In conversation with IDER at the Green Door Store

Meeting at university in Falmouth, Lily and Meg instantly became close friends and bonded over their love of music and writing. Finishing their studies, they moved in together in London and began writing as a duo, forming IDER as we know it now. Already listed by The Guardian as a ‘One to Watch’ in 2018, the act is growing from strength to strength, and is quickly becoming a household name, appearing on Beats1 and BBCR1.

Before the show, I sat down with the duo to discuss all things IDER. As I arrived at the venue, the band the soundcheck was underway. The velvet curtain opens, and I am presented with a fabulous zebra print coat, an enormous barrel bag full of merchandise and a warm, excitable greeting.

How has your mini-world-tour been so far?

We’re approaching midway through the tour now… Asia was mad, it was so great. We went to Manila, which was weird and wonderful… then LA and NY. We opened for Sigrid in NY which was insane! It was everything we could’ve ever imagined. Then had one day in London, and went straight onto the UK and EU tour… It was so lovely to start the tour in Falmouth, where we met. I don’t think we actually anticipated just how amazing it was going to be… but it was really that feeling of full circle, y’know?

After finishing uni, we moved in together and we started writing! After another a year, we became ‘IDER’ and released our first ever single. It’s great because we’re such good friends. We were going to try and not speak for a week before this tour, but it totally didn’t happen. We travelled to this show separately and we were catching up on our morning’s activities like we’d not seen each other for ages. It’s hilarious.

While writing your most recent singles, has there been one stand-out track that you’ve stopped and thought ‘this is it – THIS is our sound. This is IDER’?

It’s a constant journey, and evolution, to be honest. That feeling comes with change, it is gradual… but two years ago we definitely had a moment of being like ‘THIS is IDER…’. But we could write a song tomorrow and be like ‘no, no, THIS!!’. But that’s good! We’re okay with that. It’s a sign of growth and development. Tomorrow ‘IDER’ might be death-pop? Who knows!

How involved are you in the creative direction of your shows, videos, artwork?

We’re very involved! We often devise ideas, and then work with great teams to bring it to life. We have quite different vibes from single to single, but it often stems from us and then we develop with people. ‘Mirror’, for example, was created with an amazing director and choreographer. We had two incredible women with us who just totally got it, us, everything. They really helped us bring it together. We wanted ‘You’ve Got Your Whole Life Ahead of You Baby’ to be something different too. A bit tongue in cheek.

The video to ‘Mirror’ is so clever… Can you tell me about it?

We actually filmed the whole thing in one day, but it’s meant to look like night into morning! We started in the house in the daytime with blacked out windows, and then we worked backwards. We did the very last shot in early evening (to look like dawn). Then we did the night time shoot at like 8pm… And we were so worried it wasn’t going to work! But we were very lucky how it went. We love the result.

What is your writing process?

It’s very much a collaboration. It’s different for each song too, which is nice. Our songs are very personal, we’re such good friends, so naturally it has to come from somewhere. So, it’s nice that we can write something together that we’ve personally been through, and then share it with the world and it becomes someone else’s. There’s no set formula to our writing, which is nice. Sometimes I will bring lyrics to the table, or Lily will bring a melody, sometimes it’s half a song each, or other times we just sit down together and start it right there and then! That’s the best thing about being a duo. There’s two brains becoming one super brain!

What’s been a standout moment so far from your journey?

The recent press we’ve had actually, has been incredible. ‘Mirror’ was the top 50 tracks of a popular playlist last year which had an amazing write-up about female writers with it too, so to think we were considered in the same ballpark of that is absolutely incredible?!

It really blew our mind. We admire these people so much, so it’s amazing to think we’re associated with these people… The live shows are amazing too. We played Village Underground in London last October which was sold out, it was mega. We really loved it.

What can we expect from IDER in years to come? An EP? A debut album? What’s the plan?

We have got our debut coming…! It’s coming out in the summer, we’ve got a name but we’re keeping it to ourselves at the moment. We’re going to be touring a LOT. Quite a few festivals, lots of exciting stuff. Keep an eye out for us!

SHOW REVIEW: 5/5

Performing to a packed-out Green Door Store in Brighton, the band roll out fan-favourites ‘Mirror’ and ‘Learn to Let Go’, before stopping for a chat with the audience. Introducing themselves, their sound manager, and the current tour – the pair seem instantly at ease with the crowd. There is a real sense of excitement, anticipation and love in the room.

Continuing to perform a medley of old and new, the crowd gets louder with applause and cheer with every song. As the set progresses, Lily and Meg swap from varying sides of the stage to play different instruments, both as well as each other. They play separately, facing one another, acapella, and collaboratively with the audience. Switching between different roles with ease, there is no doubt that on stage performing is truly where they both belong.

Breaking up the smooth stream of synth-heavy, dreamy pop, they cover R&B classic ‘Roses’ by Outkast, in their own unique way. This was the pivotal moment of the evening for me, as it portrayed everything this act is about. Fun. With the crowd filling in the lower backing vocals and laughing along the way, you can see the sheer joy and fulfilment on IDER’s faces as they smile and laugh back to the crowd. Never in my life have I heard such an alternative cover work so well, and sound so beautiful. “Thank you, Brighton. That was really special.” Meg comments are the end.

There is a clear, harmonious balance between IDER’s love for their work and love for music, which is intrinsically reciprocated by the fans in the room. Their sound is like nothing I’ve heard before. It’s clever, complex and complementary of each other. The harmonies, the instruments, the emotion behind the lyrics. It all collaboratively makes for an incredibly moving show. With their debut album just around the corner, I expect nothing but great things for this fantastic duo and I can’t wait to see what they achieve in years to come.