Since Sietta formed in
2007, James Mangohig and Caiti Baker have established a style of music that’s
both distinctive and accessible. Ned Dickesen caught up with James at the Darwin Festival
– Sietta’s platform for the launch of its new single ‘Let it go’.
"Sietta is essentially soul
music with big beats:
big drums,big sound.
But at the heart of
it is soul and blues."
Verging on six-foot tall and a built like a scrum forward,
James Mangohig cuts an authoritative figure. As he strolls through Smith Street
Mall, his expression is unreadable – hidden behind pitch black sunglasses. I
feel compelled to take out my wallet and show him my ID.
I’m put at ease as soon as James removes his shades to
reveal a warm and friendly smile. He politely introduces himself and firmly
shakes my hand. He suggests ordering some coffee and leads the way to the table
with a relaxed and carefree disposition.
James sinks into his chair and soaks up Darwin’s dry-season
sun. Throughout the interview he gives thoughtful responses to any topic I
raise, including his background, the music industry and religion. The
36-year-old appears comfortable and content. After all, he should be, I’m on
his home turf…
Ned: What’s your
connection to Darwin?
James Mangohig: My parents moved here when I was five and
I’ve lived here most my life. Here and there I’m down south, but I still try and
get back as often as I can. I love this place.
Ned: How were you
first introduced to music?
James Mangohig: My dad’s a preacher, so I grew up playing
bass in a Darwin church. It was a very multicultural church with lots of good
musicians – lots of soul and gospel music.
Ned: The church background is evident in the
Sietta track ‘The Blind Man’ (a retake of the classic Christian sing-a-long
‘The Blind Man sat on the road and he cried’).
James Mangohig: Right, I showed the song to Caiti on piano
and we ended up remixing it. In the original song there’s a question about this
blind man asking to ‘show me the way.’ But in our track we don’t give the
answer; we don’t do the Jesus bit.
Although I come from a Christian background, I’ve turned to
a more agnostic view. While a lot of people are asking questions, I don’t
necessarily believe that the answers are out there.
Ned: Considering your
earlier influences were soul and gospel, what else shaped the music that Sietta
makes today?
James Mangohig: Soul music is the core of the Sietta sound, but
we mix this with a love of hip-hop, including Jay Z, Wu Tang Clan, Alicia Keys,
and lots of American music from the 90s. Sietta is essentially soul music with
big beats: big drums, big sound. But at the heart of it is soul and blues.
Ned: At the Darwin
Festival, Sietta is performing the new single ‘Let it go’ as well as preview
tracks for an upcoming album, has that album got a title yet?
James Mangohig: Not yet. That’s our main topic for brainstorming
at the moment.
Ned: We were hoping
that if we sprung that question on you we might get the exclusive scoop.
James Mangohig: (Laughs)
Ned: The new single
is very atmospheric. Is this the tone for the new album or can we still expect
some soul with big beats?
James Mangohig: Yeah, you can definitely expect big beats.
But we’ve treated the songs just like others we’ve written and I think that
fans of all the stuff we’ve done so far will still love it. We released the ‘Seventh
Passenger’ that was lots of synths and banging. Then we brought out an EP
called the ‘Dark Passenger’ that was really mellow. On this album, we’ve tried
to find a bit of a balance, not everyone wants to hear really loud, smashing
snare drums.
Ned: But there’s
still going to be some hip-shaking?
When
Sun 25 Aug 9pm
Duration
1hr
Where
Tickets
Full $30 / Concession & Group (8+)$25
Full $30 / Concession & Group (8+)$25
Bookings
You are really good at painting a picture with words Ned, I could easily visualise Mangohig rocking up to the interview. Richard
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