Overmono: These Beat Making Brothers Could Be Your New Electronic Music Obsession
Call it fate, Overmono feel like heirs to the UK's greatest electronic duos.
Their names are Ed and Tom, like the Chemical Brothers, but they're not strictly British like Bicep, but actually brothers like Orbital and Disclosure.
Mix all these bands together and you get close to their sound, which combines the old techno, garage and rave music of the 80s and 90s with the gritty vocals of modern masters like Fred Again... and The Four. nipples
Already billed as "The UK's Next Massive Dance Duo" and "Best Live Artist", the buzz is starting to spread overseas as Overmono headlined the US, Europe and, earlier this year, Australia.
They create the kind of dance music that sounds just as good in headphones as it does on big speakers in front of a raucous crowd (as they did at Coachella and Golden Plains).
Their first full-length, Good Lies, has been a welcome development for those who have followed the duo's long line of EPs and singles, but it's also the perfect introduction for newcomers.
From the throbbing of "So U Kno" to the faint hum of "Is U" and the title track, they evoke different eras of dance, creating their own soundscape that expands into abstract ambient ("Vermonly"), dancehall dark ("Cold Blooded". ")") and something of a twisted neo-soul remix ("Walk Thru Water").
Shifting seamlessly between blast and emotionality, Good Lies thrives on its contradictions and choppy, time-stretched vocal samples that bless upbeat beats and frenzied club energy with incredible emotional acuity. It's a steep tightrope walk where the bitter taste softens the ups and downs.
"We've always been interested in the space between," says Tom Russell's older brother, Double J's Karen Leng.
"You can hear it differently on different days. All our favorite music just makes you feel different emotions at different times, it's never really defined."
Ed Russell , Overmono's younger brother, says: "There's a lot of interesting places between the more obvious extremes of emotion. But that's life, isn't it? Always between different things."
"Careful, you're already going in deep," Tom interrupted with a laugh.
This is a moment that symbolizes the couple's deep family bond.
Origin of Overmono
The pair took their name from Overmonnow, a suburb of the rural South Wales town of Monmouth, where they grew up. Separated by 10 years and divorced from their parents, Tom and Ed Russell still shared a deep love of music.
They grew up watching rock bands hang out in a local pub after recording at nearby Rockfield Studios, the iconic venue where Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody and hosted everyone from Iggy Pop to Coldplay to Oasis.
"I remember when Liam Gallagher got kicked out of Naga Head," says Ed.
"I remember how we all called him names as he walked down the street," Tom grinned mischievously.
“We've always seen big bands: Oasis, Black Grape, whatever. But we never got into it. We loved electronic music."
There wasn't much of a scene going on in Monmouth, so Tom started his own.
“I had a sound system and I took it with me to an abandoned quarry or the forest, away from everyone,” he says. "At one point, I started taking Ed with me when I thought he was old enough, but looking back, maybe he wasn't old enough."
They also "played" making homemade beats in mock competitions organized by their sister Lydia.
"We went to my mom's for Christmas and at the kitchen table we recorded melodies on a laptop: 'Try to compose the best melody in 20 minutes'..."
Eventually they both moved to different parts of London and started their own solo projects. By the 2010s, Tom was creating powerful techno, most successfully as Truss , while Ed was playing breakbeats as Tessela .
The pair even had a club hit in 2013 when Tessela released "Hackney Parrot" on his label, Poly Kicks.
The success lasted for several years.
Although they've been working together for many years, Overmono officially began when the brothers booked a writing space in a cottage in remote Wales in 2015.
This would not be the birth of a new project. "For us, it was almost a cleanse," says Ed.
“We both felt a little stuck in what we did separately. In a way, it was a strange break: we were looking for a bunch of gear, speakers, mixing console, whatever. We were making music and it was like a cathartic experience."
Tom adds: “It was great. We emailed the owner ahead of time and told him this is what we plan to do... set up a little studio and make some noise. He said: “Okay, there are no neighbors anywhere. "they will bore the owls."
At the end of the trip, they had over 12 tracks left; "More music than either of us have ever written solo."
As they listened to their recordings on the way home, surrounded by green fields, they realized there was something special about them. A year later, they signed to Ed's childhood dream XL Recordings and released their first EP, Arla .
Both brothers admit there's a delightful paradox to how long it took them to realize their alchemy is stronger together than apart.
"Honestly, I don't think it's one of those mysteries we'll ever solve," says Tom. "We talked about it for a long time, but never came to a final conclusion..."
"It's so simple that we don't think about it, which sounds so stupid," adds Ed.
"We weren't looking for a lot of dance music..."
Good Lies is already considered one of the best electronic releases of the year, but ironically Overmono isn't necessarily a fan of the format.
"Honestly, I've never really been into dance music albums," admits Tom.
"Of course, I've always been into dance music, but when a techno producer or someone else says, 'Oh, this is my last album,' I'm usually like, 'Uh-huh, I don't think I'll do it.' annoying. I don't want to hear the same club music in album format."
He and Ed didn't listen to much dance music while writing and recording. We really wanted to make an album of songs".
Rather, they were inspired by the "fearless creativity" of American rappers (who are revising the name of Kendrick Lamar's cousin Baby Kim) and their "whatever" approach to the album format.
"They seem to have a lot of ideas to fit into an album," says Ed. "There might be three or four switches within a single track, but somehow it all works."
These influences show in the hip-hop groove of the first "Feelings Plain," the way "Arla Fearn" drops the beat at the climax, or the "amazing piano break at the end of "Skulled," notes Ed.
"And I'd say, 'Maybe we can combine it with one of the other songs we've done .' Just make him completely rethink what we did on the pitch."
The most distinctive element of the album is the richly produced vocals, which Tom credits only to Ed.
"He's a master at defining a vocal pattern and knows how to manipulate it and cut it."
You can hear it in the way Overmono transforms and often elevates the source material, highlighting British-Algerian artist Mira May's stacked harmonies with bass undertones on "Feelings Plain" or that St. The panther's watery eyes twisted. abstraction with the theme "Walking on water".
More impressively, "Is U" turns English singer-songwriter Tirza's "Gladly" into a melancholic two-step moment of insight as Ed cooks.
"All of a sudden it comes off the speaker and you're like, 'Man, he hit me,'" he explains.
"We've listened to Tirzah's amazing album [2018 Devotion ] hundreds of times already, we were cooking and then we heard this song and ' all I want is you' and suddenly I had an idea."
“We knew we wanted to do it all with one battery because there are only two teams at this track. That's a lot of tunes - grab a piece of gear and see how far you can go."
Meanwhile, "Good Lies" engages Norwegian artist Smerz in an exciting and dynamic cycle that has become an "important part" of the album's sound and style.
“Eddie sent me a demo and I was blown away when I first heard it. "Yeah, it's a killer track."
Dogs and dance music
The Doberman has become something of a mascot for Overmono, appearing in his work, music videos and live videos. What about fixation?
"We love Dobermans, they're great dogs," Ed replied. "There was a big press-dj culture with two dogs, pit bull terriers and rottweilers, chained up and walking away... It was kind of a press genre in those days." for a long time".
It is also about breaking the stereotype of German dogs as hostile, military and police dogs.
"Almost every time you see them in any situation, they're poking their ears and wagging their tails, which they shouldn't," explains Ed.
"We just made these dogs turbo-aggressive, but they're actually really cool dogs, so we thought, let's show them how they should be."
However, her love for Dobermans does not extend to owning a dog.
"That wouldn't be fair given the tour schedule we have now," says Tom. "It's pretty hard for me to take care of myself most of the time."
In fact, many good lies were created along the way after "playing at 3 o'clock in the morning or whatever," says Ed. "Tom and I lay in bed together in a hotel room and just worked on tailoring."
Even his remix of Ed Sheeran's hit 'Eyes Closed' was done "while we were on tour in Australia, sitting in the back of a car". It was fun, but stressful."
bat brothers
If you are Russell Bros. without live, the question can be guessed.
Their performances, accompanied by a spectacular performance of galloping Dobermans, create breathtaking tension. They tease their partners and hang up before performing the classic body shake spots; blur synthetic-looking highlights before rinsing and repeating. Or, as Ed says:
“I feel like you want to get to the point where the wheels seem to fall off. But it doesn't, and you achieve what you're trying to achieve."
Overmono's live performance, like discovering their chemistry as a duo rather than working alone, is a product of cultivation and learning.
The brothers' early concerts consisted of "free techno, quite improvised". It was very chaotic and taught us a lot about the logistics of playing live,” says Tom.
“There was a time when we would redo every show and completely redo it. We changed the whole crew, we changed the whole structure of the set... It taught us many, many pitfalls: what to do and what not to do. prevented."
While maintaining the ability to adapt to size and space, they have become slim and low tourism units.
“Eddie has his own business, mainly playing drums. I play synthesizer. It's not exactly exclusive, but that's how it works and makes it so easy."
Based on his current reputation as the next great dancer in British dance music, it definitely works.
Listen to Karen Leng on Double J Monday through Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. on Double J. Or listen anytime on the ABC listening app.
