Introducing Interview: Nausica

Since forming in 2013, Nausica have continued to work from their home countries of both Germany and the Netherlands, writing and producing their own material.

Skilled in creating ethereal, mesmerising soundscapes, Nausica have just released their new single ‘Black & White’. We caught up with them to find out more…

Hi Nausica, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about the band?
We’re a Dutch-German band, located in both Holland and Berlin and we’re working towards our first full length album, first releasing some singles like this one, ‘Black & White’.

How did you initially get together and start creating music?
We met in Holland. Actually our guitarist and our lead singer were the first ones to make music together, later our drummer Jannis Knüpfer joined, and then bass player Pim Walter. So, basically we started in 2013.

Your new single ‘Black & White’ is out now – can you tell us what it’s all about? Are there any themes running throughout the single?
The title Black & White is based on the lyrics “It’s black & white, boy, the air we breathe” and describes symbolically two different mindsets in form of an ongoing flashback. Conscious choices made with clear memories in contradiction to the typical grey area, where everything you feel and do seems blurry. The chorus could be described as the deep powerful and colourful outpouring of emotions, almost losing the feeling for reality.

You’ve been compared to the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Warpaint, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
We listen to a lot of different stuff, but some all time favorites are Future Islands, Warpaint, Foals, PJ Harvey, Talking Heads and Michael Jackson.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
We are spread over two countries, though we met in Arnhem (Holland), so I think our local scene has always been Europe. We’re not bound to one place. So, of course we see and meet a lot of other bands, but mostly we are going to concerts where we already know someone. I think it’s a very normal habit for musicians.

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
People mostly describe it as very energetic and expressive. I’d add that we have fantastic songs!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
Two bands that we’re big fans of, who also happen to be friends of ours, are Parfum Brutal from Berlin, and Ode to the Quiet, from Holland.

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
Hmmm. Actually it’s changing so fast all the time, especially in the social media world, which has got extremely important over the years to reach your audience. I would say that’s the most difficult thing for us to understand – how it works to get noticed.

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Nausica?
We will release 1-2 new music videos/singles and plans are going towards a full length album, but that depends on a lot of factors, for instance – if we will release it DIY or with a label. We’re still playing some shows in Holland this summer, and hopefully more around Europe soon!

‘Black & White’, the new single from Nausica, is out now.

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Introducing Interview: M.I.

Hot off the back of her latest release ‘Euphoria’ we caught up with East London born DIY, alternative R&B artist M.I. to talk about living in Leeds, being a DIY artist and an excellent list of new music artists to shout out!

And what a pleasure it was…

Welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit yourself – who is M.I and how did it all get started?
Hello! Thank you for having me (or featuring me lol). Where it started…? I’ve always loved the music since I was a kid. Mum played Motown classics all the time. I also went to theatre schools on the weekends throughout secondary school and then I decided I wanted to do it all day, everyday. So I studied music in college then came to Leeds to continue. When I initially started gigging it was under the name ‘Miss Idele’. I enjoyed it but I realised that it wasn’t a true representation of me. I wasn’t a ‘sassy soulstress’ all the time and I got a bit tired of trying to be that at every performance/appearance. So I created M.I.
M.I I would say is kind of a culmination of all the different aspects of me. So she’s got the sass of Miss Idele, but she’s also vulnerable, scared and anxious. With M.I there are no expectations or limitations.  She can be anything or everything she wants to be.

And you’re originally from East London (where GIHE HQ is!), what made you make the move to Leeds?
Yes, E17 all day everyday! Hahaha. I moved because of the choice I made to go to Leeds College Of Music (LCOM). It was a tie between there or Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). As soon as I got to Leeds it felt like a second home immediately, and it helped that three friends from college were coming to Leeds too!

Leeds has a great music scene, do you find it very different to London’s?
The Leeds music scene is great. Lots of talent all around. I have to give a whole heap of praise to DJ Lubi for giving a lot of us opportunities to gig around some of the best venues, line ups and promoters! I do think the London scene is a bit different – the music scene is huge with lots of different things happening. Unfortunately from what I know, I feel like the London music scene is kind of people saying the same thing over the same type of music. Something I really appreciate is coming to Leeds to find my sound and what I like and/or dislike, and what I have to say that can impact, that is honest. Having said that I do feel like the London scene would cater more to my sound than Leeds would. I think Leeds has a soft spot for Jazz, Afro Beats or singer-songwriters!

You are a DIY artist which we respect so much, was this a conscious decision to keep more control over your music? How do you find being a DIY artist?
I’m neither happy or sad to be a DIY artist. I don’t think I can see it any other way right now as I know what I want, I’m very involved in all aspects like the writing, arrangement and production. So, unless the perfect recording contract came along giving me that same amount of control, I’m happy to stick with being a D.I.Y artist! I must say though, it is sometimes easy to be a DIY artist because I don’t see music as a task or job. Sometimes I don’t even see it as a career. It’s my passion so it will always be a part of me whether I become a huge superstar or not. I think the only big struggle with being DIY is there isn’t a big company funding you so you kinda have to find ways to literally DIY, hahaha (sorry, bad joke).

We’re loving the new single ‘Euphoria’ at Get In Her Ears HQ and have played it on our radio show! Can you tell us a bit about the song and what inspired it?
Euphoria!!! The first song I ever wrote. It was surprisingly easy to write despite having never written before and not thinking I could. I just started improvising to an instrumental on youtube and boom! It appeared! I think what helped is that I needed to get something of my chest… I didn’t realise it at the time but writing was my outlet. My inspiration for that song was a guy I liked…! I wrote it as a kind of letter I suppose. We were both dealing with a huge change in our lives and I was kind of writing to myself as well.  Telling myself (and him) to try something new, to escape reality (funnily enough most of my songs became about escaping). I really enjoyed writing it as if it was a breath of fresh air, instead of making it direct which gives it a freedom to mean the listeners interpret it to be.

 

Am I right in thinking you are part of a vocal group called Leeds Contemporary Singers? Who have performed with the likes of Kelis? That must have been amazing!
Yes!  L.C.S!!!  I absolutely adore them! Yes we have! We also performed with Will Young who was one of our mentors on the show! We also got to see Jermaine Jackson, Nick Jonas, Seal and my number one idol CHAKA KHAN!!  Definitely the big highlight of 2017!!!

At Get In Her Ears we’re about promoting and supporting women in music, hoping for a day when people can talk about good music no matter what the artist’s gender is on an equal basis. Do you find as a woman that people label you as a ‘female’ artist rather than an ‘artist’? If so how do you feel about that?
Sadly I think my race is picked up on before my gender. So kind of a double whammy there.  Most of the time, despite my change in image/sound, I’m labelled as a “Soulstress” or “Gospel Singer”. It’s something I really struggled with in University, people just assuming what I do and limiting me to that. Most of the time I got labelled as a backing vocalist. I think a lot of the time people think because I’m a female, all I do is sing and if I play an instrument too an even bigger achievement. But yes I sing, I can accompany myself on a piano but I also write, arrange and produce my songs. I may not be the best producer but I know what I want and it was really hard finding producers who let you do you. I found a lot of producers try and force what they want for you, upon you and ignore when you disagree or try to have an opinion on your own songs! When speaking to male artists, they never seem to have that issue. I think that enforces my being DIY as well as I do not have the time or the patience to deal with it.

What’s 2018 got in store for M.I.?
2018!!  Reclaiming my time, reclaiming my time!!  I plan to ‘snatch wigs’, be the best version of me musically and personally, put in the work and leave the rest to GOD! I want to release a couple more tracks throughout the year and get some gigs in. But other than that, I’m gonna live my BEST LIFE!

Finally as we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d suggest we check out?
New music! I love supporting friends so here is a nice list! I’m mentioning producers, instrumentalists and writers because I think it’s important to shed light on people behind the spotlight – they’re all important too!! Becky Bowe, Loux, Park fires and Luna Pines recently released new singles. The compilation album by Sixteen Records compiled by Lotte Van Den Berg is full of loads of upcoming artists/bands in and around Leeds – Ofure Faith, Dija Bhlue, Mali Hayes and Jermaine Peterson – amazing artists! Chloe Rianna – best drummer I know! Kieran Williams – greatest songwriter I know, he’s written a couple of bops including BBC Radio 1’s Track Of The Week ‘I’m Not Ever Coming Back again’ (I’ve also got a couple of bops coming out with him). Akin Music – he co-produced ‘Euphoria’ and a couple of other tracks of mine, AND he’s opening for Lalah Hathaway in July in Leeds!  Monkey Harper – he’s a producer, he’s got some bops coming out too! And he co-produced ‘Euphoria’ and a couple of other tracks. I could actually go on but I think that’s enough!!!

‘Euphoria’ is out now, check out more from M.I. via her socials – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter

Tash Walker
@maudeandtrevor

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Introducing Interview: Chymes

When I find myself describing a track as “so chill, I can’t even” I know it deserves a solid place on my current playlist, and that’s exactly what happened with ‘Dreaming’, the latest release from Sydney duo Chymes. We caught up with Kiersten – one half of Chymes – to talk about how it all began, Australia’s music scene and what equal billing is really about.

Welcome to Get In Her Ears!  Can you tell us a bit about Chymes and how it all started?
Thanks for having me! Chymes came about when I was writing my own music as a folk artist and needed a producer. I found Cameron through some mutual friends and we began working together. We started to turn what we were creating into something neither of us had explored before. We found we had similar ambitions and decided to pursue them together as Chymes.

So you are currently in Australia… Have you ever visited the UK?  If so do you think there is a difference between the two scenes?
I visited the UK two years ago just before Christmas to see my sister who was living there at the time. I wasn’t there long enough to check out the music scene. However it seems to have a really artistic and creative vibe and in the future I’d LOVE to go back and perform our music and write with other musicians.

Australia (Melbourne especially) has such an incredible music scene, with so many great artists emerging. Would you say there is much of a community among emerging artists over there?
There are some seriously talented people coming out of Australia and it is very exciting! All kinds of music too, which is great. In terms of a community… Not really. From what we’ve experienced, it is hard to get in touch with other artists because everyone is hustling and focusing on their own path. In saying that though, we have made really good friends with lots of people who we’ve met through doing shows and often invite each other back for more.
Also, Chymes HQ is an hour and a half away from Sydney and it makes it hard for us to be properly involved in a community if there was one.

We’re loving your latest single ‘Dreaming’ which we played on our radio show, can you tell us a bit more about what inspired this?
Yay! We are sooo glad you like it. It’s about that euphoric feeling when you experience something that feels larger than life, like coming up with a new idea or falling in love and how you find yourself being whisked away into another world or a dream-like place. It’s how we feel when we make music.


Here in London there is a big movement to promote and support women in music, and increase the representation of women & non-binary people in the music industry. I was wondering what the scene is like in Australia?
We definitely feel like it’s growing. The last festival we played at had a designated stage for ‘female artists only’ which is cool. And there are a few “mini festivals” & shows popping up advertising female only line-ups.

Do you have any thoughts on what we can do to combat these issues in the music industry such as equal billing on festival and gig line ups?
Creating awareness around the value that these people have in the industry. Let’s just pay attention to the fact that a woman’s skill set is just as good as anyone else’s and that’s why there should be equal billing, not just because they are suppressed.

Many people I’ve talked to say that more often than not, being a woman is highlighted over the music you are producing. What has your experience been like?
We haven’t experienced too much of that ourselves. I can see why it would be frustrating because it actually has nothing to do with the music. In my experience, I often find an emphasis on how young a female artist is. Which is annoying! As if there wasn’t already enough pressure on women to stay or look young.

Do you have any plans to come to the UK in the future?  We’d love to see you live!
We would seriously LOVE to but unfortunately there aren’t any plans yet. Hopefully soon!

Finally as we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d suggest we check out?
Omg yes, you MUST check out a band called Refs – my absolute favourite song is called ‘Fools’.

Chymes’ single ‘Dreaming‘ is out now, find out more via their socials Facebook | Soundcloud
Instagram

Tash Walker
@maudeandtrevor

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Introducing Interview: Kid Cupid

Gigging together for over a year now, GIHE faves Kid Cupid have been building a reputation for their joyous, immersive live performances, with headline shows at The Garage, Proud Camden and Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen under their belts.

Now, having graced our ears with the cinematic electro-pop of last year’s single ‘Easy’, they’re ready to release their debut EP. We caught up with Laura from the band to find out more…

Hi Kid Cupid, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and what you do?
Hey there! Thanks for having us, we are a four piece alt pop band based in London.

How did you all initially get together and start creating music?
I wish there was some really profound story like we all met on a life changing rocket trip to the moon but sorryyyy the truth is that James and Laura met when working on a TV show (Jonathan Creek) James was in a band and asked Laura to feature on one of their tracks. Unfortunately that band decided to split up so James and Laura decided to create a new one, joined by a friend Ian and John was found on gumtree!!

Your new EP ​Unholy Ceremony ​is out next month, can you tell us a bit about it? Are there any themes running throughout it?
It is and we’re so excited to get it out there, we’ve really poured a lot into this debut EP. Theme-wise it’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster – it’s based around conversations with a friend in need. The helplessness and the frustration of trying to drag someone you love back from a dark space. Saying that, the main single ‘Better’ is actually a celebration of the person, it’s us saying “if you could only see yourself how we see you”, and I think it’s something everyone can relate to.

You’ve been compared to the likes of Little Dragon and Låpsley, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Such amazing comparisons there and we feel really humbled to be mentioned alongside them! For me (Laura), I grew up with female greats such as Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks, Joan Armatrading, Judi Tzuke (the list goes on), and I feel like I try to harness their amazing freedom/wildness/feminine energy when I write. But as a group we have so many varied influencers and genres, from soul and r’n’b to punk. We are also very inspired by film scores and cinematic soundtracks, so hopefully all of this enables us to blur/transcend genres ourselves.


You’ve previously wowed us with the uplifting energy of your live show at The Finsbury, but would you say there’s been a particular gig you’ve played that stands out as a highlight for you?
We had a blast at that gig so thanks again for having us! We headlined The Garage last year and that was a standout gig for us. The atmosphere was on point, we had our own light show and the stars just aligned! Hopefully that was the first of many to come and we will see you all out on a big old stage again soon, light show and all.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see much live music?
London is just full of talent, we try and see as much as we can. Our favourite is heading into unexpected places and discovering a new band, it’s just magical!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new upcoming bands/artists who you’d recommend we check out?
Check out our friends Bronte and Alesund! We’re also loving Ibeyi, Leif Erikson, Ardyn and Blaenavon.

And how do you feel the industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
The music scene can feel a bit over saturated at times and that can be really daunting/disheartening as a band trying to get noticed. As long as we are having fun and making music that we love, we will continue! Hopefully people can see our passion for what we are doing.

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Kid Cupid?
Onwards and upwards! We are heading to Berlin on June 13t​h​ to play a gig for FluxFM Bergfest, and then we plan to tour the EP and more writing!!

Huge thanks so Kid Cupid for answering our questions! 

Unholy Ceremony, the upcoming EP from Kid Cupid, is out 18th June.

 

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