How did you guys meet meet?
Sonja: We have known each other for over ten years, meeting through mutual friends; over those years Heather was an independent singer-songwriter who performed casually around Brisbane. I have always had pianos in varying conditions in the houses I have rented (some have been more in tune than others, some have had more working keys than others), though I had never really thought about writing music for performance. I would write a song on the spot and then forget it five seconds later. About four years ago, we were having drinks with some mutual friends and Heather and I just started writing a very basic song together in their lounge room. A few days later when Heather asked, ‘Remember what you played?’ We went from there. When we put our first pieces together, it was obvious that it was something that we were both going to enjoy. We had a very strong basis for artists that we both respected so it made it easier to discuss what we wanted – putting together my staccato, secretarial-type style with Heather’s ballad style of writing. It took a few more years to find confidence in what we were doing outside a jam room.
What sort of things influence your songwriting?
Sonja: As we often write separately, they are the things that are inspire us at the time, though it is usually the big, deep or dark thoughts that inspire, rather than the happy or bright ones. Usually we are both the kind of people that when we are happy there is nothing that needs to be released. Sometimes one of us will come to the other with music or lyrics, and complete the song together, or there is the odd occasion when we will be talking about something and writing goes from there. We have also tended to write each other’s stories, so if one is going through something and talks about it, then the other usually finds the words around it – like in Porcelain Brothel which is about someone close to Heather, though originally written by me.
Which artists do you most identify with?
Heather: I’m unsure who we identify with, but there are musicians that we both mutually respect: PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Dresden Dolls, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I’ve always been a fan of Johnette Napolitano’s work with Concrete Blonde and also Pretty and Twisted, whereas Sonja grew up as a teenager listening to mainly Tori Amos but also Tool and Primus, so it’s quite an eclectic mix of artists that we have been and still are influenced by.
Where and how did you record your EP?
Heather: We recorded our EP in Sydney in a few different studios: Jungle, Black Wolf and Studio 301. It took a year in the making – as we are based in Brisbane we had to work around everyone’s availability. But I think that was good as it gave us time to really think about the direction where we were going and allowed us time to decide on the different layers and sounds on the EP. Because of the cost of recording (especially not in your home town), you tend to quickly make decisions in a studio, where we had the luxury of bringing home recordings during each process and really listen to what we were doing.
What is the single 21 about?
Sonja: Heather wrote the words to 21. One night when she went out and became disillusioned by the scene I was in at the time, where it was just all about being seen rather than anything deeper, where the people you thought you knew to be close friends actually only cared about what they could potentially get out of you. 21 is about an age when you don’t seem to care so much about those things and are just going along for the ride.
What do you hope to achieve with the release of your debut EP?
Sonja: We hope to get people’s attention for what we are trying to create, just so they can hear what we are doing and hopefully its pricks up some ears. We are looking at heading back into the studio early next year to record our album and have started talking about touring overseas. Our EP has had some good plays and feedback with American college radio, so would probably look at heading there first.
What do you hope to achieve ultimately, as musicians?
Heather: We would both love for people to find a connection to our music in the same way that we find with other artists music. To be able to inspire others to create and get themselves out of the garage like we did. Oh yeah and hopefully being able to earn enough money to keep making music and touring would be pretty damn good.
BY SIMONE UBALDI
