![]() They told us, “this isn't really Bahari.” We're like, “We are Bahari.” We were so young that people didn't expect us to know what we wanted. At the same time, we were writing edgy, emotional songs, not what the label was expecting. They wanted us to wear white 24/7 and things became more pop than we wanted it to be, geared towards a younger crowd. Ruby: The way we were presented and the whole aesthetic of Bahari was something the label had a lot of control over. What were some of those things that you felt you were not in complete control? Previously, you were signed to a major label and said that things had felt a bit out of your control. She would come into our room and give us throat coat teas and lozenges. She also gave us a lot of tips for when we were sick. ![]() Natalia: The way her band hits harmonies with eight people is inspiring. Are there any parts of her artistry that you’ve been able to incorporate into your own sound? What advice did she have for you? When you're in a room with her and she's singing, it’s mind-blowing to see this little girl stand up there and make a room go completely silent with just her voice. She has such an amazing way of taking songs that sounded different and making them into her own thing. Ruby: When I was young, I would watch Birdy’s videos on YouTube and sing them. What was it like being on tour with her and getting to absorb certain aspects of her live performance. Ruby, I read that you grew up listening to Birdy. You’ve been on tour with artists like Birdy and Selena Gomez. ![]() When you're 16 and meet another 16-year-old girl doing the same thing, you absorb each other. Soon after, I met Natalia and we started writing together. When I first moved to LA, I was looking for somewhere to play the piano. We've been working with Rock Mafia since Natalia and I met at the studio. How did you both link up with Rock Mafia? We have the ability to grasp the emotions and context of an experience before enduring the experience ourselves. But when you’re writing about these things before you’ve experienced them, the emotions are just as real. Ruby: When you're younger, feelings are amplified. Natalia: Everyone can get their heart broken. When I hear her sing, I think about the emotional depth she possesses at such a young age - the way she can observe experiences, even those she hasn’t endured personally, and translate that through the music. Speaking of being too young, you have artists like Billie Eilish, who is 17, singing about heartbreak and other mature topics. In acting, roles often come down to type or appearance. In music, someone saying “no” to a song feels like a dismissal of your deepest thoughts and desires. The music world contains rejection, but an alternative type of rejection. You’re either too tall or too short, or they already cast a blonde. Many people told us, “You're too young to sing these songs with such heavy emotions, such big feelings.” But that was what we were feeling and writing, and that's what we wanted to release. How do you think being told "no" as an actor has helped prepare you for the harshness of the music industry? Natalia, you pursued an acting career earlier in your life and said that you’ve been turned down for many roles, as all actors have. Also, we both play instruments, which we have always looked to incorporate into the production. Our like-minded musical tastes weirdly tied us together even though we grew up on opposite sides of the world. Ruby: Being around so much African music growing up, the instrumentals are based in similar ways to Nashville. Natalia: We both liked pop music and making things that had more of a hook, and we both grew up on lyrically heavy artists - Bob Marley, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles. ![]() How have your different backgrounds and geographic tastes influenced the creative process as a duo? Auxoro: Ruby, you were born in South Africa and grew up off of the coast of Kenya. ![]()
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