photography ALEXANDRA CARR
realization GIULIA CAUTI
makeup and hair JENNY SAUCE
using MAC COSMETICS
There is definitely something about NYC kids. Their unabashed nonchalance makes them inevitable ambassadors of cool; seed that with a resonant je ne sais quois and what will blossom is BEAU. Heather and Emma have been jamming since middle school – fostered by an artistic upbringing and backed by effortless talent. Raw delicacy, pure contaminations and grounded dreams are dichotomies that come to mind while twirling around the flora of their tunes. We caught up with the girls on a crisp afternoon around Tompinks Square Park, NYC.
Special thanks to KALEIDOSCOPE PR – NYC, MODE PR – NYC, KRUPP GROUP – NYC, MISSONI, our Editor-in-Chief VALENTINA ILARDI, and our Editor-at-large DANIEL AREA WAKAHISA
How did you arrive here today?
[Heather] Took a cab, I guess. [laughs]
How did you start making music together?
[together] In middle school.
[Heather] Emma always had impeccable music taste, since like age 11…
[Emma] Well, I have an older brother who showed me a lot of music…
[H] … and I knew nothing about it and I just remember always asking ‘What are you listening to?.’ We went to a pretty creative middle school in Greenwich Village.
What encouraged you girls to start making your own music?
[H] There was a guitar class that we joined for, like, a day and it was very lazy and laid back. I don’t personally remember a lesson ever happening – it was just kids playing guitar.
[E] Definitely not theoretical stuff!
[H] Yeah. Emma lived very close to the middle school – so we’ve always go hang out there after class. Her mom was always pretty supportive about whatever we wanted to do … we didn’t even mention to her that we had joined a guitar class.
[E] We said right away that we wanted to start a band…
[H] It was very playful. And then her mom went and came back with two guitars.
How did you understand that this is what you wanted to do in life?
[E] I don’t think we understood it – we just did it.
How do you feel about being from NYC – and specifically, being raised in the Greenwich Village? How did it influence your creative process?
[E] I don’t know how it feels to be oppressed in a creative sense, because I never was.
Did you grow up seeing many other artists around you?
[E] We always went to art galleries…
[H] Our parents are artists, so I think even if we hadn’t grown up in the West Village – I always remember being engulfed in some sort of art with thought and motivation.
Does music comes first to you, or lyrics?
[E] It changes every time.
[H] Normally I have a feeling and find a melody that best shows this feeling. Words come later. That’s my normal routine but I’ve been trying new things… sometimes, nothing will happen, it would just be a boring month, but, say, a lot of politics go on, you know, or I see a lonely man on the street or such, and that would start something. But when I get really mathematical about it and try to be more ‘intelligent’ than I am, I get disappointed because I start pushing myself … although it is a good challenge. I realized it while working on our second album. I think you can evolve with that.
Do you have a favorite venue or show that you played at?
[H] So many, but there’s one that stood out to me. We used to play in Paris a lot – we have a great fanbase there, we lived there for a while and travel there a lot. We never really played a big venue there (it was mostly little events or festivals) and then we finally played this one show in this pretty big venue. It was after terrorist attacks in Europe and went back there to play shows. There was this power and energy on stage, playing for everyone … we didn’t expect it after what happened at the Bataclan, we kind of assumed that no one was going to show up – instead everyone showed up, and there was this amazing energy … it was super special, I will never forget.
[E] It was an all-female artists festival, too.
[H] We have played at a lot of really incredible shows, and we’re always nervous at all of them – no matter how big or small they are.
[E] We like playing in New York, a lot. Knowing people in the audience is nice. I like the venues ‘Berlin’ and ‘Baby’s All Right’ – awesome places.
Do you dream of any ideal collaborations? Or think about expanding your creativity in any other way?
[E] Writing, painting… anything.
[H] I’m obsessed with gardening – everyone should have their own garden: it brings you back to think on your roots and where you feel grounded. I’ll definitely love to collaborate with someone like Ravi Shankar, someone who’s very spiritual and connected to their instruments… kind of like how gardening is. I always feel very spiritually and creatively inspired and connected in gardens, no matter the size, because oftern you don’t get that in the city.
Do you totally like being city kids or would you have rather been from somewhere else? Do you feel lucky to have been raised in city like NYC?
[E] Luckiest person in the world.
[H] Super cool to be here. I feel like the more I travel, the less I feel like a city kid – that feeling of coming from a specific city in another country always feels weird. Anytime we meet cool people I’m never like ‘oh, I’m from New York City’, usually I just say it really low, if they ask… it’s apparently really rare to be born and raised in NYC.
[E] We’re rare [laughs]
