Odd children Etta Bond and Raf Riley are proving an almighty force to be reckoned with. The duo collaborated at the end of last summer to create the deliciously dark EP Emergency Room. Etta’s unique, soulful sound paired against Raf’s gritty, heavier production are proving to be an almighty force to be reckoned with. With a second collaboration scheduled for February, Wonderland went in for another taste.

Were you both friends before the project or running in the same circles?

Etta: No we weren’t friends. We were kinda running in the same circles but with bags on our heads, we didn’t know each other.

Raf: Our manager put us in the studio together.

How do you think a city like London has shaped the way in which you make music?

R: There’s a general vibe in London, like when you’ve got that rain, the constant grey and that aggression, that feeds into your dark soul and if you don’t let it out productively you’ll become a horrible person.

E: And then in the summer time you can make flowery songs.

R: But the majority we’ve got like three-quarters winter, so…

 

Tell us a little bit more about the initial idea behind the Emergency Room EP.

R: There wasn’t one. It came about after we realised we could just put one together.

E: It just happened, quite naturally.

If you could both work with any other artist on a track, who would be your ideal choice?

E: Example.

R: Tulisa.

Speaking of Tulisa, what are your views on musical talent emerging through reality TV?

E: Everybody has their own journey and how they get to where they want to go. Mine, I have just taken a different route. I dunno, I just think that growth and finding yourself as an artist takes a lot longer than a few weeks on a TV program, thats how I see it.

You’re both going to do amazing things in the forthcoming year. What can we expect?

E: We’re doing another EP around February.

R: Don’t expected the unexpected.

Who are you championing at the moment? Any other artists on your radar?

R: Oh, Jason Julian.

E: Raf Riley!

Listen to the Emergency Room EP on Spotify. www.emergency-room.co.uk

Words: Shane Hawkins