Otra opens up to us about their sound, motivation, and their song writing process. Let’s see what Otra has to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
The simple answer is Otra is part of our last name. But it also means “other” in Spanish, which is fitting as we hope to create music that sounds different. It’s a theme that shows up in our music too – as mixed race women, we’ve had to check the “other” box a lot in life.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
We always had music blasting in the car growing up, whether it was Jethro Tull/Kate Bush/Neil Young/Fleetwood Mac from our parents, or burned CDs of System of a Down and jazz from our brother. We sought out music in every way we could: playing clarinet in band/orchestra, studying all the Bach inventions on piano, learning guitar from Youtube, etc. We soon started trying to write our own songs and experimenting with Garageband.
How would you describe your sound?
Hmm that’s tough. Some are more synth-based indie pop with a dancey beat. Others are guitar-based alternative. But as we’ve incorporated clarinet, piano, mandolin, vocoder, etc into our music – the tracks can become quite experimental.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
While making this record, we were listening to a lot of St. Vincent, Rostam, Phoenix, The Voidz, and tUnE-yArDs. We’ve got a soft spot in our hearts for Beirut – Zach Condon has stuck with us through the years.
What’s the last song you listened to?
It was a very auspicious day because The National, Arlo Parks, and boygenius all released singles! I think “Emily I’m Sorry” was the last one.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Anytime we meet someone new we like to find out what they’re into. There’s a few special people like Colin (our cameraman/husband) and Paul (our musician brother-in-law) who have introduced us to a bunch of music we really love. Sometimes Laura finds new bands in a deep Youtube wormhole. We also love the Song Exploder podcast, Tiny Desk shows, La Blogothèque, etc. With certain producers like Aaron Dessner, we just have to check everything they put out.
Who is your dream producer?
Our producer Robert Cheek is a dream but we’d also freak out if we got to work with Andrew Sarlo. We realized several of our current favorite artists – Big Thief, Bon Iver, Dijon, and Weyes Blood – all benefited from his handiwork.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Rostam Batmanglij has thus far avoided our message waiting in his DMs but we’ll be ready when he is…
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Growing up we were extreme fans…to the point that Laura had an email list where she would share Strokes news and detailed song analysis with the family. As we started to learn how to make our own music and experiment with production, we got more and more addicted. Now we can’t imagine ever not making music – it’s something that just has to be part of our lives.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Often we’ll be really inspired by a song and try to copy a feeling or structure or sound from it. Then it can diverge into a totally different song that writes itself into another direction. Laura will add a messy (yet glorious) cacophony of layers and then Kara will strip it back and delete stuff that she declares “filler” 😀
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Our grandmother will take your call and tell you how great we are. Or if you prefer, you can DM us on insta at @otratheduck. We’ll announce shows and whatnot over there.
What’s next for you?
We are almost done recording Album 2!! And hopefully playing shows in LA and SF in the near future.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
Just thank you! We’re so excited we get to share our music with everyone.
