It’s been several years since we last caught up with singer-songwriter duo Todd & Karen, so after listening to their new release Bougie Suzie, I decided it was high time we sat down and had a chat! They’ve also just released a new record titled Singles, so make sure you give it a listen if you like what you read here!
By Jane Howkins
It’s been almost a year since we last spoke to you! How has your year been?
The year has been good! We’ve been working on writing and arranging more music. We have a huge back log of material now that we’re just waiting to record and unleash on the world. We released Bougie Suzie as a single and then we finally took the step and collected all our singles (including Bougie Suzie) and turned them into our debut album. It came out on April 12th, and it’s entitled Singles. You can stream it anywhere, but it is also available on CD via our Spotify page or label (Sublime Exile Recordings/SXR Music Group). So a lot has happened!
You recently released a new single titled Bougie Suzie. What can you tell us about the song?
Bougie Suzie is a song that is part of our song cycle from Beardsley Boulevard. When we started out writing together, we conceived this universe of characters, and our first singles Mr. Beardsley and Barbara Barbara Barbara, for example, both belong to that. Some of our later songs have strayed somewhat from the concept, but still work within it, so when you listen to the Singles album it’s somewhat satisfying that Mr. Beardsley starts it and Bougie Suzie closes it, as Beardsley is namechecked in the lyrics of the latter. As for the song itself, Suzie is an insufferable woman who thinks she’s better than everybody else… riding along in her Tesla, as if she owns the world. The arrangement was more chamber pop in its original demo version, but we came upon this funky bassline in the study making it sound like a love child between The Divine Comedy and Obladi-Oblada. It took on a life of its own. We’re very fond of it and happy with how it turned out.
How has the reception to Bougie Suzie been so far, and where can it be purchased?
It’s been great! We’ve gotten several wonderful reviews both in Norway and abroad and it’s also gotten a fair amount of airplay – especially in Norway and on some independent stations in the US. You can purchase all our singles via our label website, Sublime Exile Recordings, or buy our album Singles on CD and own all our singles to date in physical format.
Do you have any more singles planned for release soon?
We need to record more soon, but hope to get more singles out in the not too distant future! We’re letting the Singles release live a little bit first, it kind of marks the end of the first chapter. Then hopefully we’ll be back later in the year with the start of chapter two!
Do you have any plans to release an album or EP in the near future?
We just released Singles, a full length album, so we’ll be coming back with a standalone single to begin with. Hopefully there’ll be an EP or something. We were talking about maybe doing some collaborations with some indie friends down the line as well. Maybe that could be something for next year. Stay tuned and you’ll find out, but in the immediate future more singles is the most likely option.
What have you been listening to recently?
Recently we’ve been listening to a lot of great indie music from our indie friends from near and far. It’s too much to mention them all here, but we could mention Charles Connolly’s Cry Later, Won’t You? which is a real McCartney-inspired gem. We’re really digging our American friends from the #tweetcore scene Bottlecap Mountain and their recent single I’ve Got Loving For You. Meeah’s Us Against The Night Sky is a wonderfully lush, Arctic electronica-pop piece by a friend of ours that we also like. And of course, Belle & Sebastian, The Beatles, The Divine Comedy, the new Liam Gallagher/John Squire collab…a lot!
How did the duo first get together?
We met at work and found out that we’re really into a lot of the same things. Why not start a band?
Do you have anything else exciting coming up over the next few months?
Hopefully recording a couple of new singles – either before, during or straight after the summer.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
Unfortunately not. We haven’t played much live yet. We need to get a backing band together. We’ve primarily been a studio project so far. We’re open to offers!
Any last words for the fans?
We want to say a big thank you to everyone who have streamed and bought CDs and sent nice comments and encouragement on our music so far. We’re really thankful and it’s wonderful that our music is appreciated in such a huge variety of places. We hope to be back with more music later in 2024!