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New York City duo Jack and Eliza have been on the grind, they are currently gearing up for the release of their debut EP ‘No Wonders’, which is expected to drop later this summer.
On top of the highly anticipated EP, they have already created a stir with their single “Hold The Line”, and as buzz builds GroundSounds had the opportunity to chat with the duo that features radiant bouncing vocals, check out our exclusive interview below.
For those just discovering you guys can you tell us a little bit about growing up as childhood friends and how you two started to collaborate on music together?
J: We met through mutual friends way back.
E: I played drums in a band that Jack sang in during the hallowed middle school days but we only started to collaborate on songwriting around 2years ago.
J: after a lot encouragement from mutual friends
E: We actually weren’t even friends at the time! The idea of writing music with anyone let alone someone who wasn’t my friend sounded very daunting at the time.
Can you tell us a little bit about the creative and writing process for your track “Hold The Line?”
J: Our songwriting process is entirely collaborative. Occasionally, one of us will come in with a chord progression or melody, but other than that, we really do write everything together.
E: The lyrics for Hold The Line were written right after I finished reading Grapefruit by Yoko Ono so her phrasingthe conceptual, game-like, instructional lines were definitely our minds.
What is it about 60s psychedelia that inspires your music?
J: For me, I like the almost hypnotic aspect of psychedelia. That’s not to say that psychedelic music cannot be grounded in reality or that it
can¹t be about real things; it’s just that I feel it distances people from their reality and brings them into a place where they can all mingle. That, to me, is so cool.
E: I agree with Jack regarding the trance-y aspect that the music can bring you into. The music has this way of feeling extremely intense but simultaneous light, free. I’ve been listening to a lot of William Onyeabor a lot lately. His work captivating. I¹m also very inspired by the way vocals parts are layered and produced in 60s psychedelia.
What do you guys enjoy most about NYC?
J: If you¹ve seen photos of us on our Facebook or Instagram pages, I’m sure you could already guess this, but my favorite thing about NYC is the food.
E: Jack is a sinner. He does Instagram food. I love walking around neighborhoods I’m not familiar with. I love to go to the museums. I love Neue Gallery.
What has it been like working on your upcoming debut EP ‘No Wonders’?
J: Working on the EP was an amazing experience. We recorded in the dead of winter at Gigantic Studios in New York City, and there were snowstorms galore, so we were basically trapped in the studio.
E: Chris Zane produced the EP and Billy Pavone Engenieered it they were amazing to work with. Chris has the best sense of humor.
J: Chris took the songs essentially for what they were when we showed them to him. That’s exactly what we wanted for our first EP.
E: The production became mainly about getting the perfect sounds out of our instruments, the amps, the mics and less about the arrangement or the adding of other instruments.
Can you tell us about working on your track “Secrets” and bringing it to fruition?
E: Secrets was pretty inspired by earlier Beatles music, songs like This Boy, If I Fell.
J: I remember going to Eliza’s house (our usual rehearsal space) one day, and Eliza saying something silly like “Lets write a song with an old soul.”
What was it like on the day of the video shoot for “Secrets?”
E: The video was directed by an amazing film/photography duo Wiissa (Vanessa Hollander, Wilson Phillipe). They work with film cameras and have a very old vibe aesthetic that fit perfectly with what we envisioned for the Secrets video.
J: We filmed in Montauk in late June. Vanessa and Wilson are insanely talented and fun to work with.
E: Filming the video felt like we were reliving the perfect summer day in 1973. We had a whole group of friends in the video. I’d do it all over again.
What do you guys enjoy most about performing live? What goes through your mind when you are on stage?
J: Personally, I have an easier time communicating with people onstage than I do through any other medium. I’m sure that sounds cheesy, but I don’t know how else to put it. I love performing.
E: It always takes me a moment to get comfortable on stage. It’s funny because now that Im trying to think about what goes through my mind I can’t really recall. It’s strange. I enter a void I guess. Hmm.
After the release of ‘No Wonders’, what will be next for you two?
We’ve been writing a lot of songs. We’ll see! Who knows. I guess it depends a bit on how the EP is received. Back to college in the Fall and arecording full length perhaps! The future is unwritten.
[…] Interview: Jack + Eliza "Hold The Line" with GroundSounds […]