Elliot Bergman is one half of the island-inspired duo Wild Belle. The Bergman siblings— Elliot and Natalie— hail from Chicago, where Elliot picked up influences ranging from Fela Kuti to John Coltrane. After Elliot’s Nomo project, he eventually teamed with Natalie to create the band Wild Belle. Their first single “Keep You” became a huge success, shortly followed by their first studio album “Isles” in March. Ever since, Wild Belle has been on the road with artists like Toro Y Moi and are now headlining a tour of their own.
The Eagle’s David Kahen-Kashi spoke to Elliot Bergman about how the band started, their collaboration with Shawn Lee and the importance of common concert experiences.
David Kahen-Kashi: How did you get your start in music and what were the origins of the band?
Elliot Bergman: I grew up playing music and playing saxaphone, kind of like studying music through college. The first band that I really toured with was called Saturday Looks Good To Me. So like a “Motown” inspired retro pop band. It was really amazing. It kinda started in Ann Arbor and I also had another band Nomo in Ann Arbor.
DKK: What was the transition from the band of NOMO to Wild Belle like, and when did you begin collaborating with your sister Natalie on the band?
EB: That actually started a couple years ago, we were actually working on a new NOMO record and we were trying to figure out ideas for songs and then we kinda realized we could be doing a new project. She kind of took over. Not really, but she kind of had a lot of energy and a lot of good ideas so we start focusing on those things. And we kind of finished this record before we had a type of show and we were not really sure what we were gonna call it, but we kind of figured we would put some music out and see what happened and that was sort of how we got rolling. We put out a 12-inch on our own label.
DKK: What was the process of writing and defining the sound you wanted on “Isles?”
EB: We wanted everything to be sort of soul music at its core and we wanted to create a world of sounds. We were trying certain things from an island sound and aesthetic. We were trying to use sounds that were sort of familiar and also evocative and sort of tweaked a little bit. So we might use an instrument and make it sound like a steel drum, but it’s not actually a steel drum, it’s an electric kalimba or something. Or a synthesizer that’s slightly out of tune and a little bit gong like. Then we write these great simple pop songs in the studio we try to hang all these sounds on it to sort of unsettle it a little bit and draw you in.
DKK: What was the experience like working with producer Shawn Lee on “Upside Down” and meshing your two distinct sounds together?
EB: The thing with Shawn Lee, that was for one track and it was an interesting collaboration that I just sort of sent him some kalimba music, and he kinda played drums and put some synthesizer on there. Then it came back to us and then Natalie sang over. That track sort of got sent around and kind of came together that way, but the producer that we worked with more on the record was Bill Skibbe. We worked with him in his amazing studio in Ann Arbor, Mich. and he’s got an amazing collection of instruments.
DKK: What kind of music were you listening to during the recording of “Isles” to influences you to write those records?
EB: We were listening to a lot of stuff from Chicago, a lot of blues. We listened to Bill Walter, Muddy Waters and Etta James. I also think we listened to a lot of stuff from Studio One. We listened to Alton Ellis. A little Bob Marley stuff, Della Humphrey, Kongos. So there’s such an amazing vibe from those recordings. We were sort of hoping to catch sort of a glimmer of mystery and that sort of heartache and longing that you hear in some of those records.
DKK: Do you think in this current digital era of music that Spotify and Youtube have made it easier to access new sounds or does it leave something to be desired compared to a live show?
EB: I think it’s cool for people to hear new sounds, but I think there’s something more elemental at work when bringing people together in a time and space is really important in this time right now. When everything has become so fragmented and everybody is sort of hyperconnected through their little iPhone, but people are more and more isolated and distant and kind of becoming disconnected, I feel, by all of these sort of fabricated distractions to just be able to get in a room and dance. Or listen to music or stand next to a stranger for an hour and have some sort of common space is positive. It’s a space people kind of desperately need, I think. Whether it’s going to a concert, going to a church, going to a baseball game, all of these things; it’s important for people to be together and share an experience.
Catch Wild Belle at U Street Music Hall on Oct. 22.
