With the pressures of study and work on their shoulders, South African born Donna Arendse and novocastrian Riley Warren still find the time to cut EPs and play for their fans. Performing as RILEY & DONNA, the pair infuse two backgrounds into one, combining the warmth of soul and indie folk. Being compared to the likes of Boy and Bear, there’s no wonder this twosome have collaborated with like-minded musicians to echo their unique sound. DEMI MITCHELL caught up with Warren prior to their EP launch to talk on their recording efforts, recruiting and the Newcastle music scene.
First of all, congratulations on the completion of your second EP. Are you all ready and rehearsed for the EP Launch? Should we be expecting some special guests to be joining you on stage?
Thank you!!! We have been rehearsing and it sounds nice, heaps excited to show everyone what we have been up to! It’s going to be a great night, Anna Milat, Dan Southward and JSmith & The Kids are supporting, each of whom we admire. We do have some special guests playing with us, but all will be revealed on the night!
How long did your second EP take to record? Were you able to take some lessons learnt from recording the first EP into the studio the second time round?
The second EP is a collection of songs written last year. We already had the songs, it was just the case of developing them and making sure we explored every aspect of them, mainly through playing them live. So the recording of the songs only took about a month. I feel we have definitely grown a lot since our first EP/demo two years ago. We had never recorded anything before that first EP, and felt a bit daunted by the task. This time we both knew what to expect in the studio and all the little bits that go into a release.
The challenge was trying to meet our own expectations. Going into developing and recording the songs, in your mind you have all of these crazy ideas and “wouldn’t it be cool if we had this instrument in it” but then putting these into reality is a whole different thing, so at some point you have to just say “this recording is where we are at right now”. It’s a snapshot of who you are musically. What we release now is different to what we released two years ago, and it will be different to what we do in two years time.
Since following Riley & Donna on Facebook and Twitter, I can see that you’re both very busy people juggling study and multiple jobs. What tips can you give on finding time to write and perform music amongst a hectic lifestyle?
Yeah, it’s really hard! I guess it’s just about prioritising, and knowing that part time jobs come and go, but you’re only ever at a musical ‘place’ once. In terms of study, it’s good that both of our degrees relate to music/production so in that way they are beneficial.
I noticed that Riley & Donna have recently recruited some new members and that you’re no longer just a duo. What’s changed since expanding the band?
It just a lot more interesting with more people! We started playing two years ago, just as an acoustic duo. It’s taken off a bit as we have been adding friends who play other instruments to our line-up. It really just takes our music to a different space, gives us room for more dynamics, build ups, etc. At the moment we play with James Chatburn (electric guitar/vocals), Brennan Fell (bass), Jess Watt (drums), Shannon ‘Basil’ Byrne (trumpet), and Jake Graham (saxophone).
Is there a designated songwriter in the band or do you share the role around quite easily?
We both have some level of input in the songs that come out, mainly one of us will have an idea and the other helps with lyrics.
I know from personal experience that the Newcastle music scene is a hard nut to crack. What advice can you give to up and coming songwriters and musicians on making the most of the venues we do have?
Definitely just to keep playing shows, network with other artists and release music. It is quite hard to get people interested in your stuff, but the more you gig / tour / release, you’re bound to get your music out there to more ears. Newcastle does have some great venues like The Lass, the Great Northern, the Cambridge, Lizotte’s, it’s definitely worthwhile playing at a lot of them to find out where you get a better reception and appreciation.
Do you think that the Newcastle music scene is slowly blossoming? What would you like to see happen in the near future for original music in Newcastle?
To some extent it is evolving, but I think more needs to be done. More ‘pop up’ style of gigs would be good to see. We have some pretty great old buildings hanging round the CBD, that aren’t really being used. The good thing about those types of gigs is that for the most part, the audience you get will be there to really listen to your music.
As a duo, you two have a contrasting sound where hints of soul meet indie folk, in a unique and complimentary way. Do you share similar inspirations and influences or is it a case of different tastes in music coming together to create something new?
We share a lot of the same tastes in music, but we come at it from two different backgrounds. Donna has more of a soul influence so I guess that’s where the mix of indie folk/soul comes from. Having said that, we are only just starting out in the music scene and are still playing with different sounds/styles. It’s definitely a work in progress, as it should be.
What happens next for Riley and Donna? When can we expect a debut full length album?
Well, after releasing this EP, we are having some time off to write/develop our sound. I am shooting off to the UK for 6 months from October, so our last gig this year will be at Fat As Butter which will be great! We are touring a bit in the next couple of months and after that it’s just a case of whatever sounds we come up with will dictate what we do. If one of us is really excited about a particular set of songs or an idea we’ll go with that. You never know what’s around the corner.
Finally, where can we find the second EP from Riley and Donna after its release?
All over the World Wide Web! ITunes, through Facebook, sold at our Gigs!
Riley & Donna release their EP this Saturday, May 18, at The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, with support by Anna Milat, Dan Southward and J Smith & the Kids.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZKMUtRu3z8