From the anarchic Berlin techno and art collective LIVE FROM EARTH, Paris-based Notinbed and Clara Kimera come to us with their new collaborative EP Unknown Reasons. Unknown reasons is the sonic fruit of heart-songs to film, seamless artistic chemistry, and a felt shift in the French music scene.

How do you find the music scene in Paris?

Notinbed: Cool. The last few years it’s been growing. It’s the first time in a while that it’s been a cool scene in France.

Clara: I think there are some cool people to make music with, but not enough independent labels in my opinion! The scene is fun though.

What do you feel like caused the shift in the French music scene?

Notinbed: There’s a new rap scene that’s developed in France. In France, rap, two and a half years ago became way more open and open to new types of beats. It became more open with club and experimental stuff so that opened people up, like producers, to different types of music, and gave different people a place to shine. The club scene has gotten cooler; there are more cool events - the scene isn’t just rap anymore. It’s transitioned from rap to more of a club scene. Most people coming up have the same objectives and are a similar age, so it feels like a team. It didn’t feel like that before.

How do you find the French music scene compared to those other cities?

Notinbed: The French scene is very precise, kind of intellectual - it can be less fun than English music, and a bit more serious.
Clara: I feel like it’s still very traditional, meaning it’s still pretty hard to make it there if you don’t sing in French.

How did you initially meet and start to collaborate?

Notinbed: Clara contacted me because she liked one of my songs, so she wanted to work together. I knew her from her band and she messaged me about a new project and then it really just flowed from there. For example, normally with an artist you throw away most of what you do to keep the best tracks for release, but with Clara, they didn’t have to throw away anything.

What inspires the narrative of your music?

Notinbed: It’s not conscious. We have taste in common - emo music, dark, sad music. We didn’t even talk about what genre the music would be. It was all very natural.

My favourite song of yours is Angel Candles. Can you tell me a bit about this track in particular?
Notinbed: I made a beat and played it to her and then she responded with a top-line that she created in 30 seconds. We worked on the melody, and Clara responded naturally with lyrics. Clara: I had one of my favourite movie scenes in mind when I wrote the lyrics: Carrie by De Palma when she gets thrown a huge bucket of blood at prom. It inspired me picturing some kind of revenge over bullying. It’s a girl who just invites her classmates, the ones that bully her, and locks them in the house and just casually sets it on fire.

What message do you want to relay with your sound?

Notinbed: For me, it’s just about trying to give emotion. Music is the best way to make anybody feel better, so the more people that my music touches, the more people that I hope to make feel better. It’s like a plaster for the brain.

Clara: I don’t think it’s a message that can be translated with words. I think it’s just sharing some things that we put all of our heart into with the hope that it can be understood.

What do you hope to achieve in the music scene?

Notinbed: Everything!
Clara: I think I just want to keep trying new things and go further into the unknown.

Will you and Clara work together in the future?

Notinbed: This was a capsule project. I am now working on a slow project to be released in September or October. This will consist of lots of singles to be released over six months. It’s refreshing to work on singles. Clara makes more ambient music.
Clara: I am working on solo projects with Helen Island as well. It’s very exciting!

Last question! If you had to design a scent to match your sound, what would it be?

Clara: Probably a mix of very dry wax and wet wood.