Forever Summer, Mikki & Iked

Mikayla Kilbury (originally from Southern California) and Iked Etpison (originally from Palau) met in Honolulu, Hawaii, and have been making music together since 2016. I first came across them in my usual trawling through YouTube whilst checking out Seydel harmonicas. There it was! I saw their song recorded for Seydel - ‘Forever Summer Lover’. The FOREVER SUMMER Steve Pardue, Editorial Team music was so fresh and the harmonica embedded within the song - not dominating or supporting,- but properly integrated into the music. Micki and Iked met whilst studying in Hawaii - in fact, it was one of their professors who brought them together and suggested they should meet as they ‘would get on’. After being part of a band, they eventually branched out on their own to explore and play their own music. ‘When we first started playing music together, we would go to open mic sessions every week and played in venues across the island, like the Blue Note in Waikiki. We play and write music with the harmonica as if it were Iked’s voice, doing call and response harmonies.’

Iked’s background is in drumming, and when he moved to the Netherlands he started playing Latin percussion. ‘While at a music store in the Netherlands during my first year of college, I bought a harmonica necklace as a gift for my cousin from Palau, because her mother (my late auntie) used to play the harmonica. When I bought the necklace, it came with a free blues harp. I was always fascinated with the instrument, but it was at that point that I thought I might as well learn how to start playing. I grew up listening to a lot of reggae and blues, from artists such as Bob Marley and Sonnyboy Williamson II, and was inspired by them. I mostly learned from watching YouTube videos. At first I learned by slowing the videos and music down, learning the licks, and following the rhythm of some of my favourite solos. Similar to how I practise playing the drums. The harmonica is a very versatile instrument, and we incorporate the instrument into our music and write the melody with this in mind.’ Iked plays both diatonic and chromatic harmonica. ‘Although I started playing the diatonic, I wanted to learn the chromatic to step outside of my comfort zone and develop a cleaner sound in my playing. Even though chromatic playing is achievable on diatonic harmonicas, the sound of overblows can be overpowering when accompanying Micki’s voice. I like all kinds of music; Toots Thielmans, Stevie Wonder, John Popper. I met with John Popper, and we went backstage and jammed together. He gave me some tips. I also met with PT Gazelle at a SPAH event in 2019, which was awesome. What I like about John Popper’s playing is, as a drummer, there are rudiments like paradiddles* and triplets being implemented in his playing, so the rhythmic approach to his playing I can really appreciate.’ Micki and Iked are aiming to move to Palau - Iked’s home - once restrictions are lifted. Micki has a job lined up in the Office for Climate Change. But they want to share their music too.

Iked is a dive guide and takes his harmonica with him. He plays Seydel harmonicas. ‘I find that, in a tropical climate, Seydel’s stainless steel reeds are perfect and don’t rust, and when I am on the dive boat with all that salt spray I am not worried about ruining my harmonica. In some of our songs, I will use multiple diatonic harmonicas in relative keys to switch between major and minor progressions or to change keys. Most of our early songs were written in the keys of A or D, but we are always trying to expand our range by writing in other keys as well. The two Seydel harmonicas that I use the most are the 1847 Classic diatonic harmonicas, as well as a custom Saxony Chromatic Harmonica made by Seydel dealer Greg Jones at 16:23 Harmonicas. The harmonica featured in our photos is the Seydel Soloist Pro 12 with an extended low end octave.’

Last summer, Seydel asked them to write a song to promote their 2020 summer edition session steel harp, which is when they came out with their song ‘Forever Summer Lover’. ‘With that song and that harp, our goal was to create music that gives off island/beach vibes… it was a fun challenge for us. The 2020 harp is no longer available, since it was a limited edition, but harmonica players can look forward to future summer edition harmonicas by Seydel since they’re different and unique each year!’ Micki’s singing and playing style is so fresh and clear, and, with Iked’s harmonized playing, their music is for sure the sound of summer. Micki and Iked can be found on mickiiked.com - their official website - but their social media is where they are most active. Instagram: @mickiiked Facebook: Micki & Iked Tik Tok: @mickiiked YouTube: Micki & Iked Their original songs are available for streaming & purchase through:

iTunes

Spotify

Apple Music

‘Although the harmonica is such a small instrument, it has had an incredible influence on both of our lives. Its versatility allows us to experiment with all kinds of music. We are continuously exploring the instrument’s great potential and ways we can incorporate it into our writing and original music. The best part is that the harmonica has introduced us to a fantastic community of extremely talented musicians and music enthusiasts. We would like to thank all of our friends, followers, fans, family, and mentors for all of the continuous support in doing what we love to do most.’ *Paradiddle: one of the basic patterns (rudiments) of drumming, consisting of four even strokes played in the order ‘left right left left’ or ‘right left right right’.