The following description is taken from the Sounds of LA website.
Sparse and effective production lends a hand to a style of tightly-stitched songwriting that founders Sasha Goldberg & Maia Ciambriello honed during their years studying music in New Orleans after kindling a connection in their Bay Area hometown. Weaving meticulously stacked pop-inspired melodies with profound tropes and confessions from the pits of young adulthood, the duo create an eminent lane for themselves in the name of shared experience translated with seamless vocal chemistry.
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This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes.
Isabella: Can you share with us your experience performing at the Sounds of La showcase? What was the energy like and how did the audience respond to your music?
T.A.T.N: We had such a great time. The sound was really good, the performers were really sweet, the team were some of the nicest sound guys I’ve ever met in my life and it was the first time we’ve ever headlined anything so it was a very special moment for us.
The audience was great, they seemed into and just totally our vibe. We had a great response after the show and we’re super happy about it.
Isabella: What was the process like preparing for the showcase and how did you choose your setlist?
T.A.T.N: We’re about to go on our first tour Mar. 10 and we’ve been practicing for the last month and a half with a setlist that we also used for the UCLA showcase. It’s about eight or nine songs and we kind of just ran through the one we’re using for the tour and it worked great. We pretty much had the setlist ready to go for the set so it was perfect.
Isabella: Can you share with us the story of how your friendship evolved into a musical partnership and how your shared experiences have influenced your songwriting process?
T.A.T.N: Sasha and I really formed a friendship when we both went to college at Loyola University in New Orleans. We shared a voice coach since childhood who recommended us, and we ended up rooming together. Since we were both popular and commercial music majors, we had a lot of assignments where we needed to write songs. One day, we were like “you know what- I always like what you write, you always like what I write, let’s try to join forces and do this together”. Ever since, we haven’t gone back and it’s just been such a natural and seamless thing to write together.
Isabella: Do you believe your vocal chemistry plays a significant role in your musical collaboration and how it enhances the emotional depth and authenticity of your songs?
T.A.T.N: Maya and I grew up going to the same singing coach and I think that has everything to do with our blend which makes it work so well. I think at this point we’ve put in our 10,000 of just singing together and we know the ins and outs of each other’s voice so well. When we’re writing we can both suggest melodies that we know won’t be out of the other person’s range or ability which I also think is cool. We share a range and if we need a higher voice, we know exactly what to do, and if we need a lower voice we know exactly what to do.
Isabella: What role does nostalgia play in your songwriting and how does it help to create a sense of relatability for your listeners?
T.A.T.N: When Sasha and I write music, I think we unintentionally source from feelings that we’ve had in the past surrounding love and heartbreak and losing a friend. I think we’ve gotten pretty good at writing together where we can really embellish the most plain, cliche feelings and make them feel really authentic and unique to us while also reaching a broader audience.
Isabella: How do you navigate the balance between crafting catchy pop melodies and incorporating deeper, more introspective themes into your music?
T.A.T.N: I think honestly when Sasha and I write music we’re really not concerned if it’s going too much in the direction of a pop song, if it’s going too much in the rock song, an indie song. We just kind of let the song breathe and we write it to completion and then when we’re done writing it we kind of just go “oh okay this one definitely has a hook that hits you in the gut” or “this is going to be the sleeper song that we really connect to”. I think most importantly, we don’t intentionally write specific songs that fill certain voids. I think we write songs and then the ones we are attached to, those are the ones that are the most attached to us and we go from there.
Isabella: As childhood friends, how do you see your dynamic evolving as you continue to grow and create music together?
T.A.T.N: I think that me and Maya will continue to do what we are doing but on a bigger scale. We’ll continue to write songs about whatever we’re inspired by and whatever is happening in our lives and I think the more we spend time with each other, the easier it gets to write songs together. I want everything to stay the same and I want everything to come easier for us. The more we write and the farther we take The Army, The Navy, I think it will become something that is super second nature for us. We only started the band only a year ago so we’re excited for it to feel really seamless.
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Follow @thearmy_thenavy on Instagram and listen to their debut EP Fruit for Flies out now!
