Miksha are a pretty new band and I guess unknown to most readers of Scandinavian Metal. Could you start with giving us a band history and a description of how you sound like?

Well, to keep it short. The band formed in a little town in the northern part of Norway called Vadsø. Since then we have done numerous live shows across Norway and some in the U.K. On the recording side of things we have released one E.p in 2002, the e.p. was titled [mik’za][e.p] and received good critics in the press. We also released a music video for the track “Half the battle” taken from the E.p. The video became quite popular and got a lot of air time on Norwegian television. We are now releasing our debut album titled “Collect your hazardous waste”. Our sound is kind of hard to describe. One of our goals when we started the band was to make heavy music and mix it with electronics and technology. We wanted to explore what we could do with this mix. And we now feel (with the new album) that we are coming very close to what the Miksha sound should be. To give you a clue what the band sound like you could say it’s Metalcore with a twist of (electric)lemon. The only way to really know is to hear it.

You are now out with your debut album Collect Your Hazardous Waste. How did the recording process go? You're fully satisfied with your new album?

We recorded at Dsign studios in Trondheim. The record was produced mostly by ourselves, working that way is good because it gives you full control. We spent about 3 months in the studio witch is a long time, and it was a lot of work. But that’s what it takes to get it right, and in the end we are very happy with the outcome, it sounds amazing!

How is the distribution process for Collect Your Hazardous Waste? Will it be available outside Scandinavia as well and if so when?

We are working on that right now, nothing is decided yet. The one thing that is for sure is that no matter where live you can get the record from our website from the 18th of February.

What lyrical themes do you use, anything special you care about?

The title “collect your hazardous waste” reflects upon being a part of a bigger picture a community, from a micro to a macro point of view. It is about being aware of the fact that your actions have a reaction, and of course personal matters as well as bigger themes. We like to think that the lyrics are open all though they have certain meanings to us, so that the listener can make up their own meaning, and that way add a personal level to the music.

Do you have any other news for us, any upcoming concerts to support the new album, will the album be released on vinyl?

Lots of things are happening right now. We will soon have a new website up. On the live front we have our release-party at Blæst in Trondheim the 18th of February. The day after (that’s the 19th) we will be doing a show for the youth on Coffie Annan in Trondheim. On the 3rd of March we will be doing a show at the student week in Alta. And on the 11th of February we will be doing the Piggtråd festival in Bergen. We are kind of in the middle of the booking process, so we will probably be add more shows soon. There will hopefully be some gigs in both Norway and in the U.K. in the future. Be sure to pop in on our website from time to time to keep up with what is going on. We have no plans to release the record on vinyl.

Is there a special meaning behind the name "Miksha"?

It is a word connected with myths, legends and lies. Say no more.

Why do you choose to include electronical elements in your music? To me it sounds like that you're trying to be original, to differ from all similar sounding metal bands out there. Is that true?

Well, we know that the combination of metal and electronics has been done before, so we don’t think that alone is going to make Miksha differ from every other metal band on the planet. But using electronics gives us lots of opportunities to explore. I guess we have always wanted to do that, and now we believe Miksha has got its own unique sound, not just because of the electronics alone, but of course it’s a big part of it. We also tend to be trying to create songs with a lot of detail; many of these details are found in the electronic part of the music. You could say it’s a tool we use to expand our possibilities, we use electronics especially to help create a certain atmosphere or feel to the music and to keep it rich in detail.

What are the pros and cons about being in a band?

We have been doing this for awhile and have great fun playing in a band. There are so many levels of being in a band; you can learn so many things, not just about music, but also lots of other things as well. Being in Miksha has already given us lots of memories we will never forget, and most likely there will be more in the future. As for the cons well, it’s a lot of work at times but it is always worth it in the end. We all feel lucky we have this band, it’s a really good feeling to be part of something that creates, and that way evolves into some thing unique.

Is Miksha a serious project, you expect/want to release several albums?

Miksha is a serious project, like we said earlier; we have been doing this for awhile and have a good time doing it. Our focus right now is on the new record, we are very proud of it and we want to se how far we can take it. Of course making albums is something that we enjoy very much, so we definitely hope to make more albums in the future. Right now it’s all about “collect your hazardous waste”, and then we’ll just have to take it from there.

What's your view on the current metal scene in Scandinavia or just Norway in general?

There are a lot of great bands in the Norwegian underground that deserve a lot more attention that’s for sure. Unfortunately it can be very hard to for these bands to get noticed. Getting gigs and press attention can be rather difficult. Everybody seems to be more interested in well established bands and media hypes, instead of the fact that there are quite a lot of great hardworking bands in the underground. On the positive side some people seems to be sick of it, and are taking matters in their own hands. The result of that are bands working harder and doing things themselves, and also there are more and more webzines started to cover what’s going on, witch is great!

You feel game to give readers of Scandinavian Metal your top 5 list of albums released by bands from Scandinavia only?

Meshuggah - Destroy, Erase, Improve.
Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come
In flames - Reroute To Remain
Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon
The Haunted - rEVOLVEr

Any final remarks to the readers of Scandinavian Metal webzine?

Be sure to check out our new album “collect your hazardous waste”, and the website (www.miksha.net) for updates about the band. Check out www.Speedballproductions.com for Miksha live clips as well as a lot of other bands. And thank you to Scandinavian metal webzine for shoving interest in Miksha!

Cheers! -Miksha-

[This interview was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]