Name: Pom
Members: Joy Kunst, Justin Dwarswaard, Liza van As, Luc Siegers, Michael Joshua Yonata
Nationality: Dutch
Current release: Pom's new album We Were Girls Together is out via Mattan.

If you enjoyed this Pom interview and would like to stay up to date with the band's music, visit them on Instagram, bandcamp, and Facebook.



For a while, it seemed as though the model of the bed room producer would replace bands altogether. Why do you like playing in a band rather than making music on your own?

Liza: I prefer playing in a band because it is way more fun to do everything with your friends than on your own. It makes performing more fun, but it's also nice to not have to make every decision on your own.

Playing with a band also gives me more freedom as a singer because I only have to hold a mic in my hand, so I can just dance and run around on the stage.

Our taste in music adds up in a very strange way, its very fun to play with all of our influences combined

What, to you, are some of the greatest bands, and what makes them great?

Michael: The Beatles, because their teamwork and chemistry works really well as a band. Each member gives an unique contribution to the song.

Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?

Liza: Our main goal when forming the band was to make a few songs for a school project that me and Michael had to do, as well as playing some songs Joy made for his conservatory audition.

Luc: Me, Joy and Michael make loads of demos and send those around. Sometimes we create a song in the moment, but most of the songs we’ve written came from demos that come to life in rehearsals and are finished with spontaneous additions to the arrangement.

There are many potential models for creativity, from live performances and jamming/producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why?

Michael: We prefer to work out the demos that each band member make together, because it gives sense of a teamwork and a new twists and characteristics from each band member writing styles into the song.

How do your different characters add up to the band's sound and in which way is the end result – including live performances – different from the sum of its pieces?

Michael: it creates a unique mix between the different styles and characteristics that makes the song feels like a product from a group.

Sometimes it works immediately, sometimes it needs quite more of a review. But we do what’s best to serve the purpose of the song.

Is there a group consciousness, do you feel? How does it express itself?

Michael: I think there is a certain consciousness.

Like I said before, we let our individual perception go in the making of the song with a purpose to serve each song to its fullest potential. There will be some disagreement indeed because of the difference in perception but the group consciousness will know what’s gonna happen and what’s gonna sound best for the song.

This process also keeps going smoother because we play together for so long, we already know what to expect from each person's style and capabilities.

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?

Liza writes all the lyrics of the songs, Joy often comes up with certain guitar lines and hooks, Luc gives the spice to the chord- and rythmic informations to strengthen the groove of the bass and the drums.

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 takes you outside of your comfort zone?

The ones we don’t think about. They just feel right in a matter of minutes.

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

Michael: I think it’s important to truly explains why you like or don’t like a certain part of the song clearly because that way we can look for an in between decision for the differences.

And if one person still disagrees then compromises will often be made democratically.

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

Luc: Working with other musicians and creatives gives me a broad sense of perspective when working on a song.

Most of the time you wanna go with your gut on musical decisions. But playing with different genres and line-ups you learn new ways to create and communicate with your band members.

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?

Michael: It's really trial and error. We try to keep things as organic as possible for each of the bandmember’s decisions in a live setting. And trust also plays a big part in the spontaneous decision making for the set.

But if it doesn’t work then we’ll certainly address it after the show and discuss what went good and bad. We do talk a lot about what we want music wise, that's very important.  

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

Michael: New songs always spark a new energy and spirit to the band. But if that’s not the case, then we keep each other entertained by our dance moves, contact on stage between band members or public or some small musical improvisations.

We try to write new songs all the time to keep it interesting.

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

Liza: I think that what makes us stay together is that we are really good friends. When we are together I always enjoy myself and have fun. It also makes communicating easier since we know each other so well.