Sauce finally meets imugi
Sauce spoke with silky electronic duo, imugi (Carl Ruwhiu and Yery Cho) ahead of their show at New Zealand festival, Splore.
How did you two meet?
We met in maths class at high school! We somehow ended up in the same circle of friends.
When did you two first start creating music together?
In our last year of school. Our friend group included quite a few musicians and creatives, and we were both playing in bands. Yery had been gaining confidence performing, and Carl had been working on music production. A friend suggested that we try to write and record music together! And here we are.
Why the name imugi?
It’s a cool serpent with a sad backstory. One might say we are also cool serpents with sad backstories. Or maybe we are just happy-go-lucky lil worms. Also, language is interesting and we wanted a name that communicated a lot without having to be too long. We didn’t want an “english name” because we both don’t really have “english names”. People are still learning how to pronounce it but it’s pretty simple. Hard G.
How do you navigate creative differences?
We’ve been close friends for a long time, and being open and honest has always helped us to navigate creative differences. Communication is key, and we are pretty good with tuning into each other's wavelengths. I think it’s about being respectful of what we both want to achieve with our music and having a mutual understanding of what we need to do to get there.
What does friendship mean to you?
We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn’t for our friends that helped us every step of the way. Friendship is the salt of the earth. I think it’s about letting go of your ego and having honest, transparent communication.
I’m really obsessed with your song Greensmoke, did you expect it to garner as much attention as it has?
For us, releasing Greensmoke felt like the next logical step in our journey, and we were just excited to get the song out there so we could work on the next thing. The amount of interest and attention it received was incredibly affirming and encouraging, but also brought with it anxiety, imposter syndrome, and feelings of pressure. So for us as artists, it was exciting yet daunting. Once a track is released, whatever happens and whoever listens is so outside of our control. We are very thankful to all who listen and have ever sent us a message opening up about the memories and feelings it brings up for each person.
What inspired your sophomore EP DRAGONFRUIT?
The fruits of our labour, the symbolism of fruit on this earth, tarot card spreads and the suffering/peace/dream that is life. When we were writing the songs for Dragonfruit we were at a really exciting time in our lives. We were playing shows, doing interviews, meeting incredibly talented people and being introduced to the music industry. I think Dragonfruit was about proving ourselves, but not to anybody else. It was about proving to ourselves that we are capable of creating something great, something that connects with our community, something that showcases our talents, as well as our values and ideas.
What are you most excited for in 2021?
Putting out more of our music. We had to take a lot of time with past releases but this year we feel as autonomous as we did when we were just starting out. Excited to ignore expectations and keep doing this music thing in a way that feels as right as possible. To level up but keep looking backwards.
You’re playing at Splore for the first time, what can we expect from your set?
Recently we’ve been jamming with drummer Daniel Waterson, which has taken our live set to the next level. So we’ll be performing at Splore as a 3 piece band. You can expect to laugh, cry, dance, hear tracks from our debut EP Vacasian, tracks from Dragonfruit, as well as upcoming unreleased songs!
Who is your dream musician to collaborate with?
We’ve always loved Yaeji and her music, so I think she’s definitely up there in our list of dream collaborations. Other big names that we’d absolutely love to collaborate with include Kero Kero Bonito, Toro Y Moi, Rina Sawayama, Monsune, Kenny Beats, Superorganism, MNDSGN, Mitski, Soulja Boi Tellem, Lava La Rue, Jane Deezy, Solange, Amamelia, Theia, FKA Twigs, 100gecs, Raveena, Joyce Wrice, Kevin Parker, the list goes on…
What has been a career highlight for you both so far?
Our Dragonfruit EP Release shows. It was our first ever headlining shows we put on and seeing the turn out and sharing that energy was unreal. Was a moment of reflection, looking back at the last 6 years like wow, we really did all this.
It’s Sauce, so we have to ask you both, what are your favourite beauty products?
Yery: My fav right now the body balm from Sesa Mathlo Apothecary. It healed my neck and elbow eczema! Thank you Maka <3 Also really love boiling up roses and lavender and pouring it over myself after showering. You feel so soft and light with the right intentions.
Carl: That weird snail essence moisturizer. You know the one. My girlfriend has it.
What makes you both feel at home within yourselves?
Yery: Tuning into breath and awareness beyond whatever this vessel is experiencing. Being surrounded by huge mountains and feeling how small I am. Dancing alone, screaming Paramore and Mitski while driving around alone. Being with those I love and feeling grateful our paths crossed in this lifetime.
Carl: Doing things that make me feel calm and comfortable, where I can zone out and let whatever is on my mind manifest in the form of music and beats. Also, spending time with the people I love and being fully present in the moment.
What’s next for imugi?
I guess…We stay here and keep living this life and making lil songs and one day we will ascend into the astral plane and hopefully never return again to this capitalist hell.
