Interview: Moderns
Here at Rock In:flux, we absolutely love great synth pop/rock. The band MODERNS is another artist we recently discovered who are adding some great records to that genre, as they carve their own space in the vast musical universe we find ourselves in today.
Composed of two main members - Chris Fudurich and Rosie Okumura, MODERNS creates synth-pop sounds grounded in the nostalgia of 80’s analog, yet packed with more modern effects reminiscent of CHRVCHES or Phantogram.
In listening to their songs currently available on various streaming platforms, it’s clear the pair is onto something. They’ve continued to hone in on their overall sound and style - displayed in some of their most recent songs like “Celebrite.”
We’re excited to see the continued progression of Rosie and Chris. MODERNS is a gem we’re glad to have discovered while combing through the ever fluctuating world of rock music today.
Some of our favorite songs by MODERNS:
"Matter”
”Kowalski”
”Celebrite”
Check out our interview below and listen to the rest of their catalog here.
Can you tell me about how you started working together and how Moderns came about?
Rosie: Christopher and I met through mutual friends - we did a lot of commercial music together, and found out we worked really well together.
A few years back, Christopher had already begun a project as MODERNS with a 3rd, past bandmate, Alan. Chris invited me to the project and we worked together until Alan left to start his own solo project. MODERNS has been a duo ever since, with the occasional live-stage addition, Steve. Steve also writes/produces a bit with us also!
Your music is obviously very inspired by the 80’s with the use of analog synthesizers. Can you tell me some of your influences?
Rosie: My personal influences are Chvrches, Phantogram, Goldroom, Bjork, and a lot of pop music. Christophers are very different 😆
Chris: I like those artists as well but I go waaaaaay back to Talk Talk and Mark Hollis, Duran Duran, NIN, Gary Numan, Genesis... Pretty much anything that sounded cool from the 60s to the 80s.
You released your first EP independently in 2016. Can you tell me about the process of recording those songs?
Rosie: Christopher mainly produces the tracks, and I topline. We usually write via email/dropbox, and finalize things in the same room together. Sometimes we start from scratch in a room, but it's not often! I don't prefer either or, we just don't like LA traffic or long commutes LOL
Chris: It’s a very back and forth process. I’ll throw an idea out and Rosie throws a top line on it and some keyboard noodling and shape and morph it with different ideas over time. Yeah, I hate driving if I don’t have to.
You released two singles in 2020, “Celebrite” and “Watch”. How was your writing and recording process affected during Covid?
Rosie: As far as having any hard deadlines, MODERNS was semi on hold during the pandemic for a few health/personal related things. We kept the Dropbox open and added ideas here and there when we had the proper time and energy :). Since our writing process was already sort of socially distanced to begin with, not too many changes happened with that structure. We both still mask up when we are in the same studio space.
Do you think working in LA makes things easier are harder for you as musical artists? How was it dealing with the pandemic there as recording artists and performers?
Rosie: I like living in LA. For me it makes things more interesting since lot's of people work and create here, friends have studios, and there are always lots of live shows going on to keep us motivated and inspired. The pandemic stripping away live music was rough for us; I felt pretty blue about not being on stage. We tried a live-stream event with a couple other artists, it was interesting and fun, but just not the same energy.
Chris: Same. I love LA. We both do so many different other projects here, I used to feel like there was always something going on. It’s semi starting to get back to that feeling.
Is there a particular song or songs you would tell people who are new to your music to listen to? If so, why?
Rosie: ALL OF EM! Once in awhile Chris and I prefer performing certain songs live over others, but it's always changing. Right now I love Celebrite. Probably bc it's a newer release.
Chris: That’d depend on who’s asking and what I know about their likes. In general I’d probably say go to our SoundCloud or Apple Music and start listening from the beginning cause that’s what I do when I get turned on to a new artist. I like to hear the evolution of the artist, if there is one.
What is next for MODERNS?
Rosie: We've been working on different styles of music outside of MODERNS, and are still writing new tracks for the band. As always, we would like to release some more music soon. We are a couple tracks shy of having an EP ready for ya :)
Chris: Yup! Probably something before the end of this year.