If Afropunk Festival were a washed-up celebrity, the extravaganza would most likely be the music festival counterpart to the legendary Gary Busey: an unpredictable feat that gets better (and crazier) each year. This year, when guests weren't busy freaking out over the D'Angelo performance and footwork moments at the DJ Rashad tribute, a select group of up-and-coming musicians were given the chance to take the stage and show their musical skills to the Brooklyn crowd.
We caught up with Afropunk first-timers Denitia and Sene, the Brooklyn-based duo with buttery-smooth vocals and genre-bending production skills and jumpy beats, to get their story: boy meets girl, girl rejects boy, boy and girl make awesome music together anyway. Check out our interview below.
We caught up with Afropunk first-timers Denitia and Sene, the Brooklyn-based duo with buttery-smooth vocals and genre-bending production skills and jumpy beats, to get their story: boy meets girl, girl rejects boy, boy and girl make awesome music together anyway. Check out our interview below.
CHLOE DEWBERRY: Can you guys describe your sound for those listeners who aren't familiar?
DENITIA ODIGIE: It's like electro-pop, but I mean it spans a lot of different genres.
BRIAN "SENE" MARC: We try to keep it sexy at the same time. It's sexy-electronic I'd say.
DO: It’s Selectro. I don't—I just came up with that. Let's trademark that.
Where do you guys take your main influence from when it comes to creating music?
BM: Denitia sings most of the lead vocals, so I can't tell you where to pull that inspiration from. That's all her years of life coming out there when she sings. I would hate to try to pinpoint something that just comes. It's everything that raised her and everything that raised me. When we get in a room together, that's just how it goes.
How did you guys come together and start making music?
DO: We met in Flatbush, Brooklyn at a collective called The Clubhouse. Sene approached me, well, he hit on me and wanted to date me, and I said, "I'm not available," and so he said, "I like your music anyway." And I said, "Let's make a group and take it to the top."
BM: That's how it went down. It was basically, "You can't hit this, but we can make hits."
If there was one emoji that describes your sound and dynamic, it would be...
BM: The first one would be the side-eye emoji.
DO: I like the one with the shades on.
BM: And then the surprised guy! Because one of us will always say something that will really catch the other one off guard and laughter ensues.
How do you guys prep before you go onstage for a performance?
BM: We have a drink and we talk to each other. We don't box out, that's for sure. I feel that the closer we get, the closer we get, you know? That goes from talking to everybody, to the three of us. There's three of us usually rocking; Denitia, myself, and Nolan (band member). So we kind of box in and take a shot. Our friendship, even if it's a joke, it's the three of us and then we step on. We don't go off and distance ourselves. We always magnetize and then we move onto the stage.
Do you coordinate your outfits when you go on stage to perform?
Both: Never.
BM: We always trust each other. If someone asks an opinion, that's separate. We always tell each other, "You're not going to wear that, right?" Sometimes we just like the same things when it
BRIAN "SENE" MARC: We try to keep it sexy at the same time. It's sexy-electronic I'd say.
DO: It’s Selectro. I don't—I just came up with that. Let's trademark that.
Where do you guys take your main influence from when it comes to creating music?
BM: Denitia sings most of the lead vocals, so I can't tell you where to pull that inspiration from. That's all her years of life coming out there when she sings. I would hate to try to pinpoint something that just comes. It's everything that raised her and everything that raised me. When we get in a room together, that's just how it goes.
How did you guys come together and start making music?
DO: We met in Flatbush, Brooklyn at a collective called The Clubhouse. Sene approached me, well, he hit on me and wanted to date me, and I said, "I'm not available," and so he said, "I like your music anyway." And I said, "Let's make a group and take it to the top."
BM: That's how it went down. It was basically, "You can't hit this, but we can make hits."
If there was one emoji that describes your sound and dynamic, it would be...
BM: The first one would be the side-eye emoji.
DO: I like the one with the shades on.
BM: And then the surprised guy! Because one of us will always say something that will really catch the other one off guard and laughter ensues.
How do you guys prep before you go onstage for a performance?
BM: We have a drink and we talk to each other. We don't box out, that's for sure. I feel that the closer we get, the closer we get, you know? That goes from talking to everybody, to the three of us. There's three of us usually rocking; Denitia, myself, and Nolan (band member). So we kind of box in and take a shot. Our friendship, even if it's a joke, it's the three of us and then we step on. We don't go off and distance ourselves. We always magnetize and then we move onto the stage.
Do you coordinate your outfits when you go on stage to perform?
Both: Never.
BM: We always trust each other. If someone asks an opinion, that's separate. We always tell each other, "You're not going to wear that, right?" Sometimes we just like the same things when it