OUR CHAT WITH REM EMBER

Written by Fred Carlyle

Matty Yousa on the Left, Marcus Kech on the right

It was late last year in that limbo stage where spring and summer briefly intertwined together when I found myself in what proved to be quite a unique interviewing experience.

While talking to Marcus Kech and Matty Yousa on the back-end of their first-ever gig with discarded beer barrels opposite the Leadbeater hotel serving as our night's seating arrangement: it was here where I interviewed the duo that comprise the eclectic sounds and intoxicating, immersive prowess of REM EMBER. Throughout the chat, the duo answered my questions to their best abilities despite their evident physical exhaustion. The atmosphere of this almost-midnight interview felt akin to that of a wide-eyed footy player enduring a post-game chat with a reporter;  using their final drops of energy while in the sundown period of their adrenaline rush as to coherently speak their answers into the prodding microphone in front of their face.

it wasn't just these two I found myself talking either as close friends and fellow creatives who contributed to the night's show crowded the main act:  shining their phone flashlights, drunkardly laughing and excitingly interjecting on the two's answers throughout the interview like a group of loyal yet untamed groupies- thus providing me with an interviewing experience that was incredibly nonchalant, casual and altogether incredibly refreshing in candidness and authenticity.

To begin the night, we started things off with the opening acts of Marceline and UGLIEBOY who set the stage perfectly as both their sets respectively provided a hazy, dreamy and hypnotic atmosphere that stuck on perfect theme with what was to come next.

With a theatrical looking stage set consisting of two chairs, a vintage radio backdropped by a red curtain; an announcement over the speaker- which sounded like something you'd hear at an airport intercom- welcomed the headlining act to the show. To explain how this night unfolded, I'd be painting only half of the picture if I only touched on the music. To add a visual element to the sonic experience of their eclectic setlist; the show was filled to the brim with elaborate theatrics that added a wonderful amount of flavour to the entire evening. ​Whether it was the formally suited old man who would monologue and interact throughout the show or the duo of masked dancers who would shift positions like marionette puppets or the interlude of a French singing woman who then erupted into a blood curdling scream or even the person who entered the stage to then be shot; you can hopefully tell by my overwhelmed retelling that this night was something that deemed to be truly unique and spectacular to witness for it’s safe to say that it was as much of a theatre show as it was a music gig.

"Oh my god..." was the excusable, face in hand response that I got from an exhausted Matt when I asked the question of how it was to have played their first gig.  “I’ve never done a show like this in my life" Matt said, "I used to be in a band as a drummer meaning I was kind of in the background so I've never sung on stage or been the centre of attention. This  was extremely out of my comfort zone.” You have to applaud Matt for his handling on his first time at being the 'centre of attention' for this event saw the performer passing the shallow waters altogether as he instead threw himself directly into the deep end. To emphasize the gruelling effort that was put into this night,  Marcus expressed “Man I mean, I’ve played shows before, but I’ll tell ya, doing this style of show was still very new and different to me." Adding on to this,  Marcus said  "doing this style of show- and even though I was very calm, cool and collected- I still felt very nervous ... I had the butterflies but we still did it, even through everything, we still did it.”

 Amongst the many quotes that I could use to exemplify their giddy reflection of the night, here's one of my favourites from Marcus: “Shows come with their hitches, It’s just about getting over them, man. That’s what we did and it made up for a good show, we had great people there. You know my fucking father was in the crowd and so was Matt’s!”. To add onto this sentiment, Matt mused that “For a first show, the turn out was insane. People loved what we were doing and it’s so cool and nice to see that we’re onto something great.”

The band's fresh and excited reflection on this night was one of the most human and organic experiences I've witnessed when chatting to a band. The absolute enthusiasm and sentimental glee that seeped from every word of their retelling of the night was, honestly, just so amazing to hear. What was even more special however, was seeing how the duo owed all of their success to each-other as the majority of our chat would circle back to them passionately discussing the formidable, one-of-a-kind connection and chemistry that they share together.

To emphasize this bond of theirs, Marcus said:  “Apart from the creation of music as well - whether it be music videos, doing this live show, working with others-It’s all 50-50 between us two... One of us may take the lead sometimes but if one of us were to burn out then the other would take the lead and it just works out perfectly.” Matt concludes this best-friend sentiment by saying that “There’s so much unspoken shit that goes on between us two. We just know what to do. We just lock in and know what the fuck the other person is thinking and how to execute it."

Now that we've got a good idea of how the show played out and the effort that was put into this isolated night; I now want to take a moment to dig a little deeper into the album - 'I spend a lot of time in the dark' - itself.  As, after all, this record was the crux of the show and the centre piece in which this whole night revolved around. 

While being a somewhat small listen with a run time of only 26 minutes; the actual experience we get from this album (given it's overall compactness and intense immersive abilities) is something that appears immensely larger and greater than it's deceptively short​ appearance. It's like the Tardis from Doctor Who you know? Small on the out and big on the in. 

So, to introduce us to this record, the opening track  of  'Restaurant at the end of the universe' splices slowed, dub-esque verses with these amped-up, high energy choruses that spout you with unnerving greetings. From the get-go, this album provides an insanely visceral effect on the listener that also caters to the  overall theme of visiting a formal yet off-putting other dimension.

Another reason that makes this album quite memorable is thanks to its cohesive flow. The way in which the songs work off each-other in both tone and energy leaves a satisfying turn out by the time the album comes to a natural end.  A good example to highlight the record's smooth flow is how the reverberating effect of  Marcus’ vocals at the end of ‘Kill the Gods’  then morphs effortlessly into the opening harmony of the ‘X-orcism’.

Another example of the album's cohesive flow and intense immersion is the second last tune, 'Rushing Back'. This predecessor to the closing track provides us with ambient sounds of birds and nature that linger around Marcus' drawn out vocals that, when put altogether, creates an atmosphere that feels deceptively peaceful (at least in comparison to the unsettling edge that almost every other track provides). To end this track, we're given what sounds to be the rushing of water that delivers a song outro that has us feeling as though we're slowly drifting away from life. Then, when the next and final track 'In times when you forget' begins, the previous song's outro and relative ambience is given a stark contrast as this swan song provides the torment of a screaming woman, radio static and behind-the-scenes dialogue between two members that conclude this experience with a listening sensation like as though you’ve got your ear at a door, secretly intruding on a deep, private conversation.

'It was like giving birth... nowhere near as painful though" was Marcus' candid answer to the question: 'How was it to have released your first album?'  When it came to questioning the influences that contributed to this offspring record of theirs; Tyler the Creator's 'CHROMAKOPIA’ and JPEGMAFIA's 'I Lay Down My Life for you' were some of the honorary albums that the band found themselves listening to during the production process. However It wasn't just music alone that sourced the inspiration of this project. As Marcus puts it simply: "We were playing Elden Ring and watching Twin Peaks at the time...  If you listen deep into our lyrics and play Elden Ring or watch David Lynch; the references will be so obvious."

These reflections of their inspirations was rounded out with an appreciation for the late David Lynch from Matt as he said “We made the 'Waiting Room' (which was the band's first single release before Lynch's passing so we dedicate that song and its video to him and his legacy”. On the theme of crediting their inspirations, Marcus also dedicated a 'thankyou'  to From Software (the game developers of Elden Ring)  to which this formal display of gratitude was met with cackles and laughter from the surrounding groupies. 

While the aforementioned albums and activities served a certain amount of influence over the duo's work; Matt and Marcus credited these inputs as factors that contributed to the overall bonding experience that they went through during this process for they highlighted the overall overwhelming sentimentality and friendship-building journey that took place as the primary influence to the album.

Now that we've thoroughly covered the respective past and present of this emerging duo; it's now a good time to look into the future. So what comes next for Marcus & Matt? Well, as it turns out, the duo was in no mood to sit idly by in wake of their first release.  It was only a month or two after I saw them at the gig when they entered the spotlight once again via the release of ‘Boys a Cheetah Vol 1’ in which this first edition of their eponymous  side project saw the likes of Dolemanchild's Dan Blitzman's as a collaborator. 

Aside from this adventurous detour, It appears that we've still got a lot to keep our eyes out open for  as mid this march REM EMBER quickly returned, giving us the something palatable for their limbo stage between albums via the two, standalone singles of ‘Maelstrom’ & ‘Undertaker’

To hype us for what’s to come next, Marcus said "We're going to be really prepping and building up to this second album we’ve been working on... this one's going to be even better than what we've just released." This follow up album - which is said by Matt to be much more loved than the two- is a subject that the two were very enthused and excited to talk about.  As Marcus puts it: “This first album was very much a good freight train to say hello to everyone and the second album will be a great way to say ‘hello, this is who we are, this what we do and this is where we’re going."

The interview was coming to its natural end as the adrenaline that the duo were surviving off was drying up. So, to round out this chat, I probed the two with two final questions, the first being 'why do you make music?'

"Oh fuck" was the reply I got from Matt, as this question seemed to wake the burned out interviewee back into reality. "It's to inspire people" was Matt's second try at an answer; "it’s always been my life goal to inspire people and I’ve seen it happen multiple times now and I’m really grateful to have the ability to do that.” To continue this thought, Matt mentioned that “I feel like if more people were inspiring others, pushing them to go further, the world wouldn’t be in shambles like it is right now. It’s like therapy in that way, I feel like I was never given that hope you know? So I wanna give that to other people, that’s why I make music."

Now, for Marcus' turn to take a jab at the question, he brought the  theme of duality back to the table. "Matt thinks of the audience and wants to bring something to the table that’ll have them go home, think and wonder about it and that's where the duality comes in; because I’m just very focused on getting better as musicians, performers, producers and as entertainers overall." 

In regards to my final question, I asked them one that seemed in appropriate alignment with the themes of David Lynch's legacy, that being if their dreams have ever had a direct impact or influence on their song writing and creative works. The closing answer I got from Marcus and Matt was a response that proved to be not what I had expected and yet it managed to encapsulate the duo better than I ever possibly could. As Marcus put it;  “I’d say honestly that dreams are a great inspiration in subconsciousness but we can’t undervalue what we do when we’re conscious. Matt and I work really hard and I think that honestly our inspirations come from him and I being together, working together, seeing each other all the time. Just enjoying the games we play the movies we watch together, the music we make, even when we’re just fucking around, it’s all a part of it.” 

To reword it, Marcus concluded our chat with this: “I’d say our dreams don’t play a big part into what we do. What we do when we’re awake, when we’re alive, that's what's most important, that’s what we remember.” The wordplay at the end here was met with cackles and snickers from their surrounding troupe.

You can find REMEMBER on Instagram here

Photo Credits: Unjail.nerdish, princess.of.preston, banjo.hennessy,