Interview with pop duo Overcoats

MuzicNotez: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.

Introduce yourselves, what are your names and rolls in the group?

• Overcoats: HI, we’re Overcoats. Hana & JJ. We both do a bit of everything.

MuzicNotez: How did you meet and form up? How long have you been together?

• Overcoats: We’ve been making music together since we were 18 years old. We met in college and quickly started singing together. After a few years of friendship, we wrote our first song. The rest is history.

MuzicNotez: How did you come up with the name Overcoats?

• Overcoats: We had a hard time coming up with the name, actually. We wanted something androgynous so that if you picked up an album, you wouldn’t have any idea what the music would sound like. We were also inspired by this Egon Schiele print that features two people under a coat together. It felt like it was a good metaphor for our friendship – a layer of protection so that we could each be comfortable being vulnerable.

MuzicNotez: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the band you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?

• Overcoats: When we were in college, we both loved music that involved electronic elements. We were constantly sending each other Little Dragon, Chet Faker, Marika Hackman, and Sylvan Esso songs. However, we both grew up loving classic folk that involved harmony: Simon & Garfunkel, The Chicks, etc. The combination of these things (electronic, folk, rock, etc.) definitely played into our aesthetics for the band.

MuzicNotez: What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever been to or performed?

• Overcoats: We saw Coldplay together a few years back. It was honestly a religious experience. You can’t beat that early songwriting. Greatest concert we’ve ever played? Probably our first show in Minneapolis. The crowd knew all the words and we were just so humbled.

MuzicNotez: What’s the ultimate goal you want your music to achieve, or for you to achieve in your career as a band? Any particular message you wish to send?

• Overcoats: We always want to bring some kind of joy and cathartic release to our listeners. As long as we’re doing that, we feel like we’re achieving something. Obviously career goals are to sell a shit load of records and play arena tours…

MuzicNotez: Your latest release is the EP ‘New Suede Shoes’, what inspired this release? What’s it mean to you?

• Overcoats: The EP is a set of singles that will all roll into our full length album (Winner) which comes out April 7th! This body of work is a time capsule of our last few years, navigating life, love, and longing in the pandemic. This music feels like a step forward, sonically and lyrically, and we’re super proud of it.

MuzicNotez: The video for your title track turned out great! Looks like that was one continuous shot, how many takes did it take to get done? Who pitched that idea?

• Overcoats: All of the music videos for the album singles have been one-shots! We’ve conceptualized and co-directed all of the videos. We wanted to create a cohesive ethereal visual world that plays with ideas of girlhood and juxtapositions of escape and commitment.

MuzicNotez: Next up is the album ‘Winner’ on April 7th. What can we expect from this album?

• Overcoats: More “ranch pop”, more bops, more triumphant ballads, more dancing.

MuzicNotez: What else are you working on? What can we expect to see and hear from you in the future?

• Overcoats: We have a North American headline tour starting April 24th! tickets for those shows are available on our website: www.overcoatsmusic.com… and we may have bitten off more than we can chew, but we’re trying to create a full visual world with this album and we’re currently working on visualizers and music videos for every track on the record!

Find other great groups like Overcoats on our playlist below & see them featured as one of the best of 2023 here.

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