Emerson likes experimental German electronic music, and Mollie? Mollie just loves Zooey Deschanel.
Those were some of the main takeaways from my interview with NYC-based analog dance music duo ideasforconversations, offering a clearer glimpse into their artistic perspective, at least in the finer details.
The two musicians are opposites in many ways, but that's one of the things that makes a duo so powerful, especially in electronic music, where you can basically make anything happen. It's the beauty of modernity, often abused, but so, so, harmonious when treated with care.
Their first solo EP, No Bad Words, is one such project, both purposeful and chaotic as it moves between manipulated vocals and frequencies in ways that are almost entirely unfamiliar, but still somewhat nostalgic, with a vast sound catalog and truly unconventional ways of fusing together ideas.
No wonder they're booking so many gigs. The city is going crazy for them, and pretty soon, it's going to be many cities.
I was lucky enough to catch the two in a moment of semi-free time, on a video call as they sat in an eclectically decorated green room while waiting for their set to start.
How did you meet?
Mollie: We met working at a sandwich shop/grocery store, that's fancy, everything is too expensive, and they also sell coffee. We were friends who made sandwiches together, and that formed into friends who make music.
When did you start creating together?
Emerson: The music or the sandwiches?
Mollie: You take a ciabatta loaf, and you give it a slice. Just kidding. I was playing a solo set, and I was like, "Emerson, bestie, would you like to play this set with me? We could play a show, it'll be fun." We did that set, and the rest was history.
Emerson: Actually, the first set we were supposed to do didn't even happen. It was for an art installation, and they wanted us to do background synth music. It was the reason we started practicing together, and it got canceled. But then someone booked us for a show a week later.
Where did the name "ideasforconversations" come from?
Mollie: The name started on my notes app where I keep all my lists, like my list of mean thoughts, my list of secrets, my list of other peoples secrets and the rating of how bad it would be if I told said secret, and there was also a list on there called "ideas for conversations," because often I don't know what to say to people when I meet them. Emerson thought it was a good name, and the rest is history, and the future is a mystery.
Emerson: Amen.
Can I see the list of secrets?
Emerson: Even I can't see it.
Mollie: It's named something super mysterious, so even if you knew there was a list of secrets, it's really inconspicuous.
What are your favorite songs from the project?
Mollie: You should guess mine, and I'll guess yours.
Emerson: There's one that you've rode for a lot, which is "honest."
Mollie: I think that's the banger. I think your favorite song is "dwm."
Emerson: I think that's the best song I've ever had anything to do with. My other favorite is "dog" because it's the first song we actually made together, and it was made for a show.
But wait, is your favorite song "needle"?
Mollie: Yes! That's my favorite.
"honest" is definitely the pop banger of the album.
Emerson: That's our Bruno Mars moment.
Mollie: Yes, I love the first line so much. "We were all made handsome and innocent, and if you mess it up it's your fault." Like bruh.
How do you collaborate on lyrics?
Mollie: That one came from Emerson's awesome brain.
Emerson: It's pretty collaborative. There are a couple songs that I had shells of for a really long time, and then Mollie just came in and gave them a brand new life and made them actually good. More recently, we've been making a lot of making, making, making, without demos. It's really fun because it gets super 50/50.
My personal favorite would have to be "14c4" – tell me more about the process on that one.
Emerson: We call it "i for c four," because it's the fourth song we made, and "i for c" is like ideasforconversations. People love that one. People go crazy for it at shows, so we play it last. That one and "krill" are the newest, so we've played those live the least.
Mollie: It's a fan favorite! They go crazy banana pants.
I wish you could see the moment when it's played live. It's so fun to play. Thinking about transferring it into pressing play on Spotify…it cannot touch the heat of that moment when we play it live.
Emerson: It also kind of changes every time. We're just running loose sequences that are based off of that song, so it sounds like it, but we can just sequence the whole thing differently. We can make it longer, or respond to how people are feeling. It's a really malleable one to play.
Mollie: Sometimes Emerson will mess up.
Emerson: Sometimes Josiah will mess up, but Mollie never does.
What has the reaction to the EP been like?
Emerson: At our EP release show, people came up to us and were like, "when is the next one coming out?" Like, what are you talking about?
Mollie: What do I look like?
So, what's next for y'all then?
Emerson: We have some non-album stuff in the works.
Mollie: A lot of collaborative things. Some baby songs that will nurture into fully-formed songs.
Who is your dream collaborator?
Mollie: Your mom.
Emerson: Probably Lali Puna. She's so good, she makes the best melodies ever. Such good songwriting.
Mollie: Zooey Deschanel for me. I love her.
Your first release was a collaborative EP with Branching Out and Holidays in United States–which are totally different sounds from you. How did you get connected with them?
Mollie: That's the scene where a lot of my friends are, and I was in that scene from skateboarding. We would typically close those emo shows when everybody is really sad, and they need to get a little pep back in their step. We make them dance around instead of frown around.
We have closed shows for hardcore bands too, which is so silly. You'd think the Venn diagram of that would be so slim, but in reality, they love it hardcore style.
What does your EP taste like?
Mollie: I think a ceasar salad with grilled chicken. Delicious.
Emerson: Something nice and crisp like that. A spring roll, maybe. It's fresh, we're fresh, it's hearty, it fills you up, it leaves you wanting more.
If you're like Mollie and Emerson, and are hungry for crisp, fresh ideas, stream No Bad Words, available now on your streaming platform of choice.
