It's been a big year for the band Sylvan Esso, the Durham-based duo of singer Amelia Meath and producer Nick Sanborn. Earlier this month Paste Magazine named their song "Coffee" its Song of the Year.
Sylvan Esso’s music comes with a certain digital reality. It’s devoid of the oft-shallow feel of some electro-pop songs that are just about parties or typical relationship fodder. This maintains an earthiness that it takes a band from North Carolina to possess.
Recently Meath and Saborn told WUNC's Eric Hodge the secret behind the mesmerizing nature of the song:
"We kind of just try to follow the song and see what the song wants to be as much as possible," says Sanborn. "[We] try to just get out of the way if possible."
"It's more like square dancing in that you have a partner that stand opposite you," notes Meath. "And whether you're an even or an odd couple you progress up or down the line by doing seven movements that progress you up or down."
"Coffee" is featured on NPR Music's Songs We Love, 2014. The official music video has more than a million hits on YouTube:
Sylvan Esso will start the new year on tour in Australia. They play Charlotte in mid-January.