After a seven-year hiatus, the acclaimed Dutch progressive rock band Kingfisher Sky makes a triumphant return with their latest album, “Feeding the Wolves” (available to buy here). Inspired by an ancient Cherokee legend, this powerful release blends myth and music into a profound narrative. At its core, the album remains dedicated to fostering meaningful connections, spreading love, and promoting understanding. We had the opportunity to sit down with drummer Ivar de Graaf and vocalist Judith Rijnveld to discuss the new release and their exciting upcoming projects
Kingfisher Sky new album
Welcome back to Femme Metal Webzine! Thank you so much, Ivar and Judith, for being here with us. First of all, I want to express my gratitude for your time. How are you doing, and how has this period been treating you with everything going on—the release, the promotion, and all that comes with it?
Ivar: well, it’s always a busy time for Kingfisher Sky, and it’s taken us a while for technical reasons. It is already, well, I think seven years from our release. We have released two EPs, though the COVID crisis was always looming. So yeah, we were very excited to release this new album, because we feel very strongly about it, and it’s always nice to see the songs come to fruition. And, yeah, you know, we worked very long on those songs and to see them come to life and send them into the world is always exciting.
Producing Kingfisher Sky “Feeding the Wolves”
You just mentioned that it all started back in 2018 with “Technicolor Eyes”. But I’d like to ask you—what was it like to produce a full-length album after so much time? How was the experience of working on it? I’m also really intrigued by the concept behind the album, particularly the connection to the Cherokee legend. Could you tell us more about that?
Ivar: Yes, it was a big labor of love album.
Judith: And a lot is going on in the world. I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding, and we are always busy connecting with people and spreading love and understanding. So that’s the main core of the album. And you know, you can ask yourself, why a wolf would be a problem in Holland because they have lived there and you can ask yourself, why is there so much war going on? Yeah, you know.
So that was keeping us busy without pointing fingers and without being like, politically involved. By just only just asking questions. And the biggest question is, why can’t people be more understanding towards each other? So that’s the main thing. And it was great to do something with those frustrations we have.
The Cherokee legend and the negative wolf
I also was curious to know, you know, there is this Cherokee legend that you have just mentioned right now, and it’s a sort of a yin and yang, yeah, I was curious to know where you have found this legend.
Ivar: I heard it somewhere.
Judith: Well, we both sometimes struggle with insecurity and depression because things are going on around us, and you know you can help yourself by feeding some positive feelings or thoughts.
Ivar: On a personal level, as an artist, you’re always struggling with insecurities, and where, the moment you feed the negative one, that’s the one that comes through, that becomes a reality, because then you “say to yourself, oh, that this, this sucks. You suck. What are you doing? You know what? Let’s quit this. Quit this, all together”. And when you feed it, you feel it, and it becomes.
Judith: So many people have that.
Ivar: It’s then easy to talk yourself to the ground.
The positive wolf
So, consequently, you sell yourself short…
Ivar: and that is a real shame. You feed the positive one, yeah? Then you, you feel, you feel positive when you say to yourself, you can do this “Oh, this is nice”. What you just made can be anything, yeah, but give yourself a break once in a while.
The artworks on “Feeding the Wolves”
What I also love about this project is the artwork your mother, Joke, created for each song featured in “Feeding the Wolves”. I’m curious about her process—how she approached it, as it must have taken a lot of time and dedication to focus on each lyric and translate it into a drawing.
Judith: We discussed the subjects for the album already a year ago or one and a half years ago. And we have loads of talks and discussions about it. She would always ask me, “What do you think of this idea?” Most of the time, I was completely on board with her vision. Occasionally, I’d say, “Well, that’s not quite what I had in mind.”
But we always managed to collaborate and come up with something we were both happy with. As a lyricist, collaborating with Ivar and my mom as an artist is very special to me. I always strive to give her the freedom to express her creativity because I deeply respect her authenticity as an artist.
She’s not just someone who works for me—not. She’s my mom [laughs], and that dynamic adds a unique depth to our collaboration. It works beautifully because we’re so much alike. Our perspectives on the world and the things happening around us align closely, which makes working together even more seamless.
The cover of “Feeding the Wolves”
What I love about the cover artwork is how beautiful it is—it’s like a perfect summary, a concise version of the legend. Every time I look at it, I’m still amazed by how stunning it is. I don’t have the LP yet because I’m still waiting for it, but I can’t wait to see it!
Ivar: Yeah, it takes a while [laughs]. Trust me, it will be beautiful.
Judith: If you look good, you see, if you see the head of a wolf, and I think she’s a she, and you see the head of a kingfisher in the wolf’s head, she has feathers on her head and her ears too.
The positive impact of Kate Bush
I also want to ask you about your experience touring with the Kate Bush tribute this year. How much do you feel that tour influenced the creation of this album?
Ivar: A lot.
Judith: Creatively, I gained a lot of self-confidence because she’s an artist who has loads of courage to try things and doesn’t care about other people, as long as she’s writing. She does her own thing. She has her own and, it gave me the idea that, well, when you want to be original, it’s the only way to go. It’s the only manner.
Ivar: She inspired me a lot to go back to ourselves and not be too worried about catering to other people’s expectations of what the band should be.
Kingfisher Sky next plans
I wanted to ask about the current tour, which wraps up in December in Den Haag. What’s next as we head into the new year? Are you planning more dates?
Ivar: Actually, in February we’ll kick things off with a few Kate Bush tribute shows—probably six or seven. Those will carry us into the summer, and after that, we’re hoping to do more shows to promote the new album of Kingfisher Sky.
For me, that’s everything I wanted to ask. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me!
Ivar & Judith: You’re welcome. Thank you so much for the enduring traffic jam. Thank you.