Argy + Mama Interview

Argy + Mama are the techno garage duo brought together thanks to his production and her vocal abilities. Successful in their own right, they have created a blend of modern house and early UK rave vibes, which can be heard on their new album, ‘Dominonation’. Here, they divulge what makes them tick and where they plan to take Argy + Mama.

How are you today?
Mama: Jolly good, thanks.
Argy: Discombobulated. That extra hour in the spa threw me off for the rest of the day.

Whereabouts are you at the mo?
Mama: I’m currently in Berlin for the month, taking it easy after a busy December touring. I’ve just discovered Game Of Thrones so that’s keeping me indoors a little bit more and out of trouble.
Argy: I just came back from a short vacation in Denmark and Spain. Ready to start touring again and back to the studio, of course.

Have you been up to much this week?
Mama: It’s been an eventful week with celebrating our album release and Berlin Fashion Week. We’ve been doing a bit of press and had our first live radio interview together, covering subjects such as Tantric massage, Argy’s undercover MC skills and our time in Berlin. I also sang songs from my solo album ‘Dreams of Liberty’, at a Bobby Kolade Fashion show in Halle Am Berghain so I feel totally honoured to have performed under Berghain’s roof, or the “Techno Church” as the Berliners call it. I really had to pinch myself.

So we’ve heard the album, ‘Dominonation’, which has just dropped, what’s the response been like so far?
Argy: I think not many people were expecting such a turn in my sound. But they are all very much excited about the chemistry we portrayed through this project with Mama. A lot of people said we reminded them of some of their favourite bands without sounding like we were copying them at all. I am not mad at that, that’s good.

There seems to be so many different genres and influences coming through… What did you both want to put across with ‘Dominonation’?
Argy: Obviously a lot of ‘90s imagery, sonic influences and general aesthetics, but not in the way it’s been done before with all these house music revival projects. Our angle is more rave and almost strictly British, apart from Mama’s US R&B influences, which are mine too. I personally took a lot of inspiration from pop bands such as Soul II Soul, Massive Attack and some Hacienda-time acts.

You’ve both had successful careers in your solo projects; when and why did you decide to start working together?
Mama: Thinking back, I think it was Argy’s master plan because he reached out to me a few times on Facebook in 2011 or so asking for vocals for his solo album. It took a few years before we actually got in the studio together though. Initially I sent him about 50 of my acapellas that I never got round to using and he created the music around the vocals that he liked which is how ‘Recluse’ and ‘Staring At The Wall’ were made. From that moment in 2013, we decided that we would make a good team and started working on tracks from scratch. We both work fast, we both have drive and we both get a kick out of making impersonations of people for a laugh. It was a creative match made in Berlin so to speak. Wait till you see Argy’s impression of Liam Gallagher – genius!

There’s a real two-step garage feel that comes through with tracks such as ‘Without Me’ and ‘Deep Found Vibe’. Did you want a reminiscent feel to the album? Was it conscious?
Argy: Absolutely. There’s been a big garage/two-step revival in the UK; the whole post-dubstep movement was very much around that sound. But I find that many producers are going for that Burial soundscape rather than MJ Cole for example. I personally wanted to make less electronica references and work as I would work on a proto-house album. I didn’t want to over-intellectualise things, just write solid songs people could connect with.

Then ‘Bones’ has a really dark edge to it; would you say the album tells a story, and if so what is it?
Mama: I started the track ‘Bones’ in my bedroom on a late cold winter’s night in Berlin. I remember singing quite low and deep so I didn’t piss off my landlord who lived above me. I was trying to express the feeling of proving my love to someone who didn’t quite believe it. That was the vibe I was trying to capture, but it wasn’t quite there yet until Argy took over in his studio and brought it to life. This for me has been the theme of the album where Argy sprinkles a bit of sunshine onto my dark lyrics and makes it fun and uplifting. For example, with ‘Whoami?’, the lyrics are actually quite sad, but with Argy’s beats underneath it now, it feels really empowering to me. We’ve got the Yin and Yang vibe going on.

Mama, you’ve worked with Kele, and Argy, you’ve done minimal tech; where would you both say your influences have come from musically?
Mama: My biggest influences have been the sounds of Dr Dre, Tricky, Massive Attack, Björk, ‘90s Mary J Blige, The Smiths, Grace Jones and sounds of acid house and UK garage. Anything dark, raw or real.
Argy: What Mama described is pretty close. I mean if it’s not Mary J for me, it’s Maxwell for example… There must be something thought beyond influences, some kind of sonic atmosphere/mood which we both agree on, which makes our studio time and song-writing easy. I haven’t found the word to describe it yet.

There’s a strong London sound to the album and it makes us think of hearing it in places such as Corsica Studios and Lightbox, or maybe even fashion week. Did London feature at all as an inspiration?
Mama: I’m a born and raised South Londoner so ‘nuff said.

So you’ll be touring ‘Dominonation’ with a live band; how will the music transpose to this?
Mama: We’ve been experimenting with the live show since October 2014, testing out the tracks in different settings. We’ve now got ourselves a festival set with an acoustic drummer, Argy on machines and me on vocals, and a show with live vocals performing our dancier tracks and unreleased house and techno exclusives for the big floors. Basically, if we were invited to perform at a bar mitzvah, we’d have an appropriate set. We’re on it.

Where will you be hitting up on the tour?
Mama: We’re beginning this year with some promotional gigs at Boiler Room and Beatport live sessions followed by club gigs and festivals in the Summer. Argy and I have a lot of fun on the road so we hope to do as many dates as possible.

Argy + Mama ‘Whoami?’