When a band names a song ‘Summer Thunder’, you expect some heat — and FATECRIMES deliver in full force. The rising duo — Anna and Kieran — are crafting music that crashes like a storm and simmers with feeling. In this interview, they reflect on the reawakening of a teenage track, the emotional core of their collaboration, and why vulnerability is their ultimate creative weapon. We dive into the making of their debut single, trading lyrical favourites, stormy metaphors, and the art of finding contrast in sound — all with a wink, a “WOOOO!!”, and a middle finger to playing it safe.
What was the first moment you realized “Summer Thunder” was something special?
A: I’m not sure I ever had a moment of realisation that it was “special”, but when the recording and mixing process began, I think I was hit by the impact and..large scale of the song, so perhaps then.
K: shortly after Anna played me the song at one of our first jams, and it got stuck in my head
How did it feel to finally release a song you wrote as a teenager?
A: It’s a bit trippy; after teenhood, I forgot I wrote it and never did anything with it solo-wise wise as it was a band arrangement. To be able to reawaken Summer Thunder in FATECRIMES feels, honestly, like a work of fate.
If “Summer Thunder” were a season, colour, or weather pattern—besides the obvious—what would it be?
A: Besides the obvious, Summer thunder might discuss the threshold of Summer and Autumn, as the shepherd’s delight-sky gives way to turbulent weather, the warmth is not lost yet. Colour-wise, I’d choose a deep red with streaks of yellow and orange.
K: an evening sky soaked with orange, somewhere warm and arid; a rolling stormfront, deep purple, crackling with energy; the smell of rain in your nostrils.
“Summer Thunder” feels both massive and intimate. How did you shape that dynamic contrast sonically?
A: with great intention. It was important to me to show a clear contrast between the introspective, mellow moments to allow the sound to expand when the chorus hits and the energy lifts. For me, it’s following the energy inwards until it explodes outwards.
K: a unity of opposites: loud and quiet, hard and soft, complexity and simplicity.
What do you each bring to the band creatively that the other doesn’t?
A: Kieran’s presence allows me to push the energy into a different realm than usual, with the lively drums serving as a confident platform for me to work with and exude my own confidence and energy back. Kieran has pushed me to explore my limits in both vocal style and lyrically.
K: Anna’s free-flowing guitar and vocal style is at the emotional core of our music, which creates such depth of feeling by itself that it’s easy to get lost in (go listen to Anna’s solo work under ‘meliflua’ and you’ll see what I mean). I think what my drums bring to our music is a sense of structure beneath that flow, something to shape the emotional energy, and drive it forward.
What’s your favourite lyric in the song and why?
A: Now the sky is bleeding with a colourful face
K: “the horizon is burning” – it just goes kinda hard, what can I say
What does vulnerability in the studio look like for you two as collaborators?
A: Vulnerability is at the heart of my songwriting. For me, it’s opening myself up to creative collaboration and personal trust to convert what might just be a feeling or emotion into a formed song. Bringing a new song to the studio often requires me to “own” my emotions and accept my vulnerability where I otherwise wouldn’t.
K: I think it usually looks like Anna trusting me enough to tell her that she’s putting too many harmonies on a track.
Do you remember the first time you played this track live? What was the crowd’s response?
A: The energy boomed, and it felt as good as I hoped it would. The reactions were loud, and I loved to see people enjoy it.
K: I remember we played the song at an open mic night and it got a “WOOOO!!” from one of the other bands before we’d even finished the outro.
What’s on your pre-show playlist right now?
A: Winter Knocks – FATECRIMES
K: summer thunder – FATECRIMES
If FATECRIMES had a motto or mantra, what would it be?
A: FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT X
K: smoke break?
