Quick & Dirty - The Watson Twins
By: Andrew Horan
March 1, 2010 – Los Angeles, United States
When the time came for The Watson Twins to record the follow-up to their 2008 debut full-length Fire Songs, Chandra and Leigh Watson decided to eschew the lure of a high tech studio in their hometown of LA in favour of a secluded cabin in California's High Sierras.
"The High Sierras are romantic and remote, inspiring and beautiful," Leigh Watson says. "We had the opportunity to use a cabin out there and just couldn't pass it up. With no phones, TVs or communication with the outside world we got super productive. It's amazing how distracting our everyday lives can be."
So, the former Kentucky natives gathered their gear and brought along producers J. Soda and Russ Pollard—Pollard also happens to be Chandra's husband—for a four-day recording sessions that produced the rough demos for their second album Talking To You, Talking to Me. (In an interesting bit of trivia, they recorded TTY, TTM at Fairfax Recordings on the same mixing board Pink Floyd used for their classic album The Wall.)
While the Roots and Americana influences of their previous outings are still firmly in place, the album features several stylistic departures that find TWT delving into everything from indie pop to R&B with a strong dose of classic soul.
"We always try and let the songs dictate themselves, have their own life," Watson explains. "When my sister and I sat down and started working on the songs for this record, they just sounded different, they were more rhythmic and soulful."
The intricate vocal harmonies between the two sisters are TWT's calling card. However, they approached the vocals a little differently this time out with one sister backing up whomever was singing.
This wasn't much of a departure according to Watson since they honed their craft providing back-up vocals—their work with Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley on her first album being the best-known example.
"Its instinctual to us," she admits. "We hadn't gone in that direction on our previous records, but for this album it came naturally, the songs called for it."
Watson describes the whole experience of recording the album as being "challenging, amazing and part of you."
"We have become more familiar with who we are as singers and writers," she continues. "It's all part of growing as an artist." Where some artists might view branching out from an established sound with some trepidation, the sisters fully embraced the new directions they took their music in with open arms. "Sounds are always evolving and changing, that is the exciting thing about music," Watson writes. "A big part of it is being ready and open to the evolution."
Video: "How Am I To Be" by The Watson Twins (from 2008's Fire Songs)
