iies. On the Making Of “Wings”
What was the creative process like for this particular "Wings?"
Well, our band "iies." is a play on the word "eyes' ' and we pride ourselves on trying to keep the idea of sharing musical perspectives a key factor in the creative process. As you can guess each member of the band has their own viewpoint of expressing themselves sonically; everyone has backgrounds in different sounds like blues, punk, jazz, rock, rap etc. When we originally came up with this tune it was at weekly rehearsal, literally jamming in between running our set like slack offs lol! We ended up having one of those “oh sh*t!” moments where we had to record it on Aidans (our guitarist’s) iPhone to remember how it went. As it developed from freestyling it live and playing with it at rehearsals, each member offered new ideas of what they wanted to hear from it (like the bass solo at the end) pushing ourselves to make something different and new.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for "Wings?"
Funny enough it was pretty straightforward when we decided to finally record it! I say finally, because we played this song live for about a year before ever thinking of hitting the studio to record it. By the time we finally got around to laying it down on wax, we knew exactly what we wanted, which if you're reading this and also making music you know is valuable, especially if you're spending a pretty penny to record at a name brand studio.
How do you feel "Wings" represents your artistic identity or musical evolution?
Great question! I think “Wings” really showcases this band's ability to push the envelope of rap and showcase a different way to interpret the musical landscapes of jazz, rock, blues etc. This is a key element to our artistic identity/mission- we formed this band to play whatever the F*ck we want without the constraints of specific sounding genres, keeping the integrity of what we love to do the most musically. We add our perspectives in this band to make interesting new songs, yes, but it is also to encourage the listeners' own perspective and offer them new ways to perceive the art of music-making within itself. I think “Wings” adds to this musical revolution of blending genres in order to push the culture forward in thinking- to help artists break the mold of how they think they need to “make music” demonstrating the potential of what rap and bands could possibly do together for the future.
How would you describe your musical style or genre?
Yo, the complexity of my answer could be confusing, but to simplify it all has to do with “iies” being “eyes” and us utilizing our musical perspectives to create something new. Our genre is a compilation of life influences all blending together to describe an interesting perspective - we’ve been classifying our genre as: “experimental jazz rap” but really that's just a fancy way of us saying we are experimenting with the forms of jazz and rap but deliberately adding in different ingredients of sounds such as folk, rock, punk, alternative, trap, classical, fusion etc. we plan to impress ourselves along with the audience! Follow us and grow with us if you're reading this!
How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue pushing boundaries in your art?
Understanding that we are all individually unique. We are all beautiful. Our stories showcase the trails of our marvelous formation as beings. Whether rich or poor - black or white etc. there is something to say, leading us back to the point of “iies.” to express sonic viewpoints and blend cultures and influences with the intention of having fun and staying creative. This is something that is limitless once truly accepted because our stories constantly write themselves until we finally take our last breath and even then the story continues through lore and memories. Drawing from this type of creative pot is infinite as long as we stay open to the billion ways to perceive life and music and how it affects us emotionally, politically, and culturally.
