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London Electronic duo Decades (Anna Straker and Coldabank) announce their new single ‘Want Me Back’ out via Slow Supermarket 1st June. Release follows debut single, ‘Be There’.
We have had the pleasure of interviewing them and this has been the result.
Congratulations on the new single, ‘Want Me Back’! Can you tell us a bit more about the track and the concept behind it?
Thank you. The track started out with a garagey groove and then these lush chords just felt warm and emotional. It wasn’t really a conceptual track, we kinda just created a vibe and the lyrics wrote themselves. There’s a feeling of a message there but it wasn’t thought about.
You worked with house producer, Rules, on the track, are there any other producers or artists you would like to work with?
There’s so much cool stuff going on at the moment. Tsha, Atrip, Salute & Sophia Kourtesis are some current faves we’d love to get in with.
God-tier collaborations would include James Blake, Frank Ocean & Jon Hopkins.
You’re both established artists in your own right, how did the two of you link up and decide on stepping out as Decades, and what are the challenges and benefits of collaborating?
We’d written together for years and become close friends, but in lockdown we did loads of all night sessions together where we developed a new sound. Working together is great because we’re always on the same wavelength, we just have a laugh, muck about on synths and eventually music gets made.
Have you set any designated roles when it comes to making music between the both of you?
We usually begin writing with some synth chords Anna plays on the keys. Jo tends to lead with the beats and chopping up samples, and Anna is amazing at vocal editing and arranging but there’s no set formula - it’s always a collaboration.
How did you find your sound as a duo, and what was that journey like?
A lot of the early stuff we wrote was very pop, even though we both love left field electronic music. The more time we spent in the studio the more honest the music became. That authenticity shone through and it felt obvious that we should release it together.
Can you share a specific moment or story that has had a significant impact on sound, or the band as a whole?
During the lockdown we did some studio all nighters. We got super high one snowy morning and wrote a track called Lie To Me. It felt like a real moment in finding the Decades sound.
What do you admire most about each other when it comes to work?
J: Anna is really patient with me, I’m not the most confident singer or producer but she guides me through the doubt. Other than that her skills on the keys are very special and integral to the sound.
A: Jo makes work so entertaining, if I’m not crying with laughter in a session I don’t wanna be there. Also he has this amazing ability to turn the worst sounding sample into something super cool.
You recently debuted your live set, opening for Jungle at their London date, which is also where you filmed the video. How was it performing the new project in front of a crowd for the first time, and can you tell us a bit about how you prepared in the lead up?
It was one of the best nights of our lives, Anna literally cried tears of joy afterwards. We’d written a lot of our songs with our live set in mind so it felt magical to see and hear our vision come to life. We spent weeks programming in the set and despite some technical difficulties it went so well!
What can fans expect from Decades across the rest of 2023?
More music, more shows, more DECADES
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