Gabe, Ibekelia and I met at the NOT97 showcase at Cafe Erzule in the summer of 2018. The showcase was such a beautiful gathering of the New York artistic community. A great expression/representation of the current state of underground music at the time. Ibekelia and I struck up a conversation because he mentioned that he was familiar with my work. We instantly hit it off, my father is a french professor and Ibekelia has french roots, thus the music he makes being in french. He then ushered over Gabe to introduce us, once again we hit it off. Great energy all around. Gabe and Ibekelia then excused themselves to preform their set. I was blow away by their mix of guitar, hip hop, mix of languages, and the overall raw sound that I instantly adored.
I pulled up to their apartment excited to start this series and not know what to expect. I entered the door and was offered some tea. From that point on the conversation launched into a myriad of subjects. We spoke about what it takes to be an artist living in New York. Growing up around intense diversity. Our struggles to find genuine connections amongst peers. The feeling of connection and how it relates to our art forms. Times we were down. Drugs, being young & stupid and how life, art and music can bring on back to their center. We shared our visions openly and confidently for 6 hours. Their musical process and how they grew into themselves as artists through experience.
This was my first session for this series. A great base. More work coming soon!