Earlier this month, CKUT volunteers Kasen Korstanje and Mia Duddy-Hayashibara sat down with Belgian duo Mek’Dr’Dr. A two-piece stripping down and building up post-punk influences with their voices, a bass, and an arsenal of percussion, including pots and pans, chimes, and toy xylophones, Mek’Dr’Dr took FME stages not once, but twice, including an afternoon parking lot show the day after a bill shared with Montreal’s Corridor. In this interview, Mia and Kasen sat down with Mek’Dr’Dr’s Mien Heyvaert and Sara De Wit to chat about their history of music-making and their latest EP, “No Place Safer Than A Toilet Seat.” 

Kasen: Hey everybody, this is Kasen from CKUT 90.3 FM, and I’m here with Mia. We are up in Rouyn-Noranda for FME, Festival de Musique Émergente. Today we’re meeting an amazing band from Belgium, Mek’Dr’Dr. Thank you so much for joining us! 

Sara: Hello! 

Mien: Hey! 

Kasen: So first, I’m just so curious; let’s get into it. I want to hear about the story behind your name. 

Sara: Ah, obviously. That’s always the first question. I think Mien is the best person to explain the name. 

Mien: Yeah, no, there’s not a real big story about the name, but it’s an Ethiopian saying that explains like um… in Belgium, we are a bit too polite, I think. So, if somebody invites you to have dinner or something, then we always say, oh, no, no, no, no, thanks, no, no, no. But actually, we want to go to the dinner, but we don’t go. We say, no, no, no, no, thanks. No, I don’t want to disturb or intrude your evening, blah, blah, blah. But in Ethiopia, they just say, “Mek’Dr’Dr!” so then the other person knows and says “Nooooo, you’re not disturbing. Come at the table” 

Kasen: Where did you hear this for the first time?

Mien: I heard this from Wanus. He’s a friend of mine and we live together, and he was fangirling about Ethiopia all the time. And then he said this thing and I was like, we should have this in Belgium! 

Kasen: I see. How did you start making music together under this name? 

Sara: So we already had another band before this. We played together at the music school. Actually, Mien gave me lessons. Yeah, I did these percussion lessons and marimba, and she was my teacher, but we’re actually the same age, but she’s way better. And then we really liked each other; we started making music, and we had a different band called Faloupzar. And it was different kind of music. More Phoebe Buffay kind of vibe. 

Then I think in Corona, Mien had some influences in making music in the post-punk 70s. And she started making different music that wasn’t really fitting in the other band, so we just started something new, and that was the birth of Mek’Dr’Dr. 

Mia: And so you guys are just a duo. And then the other band was like more people? 

Sara: No, it’s also the two of us. 

Mia: Well, your music sounds so full, just with two people. How do you keep it that way and make sure there’s still a lot going on with just two people? Mien: We have a drum computer, which is very nice. And you can also put the bass line in the drum computer, which sounds super crappy, but it’s nice, actually. And then it turned out that Sara has four arms or something when she plays, so that’s a good gift of the earth. And I think that’s the answer. 

Mia: Yeah, I love drum machine. It fits in so well. I like playing around with those too. In my band, we’re also two people. 

Sara: Oh, nice. What’s the name of your band? 

Mia: We’re called Vitamin Pink.

Sara: Oh, cool. We should check it out. 

Mia: I love interviewing duos because it’s a great opportunity for me to learn and just hear other people’s creative processes who are in similar positions as me. So I’m really happy. 

And so, when you’re writing together, is it just the two of you writing your songs? Or do you take from other people’s ideas? Or is it just one of you writing the songs? 

Sara: Mien is writing all the songs. She has this program, I think, GarageBand. 

Mia: Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of it. 

Sara: So there, I think she just lets out all her creative ideas out and just it’s all really crazy what she makes and super nice. And then when we’re rehearsing, she’s just like, oh, I made some new songs. 

She just shows them to me, and I’m like, oh, this is nice. And then we start trying out some of them and we are figuring out how we can perform them together live and with the drum computers. And if we can add some nice percussion things that make the songs stand out and a bit more full, explosive. And we try out different voices because we both sing. 

So with two people, you kind of need to be creative to make it full enough and not rely too much on all the drum computers. 

Mia: And how has the reception been? Have you guys played in Quebec before? 

Sara: No. 

Mia: But do you guys have a good scene out in Belgium that is really supportive? How’s it been playing over there? 

Mien: In Belgium, it’s super nice. We played all over Belgium before. We play a lot of concerts, but it’s all these super small venues.

Kasen: Dour Festival? I just saw that on your Instagram. 

Sara: That was the biggest one. It was really epic because we knew we were playing on a way bigger stage than we are used to. Normally, we’re tiny stages, tiny halls. Like a basement. Smaller publics. More intimate. And wild also. 

But on Dour, it’s way bigger, and the stage is huge. And we’re just the two of us. So we were a little worried. 

Mien: Really, we’re actually quite static. 

Sara: So Mien can move a little bit more than me. But I’m just behind a table full of percussion material. And I’m kind of locked. So we’re really static on a large stage with a large group of people that will listen. So we were kind of worried how we would manage. 

But then Mien came with the great idea of asking friends to join us on the stage. We asked a lot of friends that have had some experience in theater and stuff. And dancing. And we asked them to play a scene of a park day during our concert. So we weren’t going to interact with them during the concert.But they were just doing all kind of activities people do in parks. So and they had different clothes on all the time and they started jogging or playing basketball or strolling with the baby. 

Mia: That would have been fun for you to see also. Even while you’re performing, you’re also watching them. 

Sara: It was so funny. And we felt like it was kind of really a show. And it all fits so well. 

Mien: It was with the idea of the Aki Kaurismäki movies, you see. And there’s always a band somewhere in the movie that is playing in a super sad vibe cafe. And then the band is playing. And it’s just there. And it’s playing super nice. 

Sara: It worked out really nice. It was a great idea.

Mia: You guys should do it again. 

Sara: Yeah. But we need a bigger stage for that. 

Mia: Yeah. There’s gonna be more people on stage than in the audience. Mien: Yeah. Oh yeah, that would be nice. That would be awesome. Mia: I guess sticking to the Belgium thing, do you guys know Milk TV? Mien and Sara: Yeah! 

Mia: Okay. I actually saw them in Vancouver, and I saw that you guys followed them. So I was like, hmm, I should ask.Yeah, they’re so good. 

Sara: When we first joined the record label, we were on the same label. I think we had our first EP release-show-evening the same night Milk TV played. 

Mien: For the last time because they broke up. 

Mia: They did? 

Sara: But so we joined the same evening that we started actually at the record label. And they 

Mia: They passed the torch on to you. 

Mien: Yeah. 

Sara: We started, they ended, but it was a great night. And they are super nice. 

Mien: And they still play music, but in different bands. 

Kasen: Speaking of your first EP, No Place Safer Than a Toilet Seat, how did you come up with this title? 

Mien: Ummm, I have a disease of Crohn.

Kasen: Yeah, we say Crohn’s disease. 

Mien: Yeah, voila. 

Sara: But also we kind of have different visions of the title. So for her, it’s just kind of really practical and just very important to have in the neighbourhood for everybody, of course. And for me, it’s like a social withdrawal. And it’s nice to have; I often go to the bathroom when I’m at public places when it’s just too much. And then I think, I want to go to the bathroom just to breathe and be alone for a while. 

Mien: So it has different meanings for both of us. But for me, this counts also. 

Mia: Well, I got to say the bathroom here is pretty nice. I already checked it out. Yeah, it’s a good spot. Here, in this building. There’s blue tile and yeah, it’s cute. Check it out. 

Sara: Before, in our different band, we also liked to play in bathrooms because it had this nice acoustic that you can play with. 

Mien: And we just love bathrooms. 

Sara: We did write a song about bathrooms in Brussels because they’re always somewhere in a basement with really small stairs and cafes. Oh, public ones are always downstairs. Like often, like really creepy, somewhere down an aisle or in a basement. And then you have really tiny rooms where the door is; you have to sit on the toilet like this because the door cannot close otherwise. 

And I think it’s a funny thing about Brussels. It’s a comforting place, even if it’s really small. 

Mia: I get that. 

Our last question is, do you have any advice for younger musicians that are just starting out?

Kasen: Because a lot of our listeners are university students or people who maybe are just getting started with making music or experimenting with doing their own thing musically. So if you have a piece of advice, we would love to hear it. 

Sara: After making music for 10 years together. So we both turned 30 this year. 

Mien: Actually, Sarah turns 30 today!!! 

Mia: Happy birthday. Oh my God, wow! 

Sara: We’re making music for 10 years now, I think. For me, it was always most important to have to keep having fun and not to focus too much on the outcome or to not stress about bigger events or just keep the fun in it. Even if the result is not what you expected it to be. 

Of course, that’s sometimes difficult because your expectations always go run with your mind. But it’s just so important to keep having fun and enjoy in the moment. If you’re playing, if you’re rehearsing, if you’re making music, don’t be too hard on yourself in what you’ve made or what we have made. 

We’re always actually really proud of it. And we’re always just having fun. We’ve made so many adventures already. 

It’s worth so much more than the amount of shows that we’ve played or where we have played. Mostly, the shows that we’ve played that are really small and not saying much or unknown are the best or the most worth to us. 

Mien: And also, don’t expect that it goes super fast or something. Don’t put too much like, “it has to happen now because blah, blah, blah, blah” no. There’s no right time. It just comes, when it comes and just go with the flow. 

Sara: And just stay true to what you actually really want to achieve as well. 

Mien: And also, find your place when it feels good. And then that’s more important than play on big stages or something where nobody listens. And it’s okay if nobody listens.

Sara: Yeah, play for yourself. 

Kasen: Amazing. Well, thank you so much for meeting with us today. It’s just so amazing to hear a little bit about your story and your music. And we’re both looking forward to your show later. 

Sara: Yeah, super nice. Thank you for having us. 

Mia: And happy birthday also! 

Kasen: This is Kasen and Mia from CKUT here with Mek’Dr’Dr. And thanks so much for listening.