Communions

Name, where are you from?
Communions. Martin Rehof (Ma) and Mads Rehof (Md) from Copenhagen.

Describe your style in three words?
Ma: Business and pleasure.
Md: Simple, casual, fortuitous.

What's the best gig you've ever been to?
Ma: Leonard Cohen in Seattle around 2012. Apart from the fact that I'm a big admirer of Leonard Cohen, and his music has meant a lot to me, I think it was the first time (and maybe one of the few times since then) that I went to a concert alone, by myself. It was a really captivating, powerful experience.
Md: The best gig I've been to, was when the Sai Anantam Ashram Singers performed Alice Coltrane's music at the Copenhagen Concert Hall. This was my first contact with spiritual jazz, a genre I have come to love.

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
Ma: David Bowie and Björk. Bowie has been a constant influence on me for so long, since I can remember. He is someone who I imagine would be great just to sit and have a conversation with about all sorts of things. Also, I would go with Björk because I find her fascinating, and her unique style of singing has always inspired me.
Md: Nirvana's MTV Unplugged and Portishead's Roseland NYC Live are two of my favourite live albums, so I would probably choose them.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Ma: Punk and skateboard culture, specifically the scenes in Seattle when we lived there. Mads and I grew up in Seattle, Washington for a period of ten years from the time I was five 'til the time I was almost sixteen. When I was about ten years old, I used to skate for countless hours almost every day. I also eventually started going to a lot of punk shows with my friends. Those two worlds meant everything to me during my teenage years. Eventually, I lost interest in skating – I stopped for a while after getting a bad concussion, and never really began again. I began to focus more on playing music. Ultimately, I think punk music served as the catalyst that lead me to eventually get into other genres and types of underground music.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Ma: That's a tough one. As of right now, I'd say Rick Rubin. For a while I have been trying to learn and get better at music production. So I'd take the opportunity to get some tips and tricks from one of the best producers in the world.

Of all the venues you've played, which is your favourite?
Ma: The Mountain Stage at Summer Sonic Festival in Osaka, Japan back in 2017. This was one of the largest places we've played, and it was just a really surreal experience.
Md: I've always enjoyed playing at Loppen in Copenhagen - an intimate venue with a great atmosphere. The stage isn't raised that much, so you have a really close contact with the audience, which is nice.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Ma: David Kilgour of The Clean. The Clean are a really influential band, but David Kilgour's solo stuff is also amazing and seems to have remained somewhat under the radar.
Md: Roger Eno. I'm not sure if he perfectly fits the category, as he certainly has received recognition to some degree, but he is a brilliant composer who probably doesn't get as much attention as his brother.