Emerging from the bubbling cultural scene of New York, US, Occurrence are a mesmerising and ethereal outfit, offering poignant and kaleidoscopic pieces balanced between classical elements and electronic inserts.
After a productive few years, the trio is gearing up for a special album release. ‘Slow Violence’, out next year on April 7th, contains perhaps their most honest and authentic lyricism to date. In it, they open up about personal struggles and life challenges.
Comprised of Ken Urban, Cat Hollyer and Johnny Hager, Occurrence are a discovery worth having. It’s music for the mind, not just for the senses. Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the American trio to find out more about their artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey guys, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
Cat: We make evocative electronic pop.
Ken: Experimental and nostalgic.
Johnny: Passionate and sexy.
Yours is a pretty interesting story, one where friendships are found again after years. How did that motivate you in expressing yourself through art?
Cat: One way it motivates us is that, plain and simple, we genuinely love each other and want to spend time together. Getting to do that while also creating something we all love has just made our friendship stronger. Plus the more songs we write, the more pasta Ken lets us eat.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
Cat: The three of us are in love with Thom Yorke and his recent album with The Smile, so that’s an obvious choice—we’d maybe be too busy fainting to actually collaborate, though.
Ken: Boards of Canada or The 1975 would be fun. Or Elite Gymnastics. Sorry, that’s three.
You have just released an evocative, charming single, ‘Heels over Head’, taken from an album coming later next year. Genre-wise, is the whole album focused on kaleidoscopic, bubbly electronic?
Ken: I’d say the album is a journey. There’s a lot of dark material on there. No light without darkness.
Cat: We’ve long written material that’s melancholy, angry or sexy, so bubbly is quite new for us. But that’s what’s interesting about how our music has evolved. We’re getting a lot more optimistic which is vulnerable for us.
Reading your press material, it was clear that the lyrical material behind the single (and the album) is deeply personal and surely heartfelt. It takes courage to do that. How did you deal with being exposed to listeners all over the world?
Johnny: Ken and I share a passion for words, not just music. Words in the “right place” make us satisfied. And in a way, for me, it’s where the feelings we have for each other fit best. The right words in the right order equals happiness. It isn’t really exposing more than the plain truth about the love we have for each other. This song is an expression of love.
Ken: I’m audibly blushing.
Cat: I don’t feel all that bad about strangers hearing this work, it’s more nerve-wracking imagining my friends and family hearing it. But for me, the best things I create come from that vulnerability, so it’s something I try to make peace with.
What’s your songwriting process like? Do you write alone or together?
Ken: Together.
Cat: Ken makes demos and Johnny and I figure out which ones we want to write lyrics for.
Ken: Sometimes I write with one of them in mind. Or I’ll have Johnny or Cat sing something and I’ll build a track around that.
Cat: Ken gives every demo a title, so those are always the inspiration for my lyrics. And then it’s just a matter of playing to our strengths, which we’ve gotten better at over time. Johnny has found this absolute sweet spot in his voice and really knows how to write well for his own beautiful tenor voice. I’ve been trying out a few different things lately instead of defaulting to “whispery and brooding.” And all of it is inspired by Ken’s music, which are often complex and polyrhythmic that they force us to think differently about what a melody can be.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
Ken: The pandemic was hard. We couldn’t all be together for 2 years. Keeping the band together during that was challenging. Some days you wondered what the point was… At least I did.
Cat: But we actually managed to keep creating and moving forward though. When we were finally able to get back together last year, we experienced this wildly prolific period and created so much new material that it was hard to figure out how to proceed. But thankfully, those songs felt like they were of a piece. Hence: our first double album.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
Ken: We are doing a dance theatre piece based on our new album at MIT in April 2023. We will be playing these songs live as part of that.
Cat: Five years ago, the three of us sat down and set some goals for ourselves. One of them was to do a performance with dancers. And… it’s happening! It feels unreal to me, but it’s actually happening. I cannot wait to see what the dancers and director/choreographer Dan Safer create.
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