Pete Lawrie from L.A. for the music video of WHEN YOU‘RE NOT AROUND, which we released in Europe in April. The video was premiered by Rolling Stone Magazine, that was such a thrill!

We‘ll be touring Germany and Denmark in November, before hoping for a white Christmas: I love how the sound of the city changes in the snow!

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be in this band together? Has anything surprised you about this musical journey so far? How did you come up with your name?

Cate: I felt a little intimidated by Micha, he seemed very focused and strong, back then I was quite shy, I actually still am.

Micha: I fell in love with Cate’s voice immediately. I admire her for her strong vision, her genuine sound, her poetry. She was so different from all the other female singers I had worked with so far. IVY FLINDT?! IVY is a unisex name and we both wanted to be able to be IVY. And FLINDT is a surname that we made up, we thought it sounds nice with IVY. But why have a person’s name as a band name? IVY FLINDT is the name of a third perspective that comes to live when we start to create. This deserves a proper name!

How do you think your hometown has influenced the sound and how you both carry yourselves in this band?

They say “Home is where the heart is“ and making yourself at home wherever you are is more like my idea of freedom than staying in one place all the time! I am always curious to get to know new places!

Why would you say that you two work so well together? Where is one of you weak where the other is strong and vice-versa? Why does this duo work?

No one knows. It’s magic I guess!

Let’s talk about your album, “In Every Move.” What was it like working on it with producer Per Sunding?

It was pure pain and pure pleasure. He was pushing us to the limit and beyond. We were all dedicated to make this record as beautiful and intense and poetic as possible. We just wouldn‘t stop. If anyone had any concern about anything we‘d all work on it as a group until we all were happy with it. We trust him 100%. He is a kind soul, very funny and incredibly talented. We admire him for his curiosity. Very open minded.

How did that collaboration come to be?

We had been looking for a producer for quite a while then. And were not sure which road to take when a dear friend of ours suggested to simply turn around our mutually favorite record to see who produced it. So easy! The choice fell on the beautiful, folksy, melancholic “Long Gone Before Daylight” of The Cardigans. So we sent Per an innocent email and a demo asking whether he might be interested to work with us. To our big surprise and relief, he replied and invited us to come to Malmø for a test recording session at Tambourine Studios.

Did anything surprise you about the process of outing this album together? What was the overall process like for you two?

Busy! Pretty busy! As being our own record label means you are responsible for everything you do and everything you don’t do too. But in the end I guess that’s the deal in life anyway!?

How do you think your sound has grown over the years? What about your songwriting process? How has that changed?

This is to be explored on the next record I guess! We typically write on our own and not together, then present stuff to each other and continue working on what we’ve got. That hasn’t changed over the years. It’s a solo-duo if you like.

Where do you think you are both happiest- in the studio recording new music, on stage performing or elsewhere?

Cate: I don’t seem to be a happy person, I’m afraid. The studio scares me cause what you do is recorded. The stage scares me cause I’m depending on the circumstances so much. Light, the room, someone rude, sound issues possibly. And then I am the happiest person in the studio once I feel a
certain emotion is recorded exactly how I wanted it to be. And the happiest person on stage when you feel the vibe, feel your band and feel the audience with us.

Micha: I love to explore sounds and arrangements in the studio, I love to work on the perfect “dress” for each song. Being on stage is something completely different, there’s no second try. But every night is new. And I love the applause!

What has been a favorite show of yours to date?

Cate: We were opening a show for STARCRAWLER that night and knew about their punk-rock energy which inspired us to a new attack in our music as we wanted to keep up with them. Here’s the cool thing: the punk-rock audience loved us! And I had opened a new door for me on stage performing.

We are currently living through a very trying and politically charged time right now so I am curious to know how your own music is reflecting this time period? If you don’t think it is, why is that?

Cate: That question is a really complex one. You could easily fill a book with discussing art and its relationship with society, its potential responsibility, talking about values that lie in every piece of art, values that art actually lives of and so on. To keep it short: I tend not to involve politics in my art. Even though obvious values need to be shared before you can allow any playful art to develop: Freedom of speech, empathy, compassion, equal rights to all of us. Democracies are challenged these days.

Who would you love to work with in the future? Who are some of your favorite artists right now?

Cate: I admire Billie Eilish for her style of music, Connor Oberst was always important to me and still is, Sharon van Etten and also Lana del Rey impress me lots.

Micha: We both love Norah Jones’ “Little Broken Hearts” that she produced with Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

Cate: People may do whatever they like to do with the music. I give it away. My intention is not important. My intention is only the start of each song, that’s it. It needs the listener to be completed.