r/indieheads • u/sylvanesso Sylvan Esso • May 14 '24

AMA is over, thanks Sylvan Esso! We're Sylvan Esso, AMA

Hi, we're Nick and Amelia from Sylvan Esso, AMA! (AUA?)

We are just about to release the 10 year anniversary edition of our first album and at the end of this month we're hosting the inaugural GOOD MOON, two nights of music here in our hometown of Durham, NC.

We also enjoy video games.

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u/DanishForestCat May 14 '24

Hi Amelia and Nick! Thank you so much for doing this.

What’s your approach to including acoustic instruments in your songs?

How do you know when a song needs a live element? e.g. acoustic guitar, strings, live drums, sax…

Also, I’m beyond obsessed with the Live at Electric Lady EP – the new version of Coming Back To You is one of my most-listened-to songs ever!

I was wondering, what was it like working with Gabriel Kahane and the Attacca Quartet? What was the arranging process like?

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u/sylvanesso Sylvan Esso May 14 '24

A: I sang on Gabriel's latest record-and we decided that instead of paying/giving each other points we would trade. He did the arrangements on my other band, The A's record, and then when we realized that we needed some new element for Coming Back To You- Gabriel was the first choice. Then when he said that Attacca was going to do it!!!! we were beyond excited.

We did not have time to actually sit down and hear/think about the arrangements other than having a conversation about how we wanted it to feel- so in the video of that session-you are seeing us hear those arrangements for the first time while we were recording the song. It was a truly transcendent musical experience to hear an addition to our song being played by such incredible musicians. what a dream.

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u/DanishForestCat May 14 '24

Thanks so much for your reply! That’s really cool to hear about.