Q+A with Natasha El-Sergany of somesurprises
This is it. My favourite album of 2024 so far. Perseids by Seattle-based somesurprises.
Like a laid-back magic carpet ride, somesurprises take you from dawn to dusk through heart and mind with Perseids and safely return you from space to Earth. I expect to spend the coming months of summer with this one. It's kind of a rare thing to commit yourself to an album for an extended period – or for an album to command your attention for months. Perseids seems prepared for the task though, ready for lazy hot or cool rainy days and whatever else summer, at least here in northwestern Europe, throws my way.
I caught somesurprises lead Natasha El-Sergany just as the band was heading out on a tour of the US for the month of May. Initially enamored with the 60s pop and easy psychedelic sound of "Be Reasonable" and "Bodymind", it was this very tender moment of Natasha's vocals in "Ship Circles" that later struck me. It's mood is dark and on the edge but deep into the album. Somehow the dark dissipates as the album proceeds, but not before briefly descending into the spectral freakout of closing track "Perseids". Curious about lyrics and the album's song order, I asked Natasha a few questions. She kindly answered from the road, which I can appreciate might not be the easiest thing! Maybe having your own pillow on tour makes more than imagined possible?
While I look forward to what more somesurprises will do, Perseids is an album worth spending some time with and somehow that feels right and good and against the grain of constant consumption of what is new or next. Which albums have hit you in such a way?
I’m curious about “Ship Circles”. The words, if I hear them correctly, “I might not make it to the end, let’s just see if I sink or swim…” are haunting... and that high point your voice hits - it really struck me while listening the other day. What is the story of this song?
This song’s title refers to a large cruise ship in the Occupied Hawaiian Kingdom that circles the islands in perpetuity called the Pride of America. I think those lyrics are about the danger of spinning your wheels so much so that you never commit to a direction. It’s about the fear of letting indecision, time, aging, and death decide your fate instead of your own real mind and heart.
How did you decide the order of the songs on Perseids?
We spent a long time trying to work that out! I grew up listening to CDs and am a big believer in listening to an album from start to finish. "Be Reasonable" felt like a natural opener - big pop number by our standards and "Perseids" the spaced-out drone jam closer, but everything else we pieced together from there. The first half was meant to feel like the beginning of a new day - the second half starts more mellow then ascends into heavy sleep (and then an intense dream?).
“Why I Stay” reminded me of the song Kristin Hersh and Michael Stipe did together “Your Ghost” - do you ever sing with others or would you consider it in the future?
Our drummer (Ben) once invited me to sing with him in a Spacemen 3 cover band, which I really enjoyed. On this tour, our bass player Laura has been singing harmonies with me which feels really good. I’d be open to singing with others in the future. Something to explore. I even have a few people on my wishlist!
I’ve read that you enjoy listening to Neu! What do others in the band enjoy or feel most influenced by?
Josh has a background in ambient/experimental music that he certainly lends to the band, along with a fondness for fingerpicking guitar legends like John Fahey. Laura’s favorite band is Russian Circles. She has played in psychrock bands in town like Reverse Death and Fungal Abyss as well playing in excellent powerpop band Megadose, her other band that reminds me a lot of Talking Heads and Guided by Voices. Our newest member, drummer Ben, toured for years with a metal band and maintains multiple projects in Seattle that lean on the darker/noisier side of the spectrum: blouseusa band and Shitty Person. I am heavy into Broadcast’s new demos record Spell Blanket right now.
What is the story behind the band’s name?
It’s my AIM username from high school. I wanted a name with no numbers, so I could avoid being named krazygirly34526 or something as was on trend at the time. It’s an oblique Radiohead reference (big eyeroll considering their stance/lack of a stance on Palestine right now).
You spoke to Audia for an interview in Jan 2019 and said with regard the dynamics/influence of politics, work, art and life:
“…we need art hand in hand with political movements to make change.”
I thought of protest music of the 60s and 70s in the US, but also how students and other young people are reacting and mobilising around what is happening between Palestine and Israel. What do you think of protest songs? Do they matter? Do you have a favourite?
That Swedish song "Leve Palestina" often brings me to tears even when I just hear it laid over a protest in an Instagram story. "Dammi Falastini" also brims with so much strength and hope. I think any songs by working class people asserting their own experience and humanity in the face of their oppressors, visible or hidden, can be extremely powerful. Even instrumental music can conjure a spirit of resistance - Marcel Khalifa’s oud songs are a prime example. Even when not directly writing or performing protest songs, I think concerts can be a good space to express solidarity with oppressed people, to share some of the spotlight with the reality of the world we are living in. Maybe it helps people to feel more sane and less helpless and alone in efforts to stop the genocidal machine our tax dollars are funding. To be clear, saying something in support of Palestine right now feels like a bare minimum, definitely not enough, but hopefully something.
You have had some live shows and tour this May with the new album - what do you learn from going on the road and playing in other cities?
We did! The band toured the midwest and east coast for the very first time. As I write this we have two dates left in Denver and Salt Lake City. Hopefully more US west coast dates are ahead this summer. I truly have appreciated the kindness of strangers who played and hosted shows, and the friends who came to shows and put us up. Playing that many shows in a row has also taught me more about how to effectively soundcheck and perform. I am always learning, and humbled by how many lessons there are. An overall wonderful and varied experience. West Virginia really came through for us - also highlights were playing a basement bar in Brooklyn and an extremely beautiful venue in Detroit called Trinosophes. Lots of stops at grocery stores.
When will you play in Europe next? Have you played here before and what was it like?
It’s possible we may do a few duo dates in the fall! We once played a show (as a duo) in Paris in August to almost no one when the entire city was holidaying in the Mediterranean, ha. But we made two good friends that night who we keep in touch with still. The logistics of a full band tour in the EU would require some support we don’t have just yet but fingers crossed for the future.