Gritty, distorted sounds collide with 1980s aesthetics synth arpeggios and manipulated vocals which capture that “everything is falling apart” feeling. Beauty and decay coexist. Read our discussion below to discover the ideas, influences, and creative process behind the track.
Describe your sound in 3 words
ŌKUBI: Melancholic, Atmospheric, Evocative
Cholly: Questioning, Feeling, Exploring
Everything Is Falling Apart is an incredibly heavy, evocative title. How literal is this concept for both of you? what is the main idea behind it?
Cholly: When I was sent the instrumental draft for the track, I really liked the fragmented sound. It reminded me of the feeling of walking on eggshells, and how sometimes the tension just builds and builds; you are left with no choice but to keep doing what you’re doing because it’s the only way out.
ŌKUBI: The track always started with this “end of the world” feeling, with crumbling, distorted, yet electronic percussion, disturbing bass patterns and building towards destruction. Cholly brought her own lyrics and an incredible vocal performance, haunting and ominous.
Your sound explicitly avoids being tied to a single genre, how did you and Cholly establish a shared musical vocabulary for this project?
ŌKUBI: I’ve always felt that the most prolific artists don’t chain themselves to genres, but keep a thread of consistency, for me, creating an atmosphere that resonates with how I’m feeling or my sound is more important than conforming to a strict genre. I think Cholly and I actually have a similar background (we actually went to the same college, a few years apart!), I’ve been a fan of her music and style for ages, and I think she similarly doesn’t keep herself confined to a specific genre.
Cholly: Genre has never been a focus for me during my creative process. I just can’t approach music that way. I just find melodies, sounds and lyrics that work with how I feel, or how an instrumental makes me feel if I am collaborating with somebody else.
You blend old-school hardware like reel to reel and cassettes with modern sound design. What is it about the unpredictability of tape character that draws you in, and how does that analogue imperfection shape the emotional atmosphere of your music?
ŌKUBI: In a world full of high-polished records (and AI-generated songs), I think being able to inject some analogue character and tape distortion can help to inject a bit of randomness into my sound. I also spend a lot of time on making my own synth patches, drum machine processing and other effects to try and build a signature sound set for each song.
Cholly: I think there is a place for very polished music and sound design, but I often gravitate towards music that has a bit of imperfection/warmth/saturation. I have had issues with perfectionism and since letting that go, making music has been a lot more enjoyable, I feel free in creativity, and I feel that imperfection is a bit more human.
In which place or state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
Cholly: With this track in particular, I think possibly somebody who is stuck with a creative process, or somebody that needs to make a decision.
ŌKUBI: Ohh a tough question..! Potentially when they’re struggling through hard times or feeling sad?!
Artists and people that have influenced you?
Cholly: Enya, Four Tet, Lydmor
ŌKUBI: Massive Attack, Bicep, Jean Michelle Jarre, Boards of Canada, Snakes of Russia, 65daysofstatic, Björk
Your favorite most trippy, mind blending, atmospheric groove drop you wish you had composed yourself?
ŌKUBI: I think Bjork – Hunter, is an insane piece of drum machine programming, a wicked groove and vibe!
Cholly: I find this one quite difficult to answer to be honest. I listen to so much music all the time and favourites vary based on whatever mood I’m in at the time. I also don’t tend to wish I had composed anything myself when I hear it. I am probably overthinking it. When I think of trippy, mind blending and atmospheric though, I would consider Finality by Sleepnet, Cost of Living by Rikki G.Godd, CCTV by Julia-Sophie and Fantas by Caterina Barbieri
One thing not many people know about you?
Cholly: I guess a lot of people wouldn’t know that I am vegan. It was easy to adapt to the plant-based diet because I hated cheese. I have also moved around a lot and spent part of my childhood in Texas.
ŌKUBI: I was a bass player in the Progressive Death Metal band Stone Circle, oh, and I have titanium bolts in my feet!
Thank you!
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