Interview / Ider: 'We want to make a beautiful sound but we want the content to be real'

By Zoë Crowther, Students' Union Correspondent

After tours of the USA and the Phillipines, Ider are back in the UK. Zoë Crowther speaks to the duo ahead of the the release of their debut album

Recently described by The Guardian as ‘one to watch’ and having recently completed tours of the Philippines and the USA, it is clear that Ider, made up of members Lily Somerville and Megan Markwick, are enjoying their wave of success.

Ider’s sound can be best described as mellow electronic pop, with enough vocal strength and instrumental creativity to keep the pace exciting and memorable. The most striking element is Lily and Meg’s vocals, with perfectly polished harmonies sung against shimmering cascades of synth tones and percussion.

I asked them how to they came together to form Ider back in 2016:

Lily: ‘We met in Falmouth about six or seven years ago. We got thrown into a group together on our music course, became mates and starting making music together.’

Meg: ‘Our friendship is what creates the music, it’s at the core of what we do.’

Their close relationship came across through their performance. It felt like you were watching two friends mess around in their living room, and with casual injections of humour between each song, the atmosphere was warm and inviting.

According to Lily and Meg, their stage presence reflects the way they approach the song-writing process:

Lily: ‘There’s no formula, it’s never the same and it’s really quite chaotic in the sense that sometimes Meg’s written a bit of a song and I jump on board and we start writing bits together or I bring some lyrics to the table.’

Meg: ‘We definitely have our strengths and weaknesses as well as musicians, in terms of the song-writing process. A massive strength of Lil’s is writing harmony and I really enjoy chord progression and rhythm.’

Ider’s songs communicate both optimism and melancholy, with the soothing tone of their harmonies in stark contrast to the unsettling issues confronted in their lyrics. ‘You’ve Got Your Whole Life Ahead of You Baby’ speaks to the indecision and pressure on young people to succeed, and ‘Body Love’ was written in the aftermath of a relationship breakup.

I wondered what inspired them to focus on real-life issues:

Meg: ‘We like to address very brutally honest topics. In our record coming out this summer we’re tackling quite a lot of every day things that we experience as young women today. We want to make a beautiful sound but we want the content to be real and as we know, that often isn’t very pretty.’

Lily ‘That’s what makes a real connection with people. Because our music is honest and vulnerable, people feel like they can be honest with us. Quite often people come with stories or we’ll get messages from people who open up to us which is quite moving. It feels like there’s a real friendship made with people who listen to our music.’

Their first album is to be released later in 2019, which they have been recording for a year. Following their recent international tours, I questioned whether they felt their fan base was growing faster than ever:

Meg: ‘It does feel like it has been building. Our show in Manchester last night was so wild, we’ve never played a headline show there before and everyone was singing along to every single song.’

Lily: ‘And the Philippines were unlike anything we’d ever done in our lives before and it was amazing! We flew straight to LA from the Philippines, so went all the way around the world.’

Megan ‘It’s a totally new fan base. The team over there will push it to the rest of South-East Asia then over into Australia… hopefully it will start the fire.’

Having started out as students, I asked whether Ider had any advice for new young musicians trying to get their music out there:

Lily ‘You just have to keep going.’

Megan ‘You have to work your arse off for the smallest stuff. We have worked so hard and the pay-offs are amazing when they come. Work hard and work to stay inspired.’

Featured Image: Epigram / Zoë Crowther

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