Isaac Dunbar Takes Our Pop Quiz
office gave Isaac an impromptu pop quiz where there are no wrong answers... except, of course, the wrong ones.
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office gave Isaac an impromptu pop quiz where there are no wrong answers... except, of course, the wrong ones.
From "more," the first sticky and bright single released in March, to "orange juice," released today, BETWEEN FRIENDS is giving us a good taste of their upcoming EP, Cutie, out this summer. To say the least, we can't wait for more.
Check out the latest below— "orange juice."
Catch BETWEEN FRIENDS at GOVBALL on June 10th, and check out their full EP this summer.
office sat down with Janet Planet and Sugar Bones to discuss the album creation process and dissect the subsequent high they rode along the way; read it all below.
As a group, how do you collaborate effectively? Do you find that certain members’ strengths balance the group out?
Sugar Bones — Since there are four of us, there are normally only a couple of main songwriters, but we're all pretty involved. Everyone definitely has their own strengths — I think one thing that really works for us is that we're all super close, so it's a super honest process.
Janet Planet — No offense taken.
Sugar Bones — No offense taken, but a lot of offense given.
Janet Planet — We can always be brutally honest with each other and yell over top of each other. That allows us to say ideas that are probably a bit unconventional and it also allows us to get things into songs that you usually wouldn't — kind of silly things.
Sugar Bones — Yeah, there are lots of ideas, but there are also lots of filters. So if something makes the final cut and everyone's happy with it, then you know it's pretty solid.
Yeah, I feel like that means you get the most genuine product if you're all that close and work so well together. I read that as a group, you guys also all moved in together for the writing process of Tilt. Is that true?
Janet Planet — Yeah, and that was how we wrote the first record as well — we were all living together at the time and then a few years later, Reggie and Sugar were in one house and Clarence and I were in another, so over lockdown, we all moved in together to work on this record. So I think it is kind of cool that both records have been written in a similar kind of situation.
Sugar Bones — We'll probably end up doing that for all the records now.
Janet Planet — It might be weird now if we don't.
Now you've established this tradition. I think that's a really cool way to find new creative inspirations.
Sugar Bones — We milked every last bit of fun out of the pandemic.
Janet Planet — We did.
Sugar Bones — I think we were lucky that we had each other and we had the project to do during the lockdown. Because, you know, we would've all gone a little bit crazy otherwise.
Janet Planet — I think we still did go crazy, but it was like a productive crazy.
Sugar Bones — Definitely. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel; we had something to focus on. I'm stoked that we had each other for that — it could have been bad.
It was a time, especially for people who create things, that it was really difficult to source your inspiration — you had to find new ways to do it since we literally couldn't go outside. How did you guys deal with finding creative inspiration in a time where it was a bit harder to do so?
Janet Planet — I think a lot of the creative inspiration just came from our friendship with each other and being in this weird, insular world where it was just the four of us who existed, pretty much. We were sort of making this 'fake' fun from something that was so un-fun. I think that probably is where a lot of the inspiration comes from — that relationship and this desire to have a good time, even in the worst of times.
Sugar Bones — Yeah, I guess we had to go back to the basics — just the four of us focused on how much we actually love making music together. That can pretty much take you out of any situation and put you in the highest, happiest place ever. Once we had sort of gotten over the first initial shock of COVID, we found the groove and we did it every day for about a year straight.
If you had to think of something that changed from the first album creation process to this one or something new that you learned, what would you pinpoint?
Sugar Bones — With the first album, it all happened really quickly and we didn't really know what we were as a band or what we were making. It was all super naive and that was kind of a good thing. We ended up developing these characters — accidentally. So then with the second one, we really wanted to not restrict ourselves from that first process and that first sound. I think with the second one, we were a bit more free in where we wanted to take the music and where we wanted to take the characters. I also think we'd all all progressed quite a bit as musicians and songwriters.
Janet Planet — We've listened to so much music in the past six years — the stuff we were into and all the sounds that we wanted to achieve have evolved and grown and developed a bit. This time around, we knew a lot more. Also just the way we wrote this record as well, we tried to change it up because we didn't want to get restricted by the whole 'second album curse.' We learned a different way of writing from Greg Alexander of New Radicals. We did a writing session with him and he showed us how to let yourself go and see what comes to you naturally. I think that was how we were able to make this record more off the cuff, which stopped us from getting so bogged down.
Sugar Bones — Yeah. Because everyone always tells you, 'Oh the second album — it's going to be terrible.'
I understand how it's scarier the second time around though, because you're past the first time jitters and it's more so, 'Can I live up to what we made before?’ What is one of the craziest stories you have from writing and living together?
Janet Planet — There are so many illegal things we could say. I suppose one of my main memories was that we got into this weird routine of making these home videos where we'd make music and then we'd make film clips to go with them. We came up with creative ways to film these silly clips. Just wild stuff, like home production stuff, and no one should ever see those videos.
Sugar Bones — There were some skits.
Janet Planet — Oh yeah. We wrote some scripts that no one should ever see.
Sugar Bones — We spent a lot of time just making bad art.
Janet Planet — A lot of it. We also made a club in our backyard area. What was it called?
Sugar Bones — 'Shed.' So we had this crappy old shed in the backyard, full of junk — storage and whatnot. I think it was probably nine months into the lockdown and we're all a little bit stir crazy. Like we're just missing the club so much. So we decided, 'Let's just make a club in the shed.'
Janet Planet — We got to work. It was really cute.
Sugar Bones — We mounted three lasers and put the decks in there.
Janet Planet — Spray painted fake big speakers. And we spray painted a part of it called, 'The Fuck Bunk.' We even had a security guard and everything.
Sugar Bones — And then it's just the five of us in there. That's all you need.
So you guys are partiers for sure, and it definitely manifests through your music — this very carefree, fun vibe. You mentioned some illegal things that went on — we don't have to talk about those things. But I did read that something that factored into your writing process this time around was psychedelics. Do you think that helped open up a new creative space for you guys?
Sugar Bones — I think that always helps. Also during lockdown, we were so restricted physically and not going anywhere. So if you can free your mind in any way, it definitely helps. We'd have a few nights where we'd just sit in the kitchen with a hundred dollar USB mic plugged into the laptop and just kind of riff on that for 12 hours straight or all night. I think there was some pure magic that came out of that. It's a sneaky way out of the lockdown.
Janet Planet — Make our own club and do some mushrooms.
Is there a moment that you remember, like an 'aha' moment or an epiphany that came about through experimenting while on mushrooms, or maybe something else brought that about?
Sugar Bones — Oh, ecstasy definitely helps too.
Janet Planet — I do remember writing a few tracks on the record or pieces of tracks on the record and thinking, 'This is gonna be really good when I'm sober,' and I'd listen to it and it'd be rubbish.
I was going to say, that could be the downside of writing 'enhancers.'
Sugar Bones — Yeah, it could really go both ways.
Janet Planet — But then there were a whole bunch of those good 'aha' moments. The chorus of 'What I Like,' — I remember writing that at 5:00 AM, all of us sitting around the microphone. And listening back to that, we were like, 'Yeah, that's definitely going to be a chorus. That's going to be on the record.' So there were moments like that for sure, where you thank your wasted self for doing such a great job.
Sugar Bones — Definitely. But there were also a lot of moments like that while we were sober as well. We were kind of trying to treat it like a job. So we'd do Monday to Friday, nine till five — just to create some structure in our lives, because it was such a structureless time. So, you know, it could be a Wednesday at midday, and we'd have a breakthrough for a track and everyone would just be high from that kind of thing. The music was probably the biggest drug of all.
Janet Planet — And we'd change things up if we were struggling on a track. So we'd try it in the daytime and then we'd try it again in the afternoon. And then later on we might try it at like 5:00 AM when we're wasted. And at each one of those points, if you can't break the track, then you're probably not gonna break it because you need to be in a different head space. We tried all the different approaches, and then if we still couldn't get there, it probably wasn't going to happen.
What is your favorite song that came out of that time?
Sugar Bones — I think a big favorite of mine is 'Relieve The Pressure.' It's the last track on the album. I think that just felt real special; it was the first time we let ourselves go over the four minute standard pop length of a song; it's a bit more of a journey. It's got all the different flavors of the album in one song and it was really fun to write.
Janet Planet — I feel like mine is like changing all the time because we're working on the live set at the moment. I'm seeing things come to life and how it'll look on stage and it's been changing what my favorite is. It's probably 'Break It Bought It' at the moment; we're working on this incredible group dance and it's the first time I've ever been able to get all four of the boys in a dance with me and I've been really looking forward to it. So I think with that live performance coming together, that's my favorite right now.
Sugar Bones — It's weird that it changes over time, but it does. Because when we're just writing the songs, that takes so long and we're just so involved in that. And then the next phase, thinking about the live show and how to structure it and what dances we're going to do, what costumes, what sort of gags we're going to pull out. And then once we start actually rehearsing it — which we've just finished after weeks and weeks — that changes it all again as well.
What have you learned so far that will help you continue to evolve? Are you going to continue the same traditions with the next album or find an entirely new approach?
Janet Planet — Well, I think that ideally we would write it the same way, but I also feel like COVID probably forced that upon us. So I don't know if we would actually write it living in the same house again, like why would we? I mean — it was fun living together though.
Sugar Bones — Yeah, we're kinda sick of each other.
Janet Planet — Sick of eachother?? Never!
Sugar Bones — No — I don't know. It's hard to say because from the first album to the second album, there were four years in between. And that was pretty much constant touring for us and there's no way we ever could have predicted how the second one was going to be written. So the third one, that could be another four or five years from now.
Janet Planet — God, no. No way — we're gonna be better this time. We're actually gonna write.
Sugar Bones — I think one thing I definitely want to do again is actually put a big chunk of time aside because it was actually so good being able to have that time with Tilt.
Janet Planet — It creates more of a world that way rather than progressively writing over a three-year period.
Sugar Bones — We let the songs dictate where they wanted to go, rather than trying to put them in a box. I think that's probably something we'll stick to forever now.
Janet Planet — Yeah, and having multiple influences. I'm not afraid of having a multiple genre album. I think that's cool.
Sugar Bones — Just letting the song be the best kind of song — whatever type of song that may be. And if that's a country banger, then that's okay.
Janet Planet — Well, I mean, I'd love to get a country banger in the next album. That's gotta be a goal. We have a whole bucket list of things that we'd like to do for albums — we probably ticked off about three-quarters of that so far. So there are a whole bunch of things that we wanted to get in that didn't get in, but they will next time.
Sugar Bones — When they're ready. When they come. And with the live shows, the more money we get, the more we can actually afford to spend on the live show. So there are some crazy ideas we have for that.
Janet Planet — The more money we get, the more dangerous we become.
That's why you need to make your country banger and have that just completely take off, and then you can do whatever you want.
Janet Planet — Yeah, we'll walk out on two dancing horses.
Well, whatever comes next for you guys, country music, horses, whatever it is — I'm excited to see.
Along with exclusive behind the scenes songwriting mementos, Confidence Man also shared some photos exclusively to office, below.
Blazer BALENCIAGA, boxing gloves DENIM TEARS, sunglasses GENTLE MONSTER
I came to know you and your music during the first quarantine—I would go for runs on the bayou by my house in Texas and listen to “260” and “Frozen River.”
Yeah? What part of Texas?
I'm from the Houston area.
I love. My family lived in Houston. I’m from New York, but I moved to Houston in like 2011. I lived there for like six years.
Well, I'm from Sugar Land. Do you know where Sugar Land is?
Hell yeah! Yeah. My family lives in Mission Bend, so not too far.
Shirt SUPREME, coat LUAR, pants ACNE STUDIOS, socks UGG, boots DIESEL, hat ADAMANEVEN, sunglasses GENTLE MONSTER
How did you get started in music?
It's funny that we just started talking about Texas, man. It really started when I moved there. I've always loved music, just from being in New York and just being around my older sister—she was really into going to the club and stuff, you feel me? So, she was like download- ing music on LimeWire, and I was just watching all the time. But then when I moved to Houston, it was like the beginning, maybe November of my 11th grade year in high school, and I had this friend, he was just always freestyling in the hallway and stuff. Then our relation- ship got really close whenever I moved to Houston and we just used to talk all the time. And then he would just send me beats like, ‘Yo, bro, spin over this beat. Yo, rap on this part. Yo, just rap on this part here.’ So, I decided to freestyle with him there and just started building confidence through that. Then as I kept exploring my sound for the next two years, I was just trying to develop a plan like, This year I'm going to do this clothing thing with my two friends from seventh grade, and the music is going to be like the second portion of the whole collection. Like, we'll push the clothes first, and the clothes will drive the music, and then the music will balance it out. By this time, I was still figuring out my sound. I was like, rapping, changing my name in different places. I had this one name, it was LARA, which means money in my mom's dialect. And it was just like playing around, just figuring it out, and also just living life and shit too, you know? It was maybe around 2013 when I figured out that I want to do this alternative kind of sound. That's what just started coming out of me, and I just kept running with it.
I feel like that intersectionality is kind of the base of your work. You’re kind of like a Renaissance man in that way—that you do clothing, modeling, you make furniture, music, but it all plays into each other. Where do you think that comes from?
I just like doing stuff, period. I think I get excited just to do things, make shit, like making things makes me excited. Music is my first thing that I got super excited about because I was able to watch it on TV and just get fully excited around it like that. I feel the same way even just about playing basketball, you know? Watching my favorite player gets me excited. Yeah... I think maybe it's just my competitive nature, period. I'm like, Damn, I want to do this too. I can freak it this way. My competitive nature and also just growing up in New York, that was just a big part of my life, like always wanting to do the next cool thing.
Shorts WILLY CHAVARRIA, jacket and sandals DRIES VAN NOTEN
Was there a vibe shift when you moved from New York to Houston?
That was the biggest shift in my life, you know what I'm saying? And that made me who I am. Houston's like, a big part of me. Because yeah, I was in that fast-paced lifestyle, but my parents, I feel like, always wanted calm- ness. They have that dynamic nature about them, too. My mom and my pops, they just both love having people around and stuff, but also love their peace. And again, my parents are both Leos, too. I'm a Leo as well. I'm an August Leo. My mom is August and my pops is July. But I think that also plays a big part of the intersectionality we were talking about—they just really love both sides. But [moving to Texas] was a culture shock, like not being able to get anywhere by foot really. The weather. No one understood me from my accent, and their accent was like, a language barrier. The teachers didn't under- stand me. So, a lot of the time—like, that whole 11th grade year—I was just adjusting really, because I wasn't really talking to people. I was still figuring out who my crowd was. And it was weird because it was the same thing in New York, and it just started to get that balance. Once I got into high school, I thought I started to figure out, Okay, this is my crowd and shit, because growing up, it was that same thing of like, Okay, I'm too African to be with the Americans, too American to be with the Africans, you feel me? Like when you look at me, my features, you wouldn't be able to tell, unless you're African. So, it was always this weird finding my place kind of thing. Going to Houston, that was happening again, which also just led me to dive into myself more and listen and go back and forth with my friend doing music stuff, because I was just in the crib.
What does the name Angelnumber8 come from?
Man, one day I was just in my room chilling. I think I was thinking about Dragon Ball Z, and there's this character—her name is Android 17—and I always liked the way she looked and her ‘fit. The haircut was sick—it was like, this blonde bowl cut. I was just thinking about the name and trying to change my name from the rap name that I had before, and I was like, Man, I'm going to just do a twist o this name. And I was like, Okay, Angel Number... And eight is my favorite number. So, I just added that to the ending. But then I found out a year and a half later that it’s actually a thing, and people started telling me like, Oh, yo, there's a whole story behind this, and everybody has their own angel numbers. And I was like, Oh, that's pretty cool.
I love your video for “Last Laugh.” In terms of music videos, who do you think is the best to ever do it?
Yeah, I don't know if I've seen enough videos to even put that statement out there. I've seen some cool ass videos, though. Of course, growing up, young Hype William videos were cool to me. My favorite video since I was a kid was “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” by Busta Rhymes. I remember seeing that... You ever seen it before?
I don't think so.
It's like super, super creepy. There's like elephants in the video and stuff. But I just remember seeing it as a kid, just bugging out, wondering like, Yo, why does this look so futuristic? But then it has, like, a real African kind of tone to it too, and that was super cool to me. That played a big part in what I'd be thinking about video-wise. I just like making shit that is just like crossing two different lanes where you're like, Okay, this music sounds like this, but this is a whole different kind of movie or visual put to it.
124 Coat WALTER VAN BIERENDONCK
Pants and blazer BALENCIAGA, boxing gloves and necklace DENIM TEARS, sunglasses GENTLE MONSTER
I was watching your videos and listening to the songs, and I feel like you kind of have this overall mysterious energy. It just got me thinking about mystery in today's music age. What do you think about the concept of mystery for artists today?
I think it's cool to see artists like Frank Ocean and stuff. Like, it's pretty hard to know when that person is going to drop something, and you're going to want to pay attention to it, you know? But I think we got this shit kind of fucked up, man. I think you got to enjoy life, and life kind of takes time. You got to go see the people you want to. I think all that shit, as well as your experiences — what's surrounding you and stuff — plays a big part into what you create. So, sometimes, you need to be on the down low for like a month. Sometimes you need to be on the down low for a week. Sometimes for like, half a year, you know what I'm saying? I just be trying to keep the balance and see what feels good to me, really. So, if I don't post a certain thing, or I don't drop something, I try to just remind myself to trust in the process of life, period. You know, try to apply that to what I'm doing, because I know that what I'm doing is me, so it's always going to stand out and be seen, because I'm not trying to pull it from nowhere else.
What about your furniture brand, EA Design Studio? How does that work tie into your music?
I feel like I just started doing it heavily. Like, with the furniture, I'll make some sounds that'll go with it. Or if it's like the whole concept of what the album is, just like this play on nature and things morphing into other things, it felt necessary to make a chair that was covered by grass and stuff. So, it just kind of played with the same theme. It's kind of like, Yeah, I'm already doing this, why not just involve it in here? We did a show last Friday in Venice for the album release, and I made this book installation. But again, it was kind of playing in hand with what the album was, because I made this poetry book for the album. I was like, I might as well also show people that this is part of the album concept. So, let me make something that's even more attractive rather than you just holding the book in your hand, like, let’s see it in one room.
Who's your favorite writer? Are you into nonfiction and poetry and stuff like that?
I haven't explored enough, but growing up, Edgar Allan Poe was the first person that made me feel some shit. I was like, Man, this is crazy, because I remember just always not liking to read books and shit—there was nothing that was interesting to me. But once I heard him, I was like, Okay, this is creepy for me. What is he about to say next? He's the person that made me feel some shit. Music-wise, I like Joni Mitchell. She's cool, how she writes.
Suit S.R. STUDIO L.A.C.A., gloves SUPREME, hat NIKE, sunglasses STYLIST’S OWN
What era in music would you say you're most obsessed with or that’s had the biggest impact on you?
I feel like as a kid and early teenage years, I was just figuring out who Marvin Gaye was, Luther Vandross, older singers like Michael Jackson and stuff. But then, later in my teenage years, SoundCloud stuff really captivated me—and Kanye, what he was doing, as well. But I definitely think the older shit, like the ‘80s stuff, for sure had me feeling some type of way.
If you could make up a genre, what would it be?
I did that already! What I did with the tapes and stuff for Soundmath—the genre that I created is called alternative poem and electronic poem. And then the genre for this project is called DiTri. It’s like a whole concept that kind of embodies the music.