Part 2

What is your sense of ownership like as part of the collective songwriting process? What is the balance between the lyrics, melodies and harmonies, and the groove in terms of your sound?

Nadeem: For the last EP it was very much Momoko in charge of the music, melodies and harmonies and I did the bulk of the writing, and subsequent rapping/singing/poeting, with Momoko contributing to the writing.

For the next project we’re foreseeing a more all over the place approach!

What tend to be the best songs in your opinion – those where you had a lot in common as a band or those where you had more differences? What happens when another musician take you outside of your comfort zone?

Nadeem: I think “Fighting The Atom” is our best song so far because it feels like a conversation between us, it’s the most cohesive back and forth.



Momoko: I quite enjoy the way we’ve leaned into self-containment for the creation and leaned into expansion and invitation of other people’s energies for live shows. It allows the music to be distinctive but also breathing when it comes to performance.

What I’d like to try more is expanding the self-contained creation process to bring in more of a musical conversation with Nadeem from the start, as opposed to a more classic division of roles we’ve had so far. On a video shoot one day, we did a sort of hocketing of melodies around the phrase ‘some of the aliens’. I thought it would be really great to build a piece around our hocketing. That kind of thing I’d like to do more of.

What are your thoughts on the need for compromise vs standing by one's convictions? How did you resolve potential disagreements?

Nadeem: I think for me at least having a solo project helps with this. I don’t feel the need to force ideas if they don’t work for collaborative projects.

In the case where I’m certain of something and perhaps Momoko disagrees, which musically hasn’t happened with collab work that I can recall, third parties are what I imagine would be good to lean on. Other sets of ears always help!

Momoko: I feel similarly … having a solo project I’m working on (I haven’t released under my own name yet!) inspires me to go deeper into specific chemistries that exist in collaborations. Also the fact that we are concept-led helps us be on the same page with things because we are often thinking about whether something serves a feeling or story we are trying to convey.

Most of the time I think we are content when this is achieved, and we aren’t so much trying to push something stylistic unless there is a specific reason for it.

Do any of the band's members also have solo projects? If so, how do these feed into the band's creative process?

Nadeem: Yes we both have solo projects under our names. I think they feed into the creative process as the better we become as artists doing our solo projects, the better the collective project will be.

We’ve improved so much as artists, writers, conceptualizers that the prospect of working on and recording the next project is very exciting!

In a live situation, decisions between band members often work without words. From your experience and the performances of your current tour, what does this process feel like and how does it work?

Nadeem: As a vocalist I just have to listen a lot, be very aware of cues, entry points, energy shifting, when to push and when to pull but also how to lead the songs so it’s tricky. The process requires a certain level of complete confidence and relaxation.

Working with musicians who are as talented as Mei, Tamar and Momoko makes it a lot easier though! Also live is a place of expansion, so I’ll sing in parts I don’t sing on the EP, Momoko will do the same with adlibs and we’ll generally free up more.

Momoko: Yes, working with the incredibly versatile and sensitive musicians we work with helps with everything. I’m personally still really trying to find pockets of total freedom, which I feel thirsty for.

Because we still haven’t had so much experience playing this music live, playing drums, singing, using the SPD, cueing etc. is a lot for me to navigate, so I’d just like to reach a level of practice where I can bring what’s needed for each song but also be able to express myself more fully on both drums and voice.

How has the interaction within the group changed over the years? How do you keep things surprising, playful and inspiring?

Nadeem: By growing as people!

Momoko: Also, I think we are both the type of people who become visibly detached, staring at our feet, wanting to go home when we’re not inspired, so I think it’s out of absolute necessity that we will keep things inspiring and playful for ourselves. It’s just an essential energy source for us to do anything at all.

Have you worked with outside contributors - from session musicians via producers to other songwriters? How did this change, improve or challenge the established dynamic and how do you look back on that?

Nadeem: We’ve worked with session musicians and that hasn’t significantly changed the dynamic because they are often just playing what we have already agreed upon as a duo.

If we were to work with other producers and songwriters I think that would be challenging …

Most bands eventually break up. What makes you stay together? What are essentials for a successful band?

Nadeem: Having solo projects helps, because there's less pressure for everything to be perfect and we can have fun and experiment more collectively.

Momoko: I, too, think that’s a big one. Also this project emerged partly from a feeling that we are both very observant, reflective and self-critical, thinking often about how to restore harmony and balance in this world through creating it within ourselves–not seeking perfection or triumph of Good over Evil … a kind of taoist-leaning lens.

When a project is underpinned by aspirations to learn how to embody more of what we’d like to see in the world, rather than something aesthetic or, stranger yet, commercial, it’s always going to be easier to see any hurdle as an opportunity to develop a quality.

Recommendations:

Nadeem: It’s a book I’ve read recently, Erasure by Percivall Everett. A biting and hilarious satire on race in America (and the world really), the publishing industry and so much more. It's at times uncomfortable and challenging but in a way that makes for great art. I also love reliable/unreliable first person narratives, they make for a degree of fantastic chaos that can only be achieved when the writer makes you become the character.

I believe, at least in my reading of the book, it’s fundamentally about being true to yourself, your experiences and trusting in your voice, not being swayed by the currents of the time, if you can! Be true to you ... though it costs ... as all things do. How much are you willing to pay!?

Momoko: This month I’ve been touring a lot with my friend Alabaster DePlume who lent me a book of Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti’s work, Midnight and other poems. I’d been thinking a lot about Palestine as many of us have, and particularly about resistance, and particularly about who gets to ‘rest in peace’ and who has to ‘rest in power’ in this world of ours.

The first poem I saw in this book called It’s Also Fine seemed to speak directly to me on this topic, in an eloquent, compassionate, and heartbreaking way. I am taking in the main long poem and the other poems now, and it feels like reading letters of an extremely eloquent, close friend. I really love it and feel a lot of admiration for the work. I’d recommend it to anyone.