Today, LA-based duo More Giraffes released their debut self-produced EP, It Was A Joke.
Comprised of college friends and LA-transplants, Mark Hadley and Keeley Bumford the duo craft an enticing hybrid of pop sensibility with electronic production that challenge the current climate of contemporary pop music; truly pushing the envelope.
The 5-song EP, It Was A Joke, includes two previously unreleased tracks “AOP” and “Cloud.”
All 5 of the songs feature More Giraffes’ signature unabashedly pop and synth-heavy electronic production. Highlighted by anthemic vocal melodies, playful instrumentation and pop-centric hooks their music is poised to make some serious noise in 2019 and beyond.
Most notedly, their singles “Basement,” “Dinosaur,” “Not Cool” and latest collaboration with MELVV “Heatwave” have already received praise across the blogosphere. All of which, are electronic pop tunes influence by the likes of MIA, Santigold, MØ, Tune-Yards and more.
With a slew of upcoming collaborations and releases on deck for the new year, there is a good chance you’ll also be hearing more from buzzing duo in the near future.
Stream their It Was a Joke EP below and also check out a brief Q&A the two did exclusively for the Casablanca Sunset blog earlier this week. Enjoy!
Casablanca Sunset: How did More Giraffes form?
More Giraffes: We kind of wrote these first 5 song as this new endeavor. Mark created a few instrumentals a year and a half ago and we started writing to them and the entire intention was to have fun and find a different artistic voice in what we were doing already working on music professionally, composing and songwriting on separate projects.
Initially, we didn’t think too much of it when we started out and it was nice to do a light heart experiment as a fun outlet. So we wrote these 5 songs and showed them to a few friends and they got excited so at that point we actually considered making it a project. It was a happy accident!
CBS: Your music really sounds like a hybrid of pop and electronic production technique. Was that style the goal you had when you staring creating the music? Or did you find your sound along the way as opposed to maybe starting out with it already in mind?
MG: No, I think it was relatively deliberate. We don’t really listen to EDM but we both love synths and we love production and really admire well produced music. Given the nature of how we create the music, it’s very computer-based and sampled-based, and we’ve recorded everything ourselves. The instruments that we have around us have really manifested the sound that we’ve created.
Speaking more to your description of the pop aspects, there’s definitely times that we listen to the pop music of today and often are often underwhelmed by it. And we sort of feel like we could bring something new and interesting to the table in that format or at least parallel to that format.
We both have our other artist projects that we do that are not centered in the pop-sphere at all. So we kind of wanted to intentionally have a pop project that wasn’t ashamed of being pop but was also trying to challenge some of the formulaic things that pop leaves us feeling underwhelmed with.
No shade!
CBS: Mark – What other producers influence your sound and style as a producer?
Mark: I think for this project in particular, Diplo is probably the biggest production influence.
As an individual outside of More Giraffes, I’m influenced by a lot of cinematic, ambient, electronic type stuff like John Hopkins, Tycho and things that kind of lean more instrumental. I mean really Keeley and I are co-producing all of it though.
Keeley: We draw inspiration from artists like MIA and Santigold. That’s always been like an immediate inspiration for it especially in the tone of the vocal production and the general vibe of the character singing the song.
CBS: So how would you describe your music to someone that has never heard it before?
MG: Pastel-pop or chill-pop. It’s West Coast. It’s got some future in it but also kind of like MØ and TuneYards combined. The electronic elements of Diplo’s production in a MØ song combined with the organic chantry gang vocal tendencies of TuneYards or MIA.
CBS: What are some new acts you’re listening to right now?
MG: Still Woozy, Jerry Paper, Tierra Whack, Peyton and everything on the Insecure Soundtrack.
CBS: Any plans for the new year?
MG: Shows in LA, hopefully touring next year and a lot of new music! We’ll probably put out some new collaborations in the first part of the year. We have so many new demos right now that we’re stoked on. The process of releasing music can take a long time sometimes and it takes a lot of patience. We wrote these first five songs around a year ago and feels like a really long time ago. We’re excited to release this EP and more music to come!
Thanks, guys! Really excited for you both and look forward to big things to come from you both in the future.
For more on More Giraffes be sure to check out their website.