If you're in Wellington and not living under a rock, you're probably well familiar with Eyegum Music Collective. The collective started out in late 2014 throwing house parties, and have since put on dozens of all-inclusive events featuring artists from around the country and the globe - in all manner of venues. One of the collective's latest ventures is the weekly Eyegum Wednesdays held in partnership with local venue San Fran. Last week's show featured Upper Hutt musician E N T (Nathan Taare) alongside sound artist LAFIDKI (Saphy Vong), who hails from France/Cambodia. Eyegum volunteer Jess Nicholson had a chat with the pair following their Wednesday night jam, to dig a little deeper on what makes them tick...
So guys, ENT and LAFIDKI, tell me a bit about the sound you make and what inspires you?
N: the sound I make currently is kind of drone mixed with samples that I’ve recorded around the world in my travels. I kind of improvise about 90% of my set. I’m inspired by society. I love art and I treat music as a form of healing for myself.
S: Uh, my music, I don’t know… It’s a mixture – It changes every year. This year I’m inspired by my travels as my life is a bit nomadic. I’m really into a lot of industrial stuff and noise. In the beginning it was really ambient…
How do you like the Wellington music scene? How do you think it could be improved?
S: This is my second time in Wellington. Last year I played Valhalla, which is a metal club; I wasn’t expecting it, but I ended up playing with some very talented artists - T.A.B, Brandon Sayring and, Mischancerie. It was a really great gig.
N: I love the music scene in Wellington. I like that there a lot of “outside of the box” people. It’s really alternative...
S: I think musicians here take more risks...
N: Yeah, and I think the venue situation is good at the moment. In saying that, it’s hard to run a bar these days and I guess that’s like, a political thing, and maybe that filters down to us as artists and not having anywhere to play – and that’s what I’ve really loved about Eyegum and its “anything but a venue philosophy”. I think Wellington is great. I love it.
Saphy, you were born in France but have spent most of your time in Cambodia, what brings you to Wellington?
S: This year I am going to do a job residency in Dunedin until mid-May and then I will go to Auckland to start a new project with a friend as a duo.
Nathan, you recorded your EP CENTRAL COMPLEX in Mexico; what were you doing over there and did the culture of the country affect the sound you produced?
N: It definitely influenced the sound. I had always wanted to go to Mexico and I had an opportunity to go and do a lot of recording there. I was lucky to have a bit of equipment with me so I could record. I spent a lot of time finding sounds and audio, and I was recording a lot so I used them on my record and now I use them live - I’m lucky to be able to trigger those off on stage. It’s pretty turbulent in Mexico, there are a lot of clashing things and that really affected the sound. I guess it was quite dark in a way.
Tonight both of your visuals were provided by Lady Lazer Light, how do you find working with her and her art?
S: I used to make my own visuals, I don’t anymore and I really like her work.
N: I’ve worked with Erica for a couple of years now. I’ve been a fan of her work since her days with Thought Creature - we started doing stuff together and now she’s always happy to come do visuals with my music and we work really well together, so, I kinda improvise and she kinda improvises and it all forms one really cool package.
Now for some serious questions; what are your favourite breakfast foods?
S: Woah, uh, this is basic. Okay, I have two. Mostly fruits and yoghurt, but there is also 'joke' from Thailand, it’s like a rice porridge with meat and pepper and stuff.
N: I love congee. It’s like uh, similar to what Saphy described. It’s a Chinese rice porridge. You add things like coriander or soy or chilli… I love that.
And last but not least; do you prefer plain socks, patterned socks, or no socks at all?
S: [Laughs] It’s funny because in Cambodia it’s very hot so we don’t really need socks. Now that I am in New Zealand I don’t have enough socks… I’ve worn the same pair for a while now and they’re plain.
N: I’m a big fan of bare feet, but I when I do wear socks they’re definitely patterned.
Here's the mind-melting video for 'Tamales' from E N T...
And here's a clip from Lafidki for 'I'm the Matador and You're the Basketball Player' from his split with Orphan Oliver...
Head over to the Eyegum Facebook page to stay up-to-date with Eyegum Wednesday parties. This week they are hosting Goya and Maple Syrup, head over here for more details.
You can catch Lafidki tomorrow 23rd March at Re Fuel in Dunedin, and then Thursday 24th March at the Darkroom in Christchurch. See below for details.
Photo by Duncan Gibson
