Fronted by megababe Ottilia Zimmerman Kjulsten, if they’re not already, Avante Black are about to become your new favourite pop group. Self-releasing their first demo “Imaginary Love” last year, the group (which consists of Ottilia, Emil, Gabs and Dean) were lauded by almost every music blog in existence. And rightfully so. Going on to release their debut single “Drug Money”, the four-piece collective have been making waves in the pop world ever since.
Crafting delightfully edgy pop songs, the group returned this year with “Make A Mess”. A fuzzy guitar filled pop track, Ottilia penned the track after going through a break up, resulting in beautifully heartbreaking lyricism packaged in a euphoric pop song.
Releasing the visuals to “Make A Mess” today, the band’s creativity is palpable and we’re sure they’re destined for greatness. Already wanting to hear more from them, we grabbed a minute with Ottilia to find out more.
Hey Ottilia, how are you?
Hiya, very well thank you!
What’s your first musical memory?
Probably jumping around to “All The Small Things” by Blink-182 on my bed. The only music I had was whatever my brother put on my mp3. And I wanted to be just like him.
What was the first ever gig you went to?
I might be wrong but I think it must be the Zombies when they played in my hometown. I had to bring my mum and dad along cause I was 14 and you had to be 21 to get in. I think we pretended I was 16…
How did Avante Black meet?
I met Dean when he was touring with Various Cruelties, we bonded over Captain Beefhart in the van. Emil I met through common Swedish friends. We played every week just the three of us and managed to find Gabs after a few months. And yeah, here we are!
Was it “let’s make music” at first sight?
Really not, I think I was really shy to ask and thinking “would anyone really want to play my tracks?”. But Dean gave me a lot of confidence about the songs I had written. Emil was in a few other bands but came up and told me he’s focusing 100% on this band. It felt amazing to have that support and it has really helped with songwriting and performance. The guys have taught me everything I know basically.
“I am very independent in my writing but the band always help me take it to the next level in confidence and performance.”
What’s the inspiration behind the name “Avante Black”?
Black T-shirts basically. I used to wear them like my second skin. Our former keyboard player asked “When are you gonna start wearing Vantablack t- shirts’? And from then we started playing with the name. I also just wanted something cool to write on the back of my leather jacket.
Can you tell us about your latest single “Make A Mess”?
I wrote the song last summer when I was going through my first proper break up. It was a very new and scary experience. I was listening to a lot of Strokes at that moment and one day the song came about. I was so nervous releasing it, it makes me feel very vulnerable but very strong and independent at the same time. It’s weird, but it works. I’m excited to see what people think of the video, it’s weird but it works… haha
What did each of you bring to the creative process?
I am very independent in my writing but the band always help me take it to the next level in confidence and performance.
You’re performing at quite a few festivals this year. What are you most looking forward to?
We’re excited for all of them, we’ve not played outside of London much so we have no idea what to expect. I think that’s the best part, not knowing what’s ahead.
