100%WET release their fantastic self titled debut album this Friday on Crunchy Frog records. The Copenhagen duo consisting of producer/guitarists Casper Munns and Jakob Birch formed the group, when they met at the Conservatory of Copenhagen (RMC). They describe their sound as “hypergaze”: a celestial bricolage of sounds that follows in the slipstream of adventurous pop purveyors such as Magdalena Bay, My Bloody Valentine or M83, it takes you for a spin with mind moulding music that whilst clearly influenced by the last forty years of pop music is layered in intricate gleaming gaze pop, trip hop beats and luscious melodies. Each one is woven, into its futuristic textures, so despite the influences, you can’t see the joins, it sounds resolutely unique and refreshing, like a gleaming comet bursting across the horizon.
Opener ‘Lost Myself‘ beguils opening up like the petals on a rose as keening bass lines and beguiling vocals hold you close, sything through pitta patta of breakbeats beats. ‘Ether’ constantlly suprises and delights at every corner stretching melodies to breaking point, and flying through musical wormholes that burst with explorative and expansive instrumentals and vocal interludes, it’s utterly incredible.
The lead single ‘Leave It’ is a shiny and enveloping sophisticated pop, sewn with gossamer melodies of vocalist Amalie Hannibal Petri that tip toe across notes like dew drop kisses, underpinned by shimmering riffing and bouncing breakbeats and wrapped in a dream pop glow that has echoes of Cocteau Twins and Curve but sounds utterly of 2025. Lyrically, ‘Leave It’ is a sonic exorcism of emotions that no longer serve. While nostalgia lingers in its melodies, the song ultimately pulses forward, carrying a sense of renewal and clarity. Elsewhere ‘Over Me’ submerges you in sweet release of enveloping melodies and cascading riffs, pouring forth underpinned skittery beats. We caught up with 100%WET to find out more.
Hey how are you?
Pretty good thanks. Booming with new music these days, getting ready for some shows in the spring and summer while preparing for the release of our album.. Also Casper is preparing for his bachelor concert this summer from RMC (Rhythmic Music Conservatory of Copenhagen), and Jakob just became a father.
How did 100%Wet form?
We met a few years back as students at RMC. During a presentation for the 2nd year students Jakob played a sound bite of a new sketch with his band at the time, talking about introducing and using beats as starting points within the shoegaze/alt rock universe. He soon after received an email from Casper who liked what he had heard and wanted to mix some of the songs, and from then on it was just a matter of months before we started making new music together, discovering a lot of common ground.
How would you describe your sound in five words?
Massive, dreamy, loud, sensitive, danceable
I love the sound, how did you produce it? There are clear elements of dream pop, synth pop, shoegaze, rave even trip-hop, yet it all sounds unique. There are 90s early 00s influences there, what is it about that period that excites you musically? Are you always trying to push the boundaries?
I think a lot of redefining of ‘the rock band’ took place in the 90’ies, there was a different type of sensibility and attitude in some of these new sounds. Also new recording possibilities and experimentation in the studio made way for new styles, like the whole shoegaze genre, and this approach to sound design and a sort of introverted loudness we really relate to. It’s also a time where new equipment and software catapulted electronic music forward and gave rise to so many different genres, and many of these sounds in both fields still seem pretty fresh today to our ears today, e.g. massive attack, aphex twin, MBV or chemical brothers. For me (Jakob) the early years of my guitar playing was shaped by the 90’ies and 00’s rock bands especially grunge, alternative and the indie scene of 00s. Something about the massive and unpolished sound of grunge struck a chord in me. I don’t know if we are trying to push music forward or just filling in a gap that we feel is missing between these different fields, seen through the lense of 2025. I think these are hard times to try and truly push boundaries in terms of introducing something really new – I guess we are mainly trying to challenge ourselves by doing something we haven’t done before, while is staying true to a sort of band approach to beat- or computer-based (club?) music.
You say “That kind of push and pull – between past and future, chaos and control – is a huge part of what excites us musically.” Can you expand on this?
We’re just buildling a vocabulary out of the styles we like – whether old or new, and allowing for a lot of playfulness and imagination in that process. It’s ok for us to reference something from the 90’ies for example, but it also quickly feels stale if it’s too familiar to something that’s already out there, we don’t wanna get stuck in nostalgia or genre exercises. However nostalgia is a really interesting and complex emotion to explore in music we find, but there’s also something about the punk energy of hyper pop and contemporary ‘over the top’ procution styles that seem more ‘rock’n’roll’ today than actual rock music right now. And we’d like to include both of these energies in the music.
Can you tell us about your debut album?
The process started before we knew we were making an album. We were just curious playing with the idea of drum’n’gaze or hypergaze as reference points, and finding this new approach to the rock band that i’ve been talking about. Mixing Breakcore and loud guitars. Before we really knew it the label Crunchy Frog had heard some tunes, and were showing a lot of interest so the idea of an album started to take shape. We were also trying out a new collaborations e.g. with Sanna Heinstedt who sings on three of the songs from the album, and defining a more fluid constellation than either of us had worked in before, which.
The album is sort of a journey through equally well-known and surprising new territory. Each track is like a world with it’s different emotional states. Longing, beauty, excitement, nostalgia, catharsis, the club, surrealism. Being swept in sound.
I read ‘Leave It’ was like a release, a confessional track that has elements of nostalgia. It’s also about leaving a situation behind, do you find writing and playing can act as a catharsis?
Yes indeed. Amalie wrote the lyrics to this track while going through a tough breakup, and music has for sure been a crucial way of expressing ourselves when going through inner turmoil for both Casper and I. For Casper it’s been the main driving force going through some some tough times in his personal life, but also something that can turn into bit of an obsession.
You worked with Amalie Hannibal Petri, on the track how did you meet her?
We also met each other at RMC.
What artists do you share a love of?
Cocteau Twins, ML Buch, The Cardigans, Robyn to name a few..
What’s the music scene like back home?
It feels like there’s a lot of experimentation going on, and a sense of community around an institution like RMC. It’s interesting and very uplifting to see artists like ML Buch, Astrid Sonne, Fine, Clarissa Connelly gaining traction outside DK. Still, Copenhagen feels kinda small sometimes, but I think for its size there’s a good degree of nuance in the music scene right now – especially happening in the alternative scene.
What’s on your playlist?
miaw, GB, Peter Pain, Snuggle, ML Buch to name some of the Copenhagen based artists.
Having a revisit with Deftones these days. RIP Swirl, Overmono, Tricky, Yaeger, Bowery Electric, Grouper. Bleary Eyed. Death.
What do you do in your down time on tour?
We haven’t toured that much yet, but making music on the laptop is a popular activity so far, especially for Casper.
What are your future plans?
To make great music that keeps exciting us, and continuing to expand on our sounds, methods, collaborations, live setups. Hopefully we can build a really cosy studio with all of our own equipment in time. We are also eager to connect with an audience outside of Denmark, especially in UK and northern Europe. We’re planning to set up UK and Europe gigs later in ‘25 and early ’26 – also hoping to come to the U.S next year if the winds blows us that direction.
Do you have any shows /festivals lined up this summer?
We are playing at SPOT festival in Aarhus, and some smaller Danish Festivals: Rudme and Alive.
