On their debut LP, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, Chicago-based indie rock duo Friko sets the percussive, noisy intensity of post-punk against the soaring melodies of chamber-pop. Since 2019, their expansive sound and allusion-rich lyricism have helped them establish a dedicated fanbase in their home city and beyond. Just before the band embarked on a week-long leg of their Spring tour supporting Water from Your Eyes, I caught up with vocalist and guitarist Niko Kapetan to discuss the importance of today’s Chicago scene, the intricacies of the recording process and inspirations behind their first album.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Claire Borgelt: How’s tour been?

Niko Kapetan: It’s been good. It’s been smooth. I mean, we just bought a van which has made it so much nicer. I’m looking forward to getting out this Friday with Water From Your Eyes.

CB: So exciting! Do you have a favorite moment from tour so far?

NK: The New York show was really fun. All my guitars like, one by one, screwed up, like messed them up. One of them, I just like fell on stage on top of. I met a lot of people at the merch table. It was a good time. New York shows are always fun.

CB: Is there anything you find you really miss about Chicago while you’re on the road?

NK: Um, other than just home and like, friends and partners, probably some of the neighborhood, places like Thai Lagoon. Just a Thai place. And then just being by Humboldt Park. That’s kind of where we live. It’s just a nice place to stop and walk and think for a sec.

CB: Speaking of Chicago, how would you describe your experience with the city’s music scene? What’s that been like?

NK: It’s been incredible. I mean, we started in 2019. Before COVID there were so many DIY venues. They kind of disappeared for a few years, but they’ve been coming back kind of slowly over the past year or so. It’s just a very supportive scene, and we’ve made a lot of friends. We still are friends with a lot of the bands, and even newer bands on the scene. And there’s a lot of good venues that do under 21 shows, which were so important for us when we started. Yeah, people are definitely just listening to bands in Chicago now. It’s an exciting place for music right now.

CB: Yeah, for sure. Are there any bands out of Chicago that you’ve been really loving recently?

NK: Hmmm… bands that I’d shout out that I think deserve more of a shout out… I think V.V. Lightbody is incredible. Sharp Pins, the project of Kai, who plays in Lifeguard. Bnny just released a new album on Fire Talk Records. Chapter just released a new album. I could go on! 

CB: I also wanted to know if you feel living in the city has impacted your writing process. Is there any way you feel like your environment really comes through in your writing?

NK: Um, yeah, I mean, both indirectly and directly, just the general feeling of growing up around here. Coming to the city was always a very specific feeling for me. Honestly, I’ve always tried to harness that in writing. It was like a beautiful sparkling statue to me when I was a kid. And there are little lyrical references on the record, like talking about the L train and stuff too.

CB: I also wanted to ask more generally, what is your writing process like?

NK: Usually it starts with some basic chord progression. Then I just take a couple lines that feel like the hook of it, or the core of the song. If I feel like I have that core of the song, I’ll just kind of write from there. Then once I have it on vocals and guitar I’ll take it to the band and we’ll arrange it.

CB: How does that usually go? What’s the process like when it comes to expanding it from there?

NK: I mean, Bailey is a multi-instrumentalist. I mean, we’ll just shoot ideas off of each other and like, just switch around with the bassist we’ve been playing with. You know, maybe I’ll go on drums or Bailey will, or whatever, it doesn’t really matter. Just kind of have fun with it. We’re excited to get more writing time this summer, when we have a touring break for a second.

CB: I know that you and Bailey have been playing music together for a really long time, even before this project. I was wondering what your favorite thing about working with them has been. What comes through in the collaboration process?

NK: I mean, Bailey is very kind, first of all, which I’d say is their best attribute and what makes all of this work. They’re just a very fun person. They’re so talented, and being a multi-instrumentalist has made them so important to this band. On recordings, they’ll do a full overdub with whatever instrument, and maybe our piano or guitar. We just get along, you know? It’s kind of like good luck. It’s like, if you’re gonna be on the road and spending so much time with someone, like, there is an element of luck. You just need to lock in some way as people, and we do. Yeah, they’re just a very good person, and they’re passionate. So it works.

CB: I was also curious if there are any artists who you feel have really inspired you, maybe not sonically speaking, but in terms of your outlook on the creative process more generally.

NK: That’s a good question! I’m trying to think outside of music too, because there are definitely a lot of people like that for me. I was watching a bunch of Andy Kaufman stuff. The comedian. He’s just like, really out there. Or like, Anthony Bourdain’s way of doing things was always cool when I was growing up. Those are so random, though!

CB: Is there anyone who you feel really inspired you to get into music initially? 

NK: Yeah, I mean, when I was eight through thirteen, the only band I listened to was the Beatles. Just because of my parents. We went to Vegas and we saw LOVE and I was like, oh my god, this is crazy. My ten year old self was just obsessed for many years and that definitely started me on the path of wanting to write songs, just because I loved them so much. But recently? Black Country, New Road, Geese, Squid, all that new kind of rock stuff, you know? The current rock stuff is really cool and onto something. We got to meet Geese in New York and they were really cool. Hopefully we can play together sometime. Leonard Cohen was another one. He just had a crazy life. He didn’t even make music until he was like 32. And he lived in Greece for seven years, just writing. Pretty cool.

CB: I also want to talk about your new album. I have to say, it’s one of my favorites of the whole year! How would you describe the progression from the EP that you put out to this album?

NK: It definitely felt like a big step for us. I mean, when we started the EP, it was right before COVID. It was early 2020 and we’d only played like, six or seven shows together. We weren’t really like a band band yet. So that EP, to me, still sounds like us figuring stuff out and more like a recording project. But this record was us having the songs down pat and getting together and playing like everything as a band. That’s the biggest difference for me, for sure. 

CB: Is there any track that you’re especially proud of?

NK: “Where We’ve Been” was definitely the mountain for us to climb, because we probably had to mix that song for like, upwards of 100 hours. When we recorded it, we didn’t think we were gonna use the live vocals, and my guitar amp was like, right behind me so the guitar was louder than the vocals on the mic. But after recording, we were like, we have to use that live vocal. We just spent so much time mixing that and figuring out how to make sure the guitar wasn’t in the vocal mic, like an insane amount. It was just such a huge mountain to climb and then it was such a cathartic ending once we reached the end of it. That’s definitely my favorite song on the record and to play live.

CB: Speaking of recording, I was reading about the way you incorporated that live sound into the process. What inspired you to take that approach to it?

NK: Especially a year ago, when we first started recording this record, I was just listening to a lot of The Replacements and Joy Division. They didn’t really do the band-in-the-room thing, but they definitely did like, just a lot of really raw rock band stuff. It was still just like, feeling that room and the charm of that. It just has a certain feeling to it – friends in a room making music. I just kind of wanted to capture that. It was very much just the band, our friend Jack Henry, and an older friend, Scott Tallarida, who owns the event space where we’ve actually recorded the whole record. It was like a family affair. 

CB: I was also super curious about some of the imagery and the art surrounding the album. What does the cardinal on the album cover represent for you?

NK: The cardinal came from the song, pretty much. That was one of the earlier songs written for the record. It’s the last on the record because it kind of just feels like it has a finality to it. The imagery of it just kind of made sense to go with the record. I really love playing that song. I wrote it after covering “These Days” by Nico at my first solo show back after COVID. I just broke down because it was heavy at that time. That’s kind of why that song has a callback to “These Days” in some parts you know? 

CB: This is maybe a silly question, but I have the album on CD and I was really curious about those handwritten lyrics in the album insert. Who wrote those?

NK: Oh, I wrote all those! I have crazy bad handwriting. But, you know, we were like, we might as well be honest with it.

CB: They turned out really cool! How did that idea come about, with all the little pictures and stuff?

NK: With the vinyl LP,  it’s like a thing that’s long and skinny and unfolds to be really long. Do you know The Microphones? Phil Elverum? We’re huge fans, and one of us had the insert from Microphones in 2020, which was this really long, skinny thing with all the lyrics in it because it’s a 40 minute song. We were like, that’s it! We should do that! I’ve met him at the merch table like three times because he still works his merch tables. He’s an inspiration for sure.

CB: I have the Mount Eerie insert taped up on my wall. I definitely get that vibe from it.

NK: And Phil Elverum, actually, is an artist with a life outlook who’s definitely an inspiration. He’s a very different type of artist, but I’ve just got a lot of respect for how he’s done it.

CB: Do you have any plans for what you want to do next as a group?

NK: I mean, we do just want to take the next step forward creatively with this next record. I’m playing around with the idea of piano pieces arranged with two guitars and a bass. That’s been interesting. That’s been fun to do. Kind of like Philip Glass type stuff. He’s another one – a huge inspiration. 

CB: Is there any sort of sound or anything that you want to explore going forward that you maybe haven’t had the chance to yet?

NK: Yeah, we’ve been experimenting. We just recorded a cover that’ll probably come out in June where we got to experiment with some stuff. We’ve just been all over the place. I’ll send Jack Henry, our friend who helps engineer a lot of our stuff, Talking Heads stuff and think about how that stuff is produced. Bailey loved Paramore growing up and while that type of production is not really our thing, we’re very obsessive about the sonic side and just very interested in different ways to go with that. Pet Sounds, where it sounds like a whole orchestra and like a bunch of people. A lot of things to combine, hopefully,

CB: I think that attention to detail definitely comes through in your work. It’s a very good mix of being authentic with the live mixes and stuff, but it also feels super intentional. I think you guys have done a really great job with that.

NK: Thank you. It was hundreds and hundreds of hours of mixing to make it seem intentional. But now I think we know what we’re doing much more. That’s part of the magic of it. That’s why it felt very special. Just because we had to work so hard at it.

Written by Claire Borgelt | Featured Photo by Pooneh Ghana