Almost-a-year on from the release of their fab debut album ‘Emotional Education’, and IDER – aka Megan Markwick and Lily Somerville – have had to put a stop to their summer touring plans (with Tegan and Sara! In the US!) to deal with this corona-business. The duo tell us about what they’re up to during their downtime, ahead of their imminent set at Homeschool.
What have you guys been up to since the release of ‘Emotional Education’? Lots of touring?
Since the album came out in July, we played a few festivals and then were touring pretty non-stop between October to February. We went across Europe, the UK and we did our first run of headline shows in North America. Then we ended up in Berlin for a bit afterwards. We’re incredibly lucky that we managed to get it all in before global lockdown!
How are you feeling about the release now you’ve a bit of distance from it, has your relationship with the record evolved at all over time?
We have lots of feelings towards the release of the album – hindsight is a wonderful thing. But mostly we have seen our relationship with the record evolve through playing live and watching our fans connect to the music. It’s shed new light on certain songs and allowed new meaning to blossom.
Have you had a chance to think about new music at all? It must be easier now we’re all on lockdown.
Lockdown has actually been pretty mental – we were staying at a friend’s place in Berlin after tour, and both caught coronavirus so had to quarantine out there. It was intense! We’re back in London now and yeah singing together, as always, is keeping us sane.
Are you able to write and record songs while at home? What’s your set up like?
We have a cute set up in our bedroom which we’ve had for a while, where we can rehearse, write and demo.
How has self-isolating impacted you guys so far? Have you had to cancel much?
It’s definitely been tough; we’ve both experienced our mental health taking a knock. We have not become bakers, fitness fanatics, fine artists and have avoided IG Live like the plague, so we’re battling with daily feelings of guilt. But feel very grateful to have each other and discovered a new level of compatibility. We were due to support Tegan and Sara across NA this summer and unfortunately that has been cancelled.
What do you miss the most with the current restrictions in place?
The pub.
Are there any tips or tricks you’ve picked up to make self-isolating a bit more bearable?
Delete Zoom.
Anything else we should know?
We’re honoured to be part of this festival and all our love and appreciation to the NHS and key workers who are risking their lives to save ours.
IDER are taking part in new online festival Homeschool, which runs from 8th-10th May – visit homeschoolfest.com for details.
