My Festival: Otto & Astrid

ASTRID: It’s one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll concerts you’re ever gonna see. Our shows are always explosive, but this tour is better than anything we’ve ever done before because this time we’re doing solo projects. I finally get the space to do what I want without compromise or interference. Otto does his songs and I do my songs. So, we’ll be next to each other but not touching.

OTTO: Even though Astrid and I are not in the same band this time, I’m just so excited that I get to play on the same stage as my big sister. I still find her performance thrilling. She’s my favourite rockstar. Sometimes it can feel a little strange with us at the festival in Edinburgh because people describe us as comedy. Each night, I can hear people laughing at us (a lot), but we are a very serious rock ‘n’ roll band.

What will we learn from your show that we didn’t know before?

ASTRID: The truth is that for years, I’ve been accommodating Otto’s needs. I want to apologise in advance for my little brother, because he’ll be on stage first singing some lame songs about kittens and feelings. Once he’s out the way, I’ll storm onto the stage and it’s gonna be a wild, raucous party in your pants that you’ll never forget!

OTTO: Astrid has to perform on the same night as me because she can’t get public liability insurance.

Who or what was the biggest inspiration for your show?

ASTRID: I’ve been listening to a lot of Doja Cat, PJ Harvey, Lizzo, Amanda Palmer, Chrissie Amphlett, Kathleen Hanna and Joan Jett. I'm hoping that somehow all their vocals will mash up inside me like an incredible rock, punk, rap sandwich that will be unforgettable. One of my new songs, Tasty Snak is like if you made a sandwich with peanut butter, crisps, melted cheese and chunks of spicy sausage and rolled it up burrito style. It shouldn’t all go together but it’s the best taste ever!

OTTO: I have a song called Sandwiches in Heaven. It’s about our parents who unfortunately were eaten by a lion. Also, I’ve been totally obsessed with Iggy Pop since I was a little kid. I love The Stooges songs I Wanna Be Your Dogbut y'know sometimes dogs can be scary. So, I wrote an homage to Iggy’s song called I Wanna Be Your Kitten. I released a video of the song a few weeks ago and it’s been getting a lot of unexpected attention from online communities that promote #catboys and #kittenplay. I’ve received some interesting messages and photos.

What’s the best review you’ve ever had, and the worst?

ASTRID: The best review we ever had was at the Woodford Folk Festival in Australia this year when some young kids had been brought along to our show and wouldn’t stop screaming throughout our set. The kids were just so excited but a parent said to me afterwards it was the loudest sound she’d ever heard, I felt very proud at that moment. I think those kids will go on to be rock stars for sure and I will return the compliment and scream at them one day.

OTTO: Those screaming Aussie children are the worst review I’ve ever had. Astrid had turned them into 300 Macaulay Culkins from Home Alone. I was politely asking the kids to stop squealing because their parents looked so frightened. Meanwhile, Astrid was running around the stage screaming back at them intoxicated by the power of riling up the kids.

Otto & Astrid’s Joint Solo Project, Assembly George Square Gardens, 7.25pm, until 27 August.