At 19 and 21 years of age, Georgia and Caleb Nott, aka Broods, are the next best thing to emerge from New Zealand. Yes, the hype and success surrounding their fellow Kiwi Lorde and her recent album, Pure Heroine, has definitely put New Zealand on the map for music, but it's the brother/sister indie pop duo that will help keep New Zealand on the map for time to come.
Broods' self-titled debut EP was produced by Joel Little (Lorde, Kids of 88), and reached #1 on New Zealand charts. Their debut single "Bridges" peaked at #26 on the U.S. charts, and was named iTunes single of the week back in February 2014.
What started as a friendly upload of their debut track "Bridges" on SoundCloud to show family and friends has garnered almost a million plays in seven months and media attention worldwide. The duo has recently signed with Capitol Records, and will release their debut album in August 2014.
Broods have recently embarked on a North American headlining tour with multiple cities sold-out well in advance, as well as providing support for HAIM and Ellie Goulding at select shows.
I recently caught up with Broods before their San Francisco show to talk about everything from their quick rise to success to Georgia's writing style that is basically like "word vomiting."
So what do you guys think of all the remixes that are currently out?
Georgia: So cool.
Caleb: Which ones?
Personally, I've had the LDRU remix of "Bridges" on repeat.
Georgia: I love that one too. Yeah, yeah definitely. I think it's because it's quite like a bit more gloomy or grimey? But a lot of my friends are really into that music. It reminds me of being back in high school, and every time we were at a house party that would be the type of music that was going on. So it would just kind of tuck me back to then.
Caleb: It's quite weird for me, because I've never really listened to that kind of music, and then to have your music turned into something that you never ever really have heard before is a bit strange. I really like the Lone remix of "Never Gonna Change." It's a bit weird.
Georgia: Yeah, it's a bit weird, but it's nice that we get a contrasting change of remixes. Some are really upbeat and bringing out the heaviness in a song, or like the LDRU one that sort of brings out the darkness in it, which is cool. That's what remixes do, they kind of spin songs around to have their own vibe.
How did you come up with the names Broods, and what does it mean to you?
Georgia: Well, in the beginning we were really struggling with names.
Understandably, I mean, once you pick a name, that's pretty much it!
Georgia: Yeah, and I think for "Broods" the meaning was short and sweet, and I think it had a vague connection to our family, and being siblings. Also, "brooding" is also like reflecting on emotions, and that's sort of how we write, so that all seemed appropriate for us.
With regards to the sound and direction of Broods, you guys have mentioned that you've dabbled with just about every genre under the moon, and feel that what is on the EP best represents your style and future direction. How did you guys final decided upon the style or genre that we hear today?
Georgia: I think it's the songs that we write about that had a natural progression into where we are now.
Caleb: I mean, we have a lot of stuff that, if you listened to it, you would be like, "Dude, this is not Broods." I mean, there was R&B, blues, a lot of funky stuff, and disco.
Georgia: I guess electronic music was kind of a place that we were interested in being at for a while. For us, there were all these funky tunes that were one-offs, and we kept coming back to this electronic pop, slightly down beat, and very emotional kind of vibe. That seemed like the most natural for us in the end, so that's what we went with.
So you guys connected with Joel Little, which is pretty fucking awesome.
Georgia: Haha, yeah. You can say that.
Obviously, his work with Lorde was very successful. The Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer has also produced your self-titled debut EP, and is now working with you on your full length -- not too shabby. Have you guys learned anything from your fellow Kiwi Lorde, as far as her quick success and fame at such a young age?
Caleb: Well, we've learned a lot from Joel. We don't talk to Lorde all that much, because she's super busy and we're busy. But when we see each other, she tries to give us a piece of advice. Even though she's younger, she still feels like a big sister, at least in the industry anyway. She just kind of just got thrown in it all just like we did, but we're not international superstars.
Growing up in a musically driven family, playing music has always been a passion of yours. You guys both sing and write, and have played in bands. So what took you guys so long to finally work exclusively and create Broods?
Georgia: I think we always had it in our heads that we were going to do music together, rather than alone or anything like that.
Caleb: We kind of just played different kinds of music for ages, like, especially in high school. It was around the last year I was in high school that we started writing original music together, and then it wasn't until Georgia left high school that we became exclusive.
Georgia: When I left high school, that was when it became more of a possibility because we could go out there and get it. Whereas, when I was in high school, I just wanted to finish high school. Although, there was a time in high school where I was determined that I didn't want to stay, and I just wanted to drop out and go do music, but I'm glad I stayed. While I ended up dropping out of university, I just couldn't deal with classroom, rules, and teachers! School was such a formula for me, and I hate formulas. That's why music for me is so frustrating at times, because I am such an emotional writer, that I can't write to a formula. It's just kind of like word vomit that comes out. But that's pretty much why I dropped out of college and pursued music.
Weirdest meal since you’ve been on tour or on the road in the States?
Georgia: We haven't really had anything too weird.
Caleb: Well, I think maybe one time during breakfast. Fried chicken and waffles with sweet potato fries. Well, I've had it before, but for dinner and it was a really small portion. This was for breakfast and it was massive. The portions were huge!
Welcome to America, my friends.
Caleb: I've noticed that you guys mix meats together in meals. Like steak and lobster, it's bizarre. We don't do that at all.
Caleb: Like, leave the sea with the sea, and the land with the land.
Georgia: I mean I can see how it can be good, but we are just not used to it.
Lastly, which song means the most to you right now?
Caleb: I think mine would be "Coattails," still. It's kind of like, just grabbing ahold of success and running with it. I think it will still be relevant in years to come.
Georgia: But it's also kind of like one of those songs that is about making the most of anything, and not just about being in the music industry. I would say the song that means the most to me is one of the new songs off of the album called "Killing You." It's about missing people at home, being away, living your dream, and just trying to balance it all out. But yeah, that's probably the most relevant one for me right now.
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