UNDERHER Interview : Montreal Electronic Duo Talks Authenticity, Dark Vibes and the UNDERHER Effect
UNDERHER aren’t quite like any other electronic act or band, and they’re happy to keep it that way. Two entirely different musical backgrounds and an international outlook means the duo can’t help but carve their own path.
Jessica Abruzzese and Kalden Bess met through a mutual friend in 2015 and things instantly clicked. Kalden was looking for a singer to work with, and Jessica (who had been singing for years) was looking for something new. When they got in the studio to experiment together, they wrote two original new tracks together the very next day and the rest is history.
Their sound is very particular and distinctive; it keeps evolving without losing the uniqueness of it. Sensual, cinematic, dark and evocative. Distributed through their own imprint IAMHER, their first EP called ‘Inside’ was released in October 2018 and was closely followed by ‘Dark Souls’, and ‘Mercy’. The pair’s unique sound caught the ear of Netflix executives, and has been featured in Danish series “The Rain”, Spanish series “Elite” and Italian series “Baby”, to name a few.
The uniqueness of the duo doesn’t stop there: UNDERHER developed their own uniquely immersive and engaging live sets, which is mesmerizing to watch : one of the things that characterize the UNDERHER effect.
Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and chat a bit before leaving on tour. As soon as you both met, it simply clicked musically speaking, and it’s easy to say that your style definitely has set you apart from the start. What made you decide to head towards this creative direction that is a darker, more eerie vibe than the tropical EDM/pop we are hearing nowadays?
K: I always had that vibe in mind when creating music and I was looking for someone to complement that, so when I met Jessica, it was a direct match.
I instantly can tell that Massive Attack was an influence for you guys. Any other major ones that contributed to your unique style?
K: A lot. (laughs) But yeah in R&B, there’s The Weeknd, for sure.
J: There’s also Radiohead, I have to say. For their vibe, it speaks to me.
You remix a lot of dope artists and really give it the UNDERHER vibe, but for your own material, do you come up with the beats first or do you start with the lyrics? Tell me about the process.
J: Normally he lays down the track and then I do vocals but it can vary. Sometimes, you pick up a snippet of a vocal and work a beat around that inspiration. We had tracks that worked that way.
K: Sometimes she sends me a bunch of [lyrics] ideas that can’t be done in one single track so we keep that and whip it out later when needed. It’s good to have a bunch of ideas because it sparks something here, something there, and we’re very open and diverse musically, so it helps.
That’s definitely obvious that you guys are doing something different and original, so much so that it caught the attention of Netflix who picked up your music for different series. That’s a huge deal. How did you feel when it all came about?
J: We are up to 7 now… which is crazy when you say it out loud! (laughs) Different series, different languages. We tend to have a very dramatic sound and I think that fits very well television and movies.
Did you ever see your music in that light? Did you ever think it would fit cinematography so well?
K: Yeah that was one of the first things we said to our manager, that in the future we want to do things with movies, we want to mix images with music; it’s a good combination.
Well that means you guys are very aware of what your music can do, how it can make people feel, because some people just see an opportunity and decide to change to meet that opportunity. In your case, it was already planned that you wanted to dabble in soundtracks.
J: We are imaginative with our sounds, we always have things that pop into our minds when we listen to our music. It’s a type of music when just listening to it you will picture something. Guaranteed.
K: It’s dreamy basically.
Because of how your songs are build, do you plan your live shows? Do you decide to a fault what will be played or you go about it based on the vibe of the crowd or the venue?
K: The tracklist has to be set because we have two different vibes of show. Concert shows where people are here to listen to you, and club shows where people are here to just party. So we don’t have the same process when preparing for both. It’s all about the vibe. The UNDERHER effect.
J: People read your energy right so as long as you are chilled and laidback, people are gonna be chill with it.
Speaking of live shows, how was Picnik Electronic? You guys played the closing show of summer 2017 which is an awesome slot.
J: It was amazing, it was one of our first gigs. It was the closing one too, like you said, so it was packed. It was crazy. We had just came back from tour so it was a nice way of finishing off the whole thing, plus it was in our hometown. Insane.
I think it’s very telling when your sound travels internationally and is well received across different continents. You’ve performed in Dubai, Germany, Lebanon, India and the UK, to name only a few. Why do you think people enjoy it so much no matter the culture?
K: Honestly, guys like it because it’s dark and girls like it because it’s sexy. It’s not cheesy.
J: It’s the right amount of masculine and feminine you know? It’s not too forward either; it’s read-between-the-lines music.
You’re playing at Ile Soniq this year, it’s a pretty big deal. I think it’s great to have darker tones and different styles playing at those festivals because it offers that crowd a huge array of artists to discover.
K: Totally. We are so excited, we love playing festivals. We believe our music will be liked by all types of people, even the ones that are into the more commercial EDM songs.
J: It’s going to be dope. When they see us live, it changes everything. It really does. It’s the connection we develop live with them that’s very valuable. Going into the crowd before and after a performance is so important to us, we love talking to others and just share that we’re humans that love to feel connected. That also is the UNDERHER effect.
You guys did support big names on tour and have been remixing awesome artists, any names in particular you want to perform alongside or collaborate with in the future?
K: A lot of artists we wanted, our manager made it happen so we can’t complain!
J: We’ve opened for 3 of them just this last year! At this point we are open, whatever comes comes. We appreciate so many artists from all different genres that it’s hard to pinpoint. I’d love Moderat but they don’t tour anymore.
Busy is an understatement when talking about your project but what would be the next goal ideally?
K: Right now I’d say release the album, we have so much good music ready to go. It’s a great problem to have! For a live act to change their set completely like we do, it’s not easy. People in Montreal come see us every month or two so we need to have new material to present them with, and so far we can say that we have done that.
That’s one of the things that definitely set you apart, and your fans seem to really connect with your vibe judging by how fast your fanbase grew. I’m sure you connect with them through social media but is there another way you do it too? For example during your live shows?
J: We’re very approachable, we’re social creatures for sure but we also do this for the right reasons and I think people can sense that. We love meeting everyone and talking but the main thing is that when we play live, we are very interactive with the crowd. We don’t shy away from connecting… and say funny things on the mic! When we’re done performing we always go and chill with the crowd, we never go back to our backstage and just stay there.
Do you recognize some familiar faces already?
K: Yeah there are some and it’s very cool to see them. They look like they enjoy it every time so it makes us happy.
INTERLUDE | LIGHTSHOWS, FAN ENCOUNTERS, UNRELEASED MATERIAL
Just released : April 2019
Tame Me / Jungle Of Tarzan EP
This latest EP follows on from a succession of equally exquisite releases from the duo, a recent collaboration with Booka Shade “Chemical Release”, and remixes for heavyweights such as Moby and U2. The band continues to impress music supervisors with their cinematic sounds, with International synch deals continuing to stack up.
RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
Indoor or outdoor venue?
K: Indoor for sure.
J: Indoor too. The intimacy, the more chances people are going to get into it and get lost in the moment.
Favorite city to perform?
J: Berlin. The vibe in Berlin is unreal. Everybody understands you, you don’t have to explain yourself over there, or your craft.
K: I agree, Berlin. Music is totally in them, since they’re young and it shows. People are there for the music and that’s all.
One thing you love about the music industry and one thing you wish could change?
K: One thing I don’t appreciate is people that are not true to themselves. You see a bunch just being sheep. But sometimes it works out for them for a period of time, but it will never be long lasting. You can’t build a full career based on someone else’s identity. They don’t take the time to create something and I think it’s very unfortunate.
J: What I love about it, I’d say the welcoming feel of the industry. The openness is awesome. People in this industry are very open to the type of sounds they want to hear. The support is there and it’s beautiful to see.
An artist or a song that people don’t expect you to listen to?
J: We listen to a lot of rap, people don’t really think about that genre when they listen to our sound but it’s a big inspiration.
K: I like French Montana, we listened to Unforgettable every day, it’s just catchy. But… like 7 rings by Ariana Grande, I was jamming in my car, no lie, without knowing it was her at first! (laughs)
Montreal being a food capital, favorite cuisine or dish?
K: Asian food. Hands down.
J: I like sushi a lot. Lebanese and Italian food are at the top as well.
Links : Soundcloud & Facebook
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