Caufield Schnug and Lira Mondal founded Silkies by accident on an especially hot summer day in Austin, Texas. They had played in bands together before, but they were frustrated with their creative outcomes.
A week before the pair endeavored to move to Boston for their respective careers (Caufield pursues a Ph.D at Harvard and Lira works to become a chef), Caufield handed Lira his guitar and instructed her to play whatever came to mind while he sat at the drum kit. Five or ten minutes later, they wrote new music, and Silkies was born.
Silkies irrepressible attitude owes much to the swagger of garage rock and the infectious harmonies of girl groups, also taking a page from the high-spirited sound of early 90s riot grrrl.
Reigning in these sometimes disparate influences, Silkies first self-recorded EP attempts to capture the kinetic moment before a song is written or completed. Ideas grow before they assume their final shapes: Silkies aspires to the spontaneity of the first live take, with particular attention to the indescribable attractions of sonic space and location.
Their first single "Red" sets the tone for the entire release, fluctuating between brash confidence and vulnerable sincerity, from symmetrically-constructed hooks to off-kilter guitar lines, a naive story of hypothetical love chant-shouted over a frenetic pulse.
Now that Silkies have landed in their new Boston home, they are looking into assembling a group for live gigs and even touring performances. They are making music videos for their first batch of songs, and have their eyes set on another release before the new year.
The Like One EP is set to be released on October 29, 2012.