Q: Each track blended seamlessly together and your vocals are so angelic! What was the inspiration behind “Glad I Met Ya”?
Lily: Glad I met ya was really an experiment of self-expression in a different form if that makes sense. We were trying out a different songwriting approach and I was trying out a different theme for my lyrics. I wanted to write something a bit more political and edgy while being thoughtful, reflective, and non-aggressive/confrontational. I wanted to show I could write about more than just love and daydreams.
Rowland (Co-Writer): Musically my inspiration was my new Prophet and its Rhodes-Esque sound which the original demo sound is the one on the finished record
Q: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one song or album to listen to, what would it be?
Rowland: the original mix of Axis: Bold as Love that Jimi left in a taxi.
Lily: Aaah that’s such a good question!! Maybe an Ep that Rowland actually introduced to me called My Friend Dorian – Nick Dorian, Shibo.
Q: Even the greatest writers can battle with creative blocks at times, how do you deal when there’s a lack of inspiration?
Rowland: I used to write constantly and if I didn’t feel inspired I’d work on the craft- take a melody from one song I like and make it fit over a chord progression I like for example. But now I’m happy to wait until a song calls me.
Lily: I don’t really try to fight the blocks. I just let it pass, as they always do. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop being creative during this period because more often than not, I need to express myself and I need to let something out, which results in me getting back into the rhythm. So yeah, I guess I use the blocks because they show I’m not doing/expressing something I’m meant to be doing/expressing.
Q: Do you play any instruments? What’s an instrument that you would like to learn?
Lily: I play a bit of piano and I’m learning bass and guitar but I’d love to be able to play the double bass. They’re just about the coolest thing in my books. Or maybe the saxophone, so I can shred out some juicy jazz solos.
Rowland: I wish I could play the violin, maybe next life.
Q: What is your personal favorite song from the EP and why?
Rowland: Maybe Glad I Met Ya – the only one here that I initiated, and Lily’s vocals are just superbly emotive.
Lily: I hold them all very dearly and don’t think I’ll ever be able to choose one in particular, but at the moment Penny and Cupid are my top two. Penny, because of how empowered it makes me feel, the halftime drums in verse 2, the organ in the bridge, and the backing vocals in the end chorus. Cupid, because of the shivers it always gives me on the bridge. The harmonies are warm and emotive, and they envelop you in a bubble of sound.
Q: Now that your EP is out, are there any tour plans or other projects in the works?
Rowland: Probably a few stadium tours and I’d like us to reignite the medium of hip-hop opera.
Lily: We’ve definitely got some exciting plans for the future – including the hip-hop opera reignition – so you’re just going to have to keep your eyes peeled for those👀.
Interviewed by Alina Tran
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