Star Power Vol.34 by NYOTA Magazine

[NYOTA

MAGAZINE]

STAR POWER

BROODS Vol ume 34

from the editor HELLO THERE, READER! In this Star Power issue, we got to chat with siblings Georgia and Caleb Nott, who form the musical-duo BROODS. The group, which hails from New Zealand, talked to NYOTA about their new album Space Island. We also have a quick chat with singer/songwriter Ryan Wright about her single "A Dream I'll Forget." As usual, I hope you enjoy reading the issue and that it inspires you to go after your dreams.

YOURS TRULY, Carol Wright EDITOR IN CHIEF @_CAROL_WRIGHT

contents 1. Editor's Letter

4. BROODS Playlist

5. Star Power: BROODS

9. BROODS Top Picks

11. Quick Chat: Ryan Wright

#StarPower

#NyotaMusic

BROODS Playlist Rita May // Secrets Out

Sam Evian ft. Kazu // Next To You

Gorillaz ft. Little Dragon // Empire Of Ants

Onono

Kazu //

// Luv Me 2

Adult Baby

Astrud Gilberto // Dindi

Jai Paul // Jasmine

Air // Sexy Boy

Solange // Cranes In The Sky

Ted Lucas // Carry It All

#StarPower

BROODS Interview by Carol Wright | Photography by Sam Kristofski

Georgia and Caleb Nott made their breakthrough as BROODS in 2014 with the release of their hit single “Bridges” and debut chart-topping album Evergreen. Now they have released their fourth album Space Island, an introspective work that examines grief, loss, and heartbreak. BROODS talked to NYOTA about their collaborative process, escapism, and creating relatable music. You grew up in a musical family. When did music go from a passion your family shared to a career the both of you wanted to pursue? Music was always it for us. We have extremely supportive parents that helped us work hard for it but also encouraged us to stay just delusional enough to keep believing it was possible. When we left high school it became a lot more real, though. We signed with our first manager and started writing the first EP with Joel Little. It happened quite naturally because it was all we did or thought about for so long. Take us back to the beginning of BROODS. How did you two land on the name and do you still remember the first song you created that made becoming a musical duo seem real? We had a song we knew we wanted to release, but we didn’t have a name. Coming up with band names is a fun game but when it comes to committing to one we were quite avoidant. So when we had “Bridges” up our sleeves we just had to jump in and our manager suggested we call ourselves Broods. I don’t think either of us were prepared for what would happen next and how long we would end up identifying as Broods. “Bridges” began to rack up plays on Soundcloud and a couple of months later we were signing a record deal in LA.

Who are some of the musicians that inspired you or influenced your sound in those early days? I was listening to a lot of Laura Mvula, Frank Ocean, and Lana Del Rey. Caleb was listening to a lot of British indie rock bands like Bombay Bicycle Club and Two Door Cinema Club. We’ve always had quite different tastes in music and it has meant we’ve brought very different influences to the studio every time. Now you’re releasing your fourth album, Space Island. Has your collaborative process changed in any way throughout the years? I think we’ve become a lot more involved in the process. Now that we’ve had a bit more experience in what is involved in the broader creative process we’re able to take the reins a little more. We also have a much bigger musical and overall creative community around us now. We’ve been mostly just working with our friends throughout the whole process which has been really fun. I think it also cultivates a safe place to be extra honest and vulnerable.

#StarPower Did the pandemic play a large part in the escapism aspect of Space Island? We’d actually written most of the album before the pandemic hit. Only “Days Are Passing” and “I Keep” are products of the pandemic. It’s kinda funny that the themes of Space Island have grown and evolved to mean so much more through the pandemic. I think the pandemic definitely influenced the visual aspects of it, though. We were watching a lot of vintage sci-fi at the time and it felt like an apt metaphor for grief. Escapism being a big part of the grieving process, we could see the world experiencing it, and it felt more important than ever to make the world of Space Island. Walk us through the creative process behind the music videos for “Piece of My Mind,” “Heartbreak,” and “Like A Woman.” Did the two of you come up with the concepts and walk Director Sam Kristofski through your ideas or did Sam have a certain vision of how to tie things together visually after hearing the songs? We had a very big and different vision for the Space Island film. We knew we wanted to build a story that carried through every video but it evolved a lot as soon as we got Sam involved. He has an incredible gift of making amazing and beautiful things with whatever resources he has and in the middle of a pandemic, we had to be clever with our limitations. We ended up making the most of it by shooting at these insane natural landmarks on the South Island of Aotearoa. The places we were going would usually have been swarming with tourists and the closed borders left the environment eerily empty. That was perfect for Space Island. We basically just drove around for two weeks with a camera, a bunch of film, and a plastic coffin and found Space Island within our lonely little country. It was a really special experience.

Is there a certain song on Space Island that you think truly embodies the energy and essence of what the album is all about? Not really to be honest. With an album all about loss and grief, there are a lot of different emotions to cover. The record has a pretty eclectic selection of songs because the experience of heartache is an ever-changing landscape. This is an album to be listened to in its entirety.

Do you see each album as a time capsule that captures the ups and downs of particular periods of your lives? Oh definitely. I think I’ve learnt so much from those songs years later too. They’ve triggered memories and feelings and reminded me how much we’ve both changed and learnt. It’s like looking through a giant photo album but with your ears.

#StarPower One thing that’s clear from Evergreen to now is that your music continues to be universally relatable. In “Mother & Father” you talk about losing that feeling of security after leaving home and in “Piece of My Mind” you talk about how it’s futile to run away from your problems. When working on songs are you thinking about relatability or do you think writing lyrics based on your own lives helps to bring that authenticity to your work? Music has always been how I process my own life but it’s definitely also my way of reaching out to people. Of feeling like I’m contributing to the world. I have noticed as I’ve written more and grown up a bit, that when I’m really writing for my own comfort and sanity, that’s when I connect most with others. I know that what I feel is not specific to me. There are billions of people in the world and it’s easy to forget that. It’s easy to feel alone and like your worries and struggles are a personal attack on your life. That’s why I think music is so important. It gives us all a place to meet and feel things together and remember we’re a part of something bigger.

What advice do you have for aspiring musicians? If you play music, you’re a musician. If you write, you’re a writer. We are all born little artists in some shape or form. Just keep connected to that and have patience with yourself. And know that doing it for the sake of doing it is the only thing that makes it sustainable. The reward is in the act of creating. Everything else after that is a bonus.

#StarPower

BROODS

TOP

PICKS

Book:

Fashion Trend:

The Wild Edge of Sorrow BY Frances Weller

Therapy?

Movie: TV Show:

Surfs Up or Sister Act

High Maintenance

#QuickChat

Ryan Wright Interview by Carol Wright | Photo Courtesy of Ryan Wright

#QuickChat

We got to have a quick chat with singer/songwriter Ryan Wright about her single "A Dream I’ll Forget" and how writing has always been a part of her life. Have you been performing from a young age? I have been! My dad is a musician and also my co-producer and I started performing alongside him from the early age of nine. I’ve always been drawn to being on stage. Even before I started to sing and write, I would wander up on stage to sit next to him when he’d perform. Did you write poetry or short stories prior to writing songs? I am very much a lover of English and used to take all the English classes and APs in school. I was actually on my school newspaper staff and tutored kids in writing at school. I love writing. I have done a lot of poetry in the past, but I definitely tend to write short stories more. I have so many little stories on my phone that take up all my storage.

Who are some of your musical inspirations? I grew up listening to a wide variety of music, coming from a blended family with excellent taste. My parents definitely raised me on all the good stuff from the eighties and nineties, but my grandparents from Texas-raised me on Phil Spector era sixties and doo-wops as well as classic country artists like Willie Nelson and Glen Campbell. Rickie Nelson and Roy Orbison as well as the Everly Brothers and Connie Frances are big inspirations for me. I also am very much influenced by The Cars and The 1975 and my favorite band of all time, The Killers. My dad too. He taught me everything I know about songwriting and I love that bond I have with him. Being in this industry can be difficult and hard to navigate and my dad has really been my best friend and biggest inspiration through it all.

“A Dream I’ll Forget” talks about the realization that a relationship might not have been everything someone thought. What inspired the lyrics? I wrote the song pacing around my bedroom two weeks into quarantine. I had been going through some drama and had a ton of bottled up emotions and unresolved problems that were too confusing to sort through and prior to that I felt like I was living in this dreamlike state where everything was perfect and good, but underneath the surface, there were issues and things that I was ignoring because I hated the idea of something so good actually being bad. The only thing I could compare it to was when you wake up and can’t remember your dream, but you have the gut feeling it was good. It’s like the worst feeling of bittersweetness. The lyrics have a bit of yearning and desperation for that surface-level happiness, but also the realization that the melancholy will still be there when you wake up from a good dream that wasn’t real. There is a dreamy, ethereal quality to the song. Were there any particular influences when it came to how the song sounds? I loved the show Euphoria at the time and the soundtrack to that show was very synth-heavy and dreamy. I wanted it to take the listener on a trip. I’m not even completely sure what made me use fireworks I recorded on the 4th of July as a backbeat, but there was something that just clicked as soon as we distorted them and popped them in the mix. What advice do you have for aspiring singers? I would say to stay grounded with what you feel is right for you as an artist and don’t let anyone tell you what kind of artist you have to be. 12

NYOTA Magazine STAR POWER TEAM EDITOR IN CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER

CAROL WRIGHT

WWW.ISSUU.COM/NYOTAMAGAZINE

CAROL WRIGHT

HTTP://NYOTAMAGAZINE.COM

COVER MUSICAL DUO

BROODS

CONTRIBUTORS PHOTOGRAPHER

PUBLISHING

Sam Kristofski

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