When I first contacted these guys I had no idea what I was getting into. I got to an advanced copy of their
debuted album to review, and before I knew it I had a phone interview
planed. Unfortunately, between
these guy’s busy schedule, and the fact I kept missing the appointed times, I
had to settle for an email interview. (You can check out my album review here)
Even though I didn’t get to talk to Kemp and Eden first had me and John
thought of some pretty good questions about their childhood collaborations,
song writing influences, and of course the new LP.
How did you meet?
Eden
Rice: Trying to catch baby ducklings by a lakeside.
Charlotte Kemp Muhl:
Kidnapping ducklings!
What made you decide to start doing music
together?
CKM: We wrote a song
on my moms piano for some boy Eden had a crush on, in a plot to win him over. I
still remember the melody- it was pretty strange.
ER: I wanted to write
a love song for this guy I had a crush on in middle school and Kemp had started
playing guitar and keyboards so we lit candles, stowed ourselves away in her
room and came up with a melody. Quite silly, but that was the beginning.
Do you think going from being childhood
friends to bandmates has really changed anything?
CKM: Not really.
We've always had a creatively charged dynamic. We're like sisters, so we're not
afraid to speak our minds. Sometimes we bicker, but ultimately it's very
rewarding and symbiotic.
ER: Nah, we're
like siblings, we'll always be close. Of course we bicker over the music
sometimes but creative challenges are great for any relationship.
As kids did you ever think you would actually
be recording the music your wrote?
CKM: Well, that was
the fantasy, but we kind of lost sight of it as we grew up.
ER: Well it was our
fantasy at the time, we loved writing songs and singing together, but after a
while we both went separate ways, she started modeling and I became a painter.
It's been a delight to return to our childhood dream.
Your website says you wrote songs when you
were younger. What were you listening to when your were writing these songs?
ER: Alison Krauss,
Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Paul & Mary, Reba McEntire, Loreena McKennitt
and Jewel
CKM: Simon And
Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, Lead Belly, Erik Satie and a lot of
classical music.
Are some of the tracks on the album some of
the songs your wrote as kids?
CKM: Most of them,
actually! Some dating back to when we were 14 years old. But I've revamped them
a little.
ER: Several of them
date back to our early teens.
Has your work in GOASTT influenced this
project?
CKM: Certainly, I've
learned a lot making music with my boyfriend, who is a complete museo nerd. But
the new GOASTT electric record will sound very different. It's more psychedelic
rock, while Kemp and Eden is more folk.
Where do you draw influence for your lyrics
from?
ER: Life
observations, dreams and science magazines
CKM: Science
magazines, Nabokov, Paul Simon, my journals, etc....
Why did you guys decide to cover “Sparrow” on
the album?
CKM: Because we've
always had a close connection to birds.... That's how we met, was catching
ducklings. Plus I raised birds in shoeboxes my whole childhood. To this day we
decorate everything with feathers and collect taxidermed birds as well.
ER: We wanted to
cover "Sparrow" in a way that was haunting and memorable. It's one of
my favorite Paul Simon songs, it reads like a children's fairy tale with
characters like the Oak Tree, the Swan, the Golden Wheat, yet conveys a story
of human apathy, vanity and greed. When I first heard it I was reminded of my
mother reading "The Giving Tree" to me as a child, a story that never
leaves you.
Do you think your album has an overlaying
theme?
CKM: Cynical words
with romantic melodies. Young girls coming of age.
ER: Coming of
age musings, storytelling, and hope on the edge of cynicism.
Who are some people you admire playing music
right now?
CKM: tUnE-yArDs,
Devendra Bernhart, Cibo Matto, Nels Cline....
ER: Some of my
current favorites: Gillian Welch, Adele, Rosi Golan, The Cumberland Collective
(a group of singer/songwriters from across the U.S., they give some of the most
entertaining live shows I've ever seen) and all my wonderful roommates of
course!
What’s your ideal live venue?
CKM: The forest. Or
by a lake.
ER: In a canyon
under the stars!
One of the coolest thing (and something you probably noticed) is they
are pretty similar. Even though
they each emailed their answers separately they seem to have very similar
answers right down to the same words.
These guys must certainly have a close relationship to think so alike,
and I think it really shows in their music. Speaking of which I got a to finish this post with some
music. How about an acoustic version of "Sugarcane Sword." Also check out their tumbler, facebook, and website for updates, videos and some pretty cool pictures.
