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Sylvan Esso perform live in The Current studio

Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn performing "Coffee" live in The Current studio.
Sylvan Esso's Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn performing "Coffee" live in The Current studio.MPR / Leah Garaas
  Play Now [23:52]

by David Campbell

July 28, 2014

Sylvan Esso, 'Coffee' performed live at The Current
by MPR
Sylvan Esso, 'Dress' performed live at The Current
by MPR
Sylvan Esso, 'Uncatena' performed live at The Current
by MPR

Fresh off their gig at 10 Thousand Sounds Festival in Minneapolis this past weekend, Sylvan Esso — comprising Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn — stopped in to The Current's studio to play some songs and to chat with David Campbell.

As a concept, Sylvan Esso came together serendipitously. Meath and Sanborn had met and discovered they enjoyed artistic chemistry; they became fast friends and began writing songs together. For each of them, their other music projects (Meath with Mountain Man and Feist, Sanborn with Megafaun and Headlights) had decided to take time off. "As long as we were writing songs," Meath explains, "we decided we may as well be a band, we may as well do a tour."

Now touring in support of their self-titled debut release, the Durham, N.C., based duo demonstrate their chemistry in an animated and entertaining conversation with The Current's David Campbell, including announcing their upcoming show in the First Avenue mainroom Sept. 3.

Listen to the complete interview to hear more about how Meath and Sanborn would describe one another, why they decided to move to North Carolina, and what each of them thinks about Prince and Purple Rain.

Songs Performed


"Coffee"
"Dress"
"Uncatena"
All songs off Sylvan Esso's self-titled album, out now on Partisan Records.

Hosted by David Campbell
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Cameron Wiley
Web feature by Luke Taylor