Two Minutes With… Whenyoung
Irish-born, Ramsgate-based indie pop duo Whenyoung are married couple Aoife Power and Andrew Flood. As they prepare to release their new album Paragon Songs, Aoife talks to us about the record, their journey as musicians and the unusual interest that keeps them busy in their spare time.
How did you meet, and when did you begin working together?
We met when we were in secondary school, through a mutual friend. We began writing music together when we finished university first as a band called Sisters and then as Whenyoung.
Do you feel you've changed much as artists over time?
We’ve developed our songwriting and musical skills. By working with other artists, touring, rehearsing and listening to music I feel like we’ve really grown.
How long has Paragon Songs been in the works?
We started writing it in 2020 and had it recorded and ready to go by 2021 but the pandemic and various other issues delayed its release. So we’re very excited to be delivering it to the world soon.
Does the album share much in common sonically or lyrically with your debut, Reasons To Dream?
Sonically it’s quite a change from Reasons To Dream. We worked more with electronic sounds on this record. Lyrically it feels like a development too but we think that the sound and lyrics are a natural progression from Reasons To Dream and reflect on how we’ve grown emotionally.
What are you both listening to at the moment?
Caroline Polachek’s new album, Lana Del Rey, Boygenius’ new album, Lankum, Ye Vagabonds…
You both have a sideline in garden designing - when did you become interested in this?
I (Aoife) studied Landscape Architecture at University and Andrew studied Architecture. We’ve always had an interest in nature and design so it’s a great job to do on the side of making music.
What do you have in store for the rest of the year?
We’re going on a UK and Irish tour starting in Ramsgate on the 7th of April with an album launch show. We’ll also be playing Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, London, Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Louth, and we’ll be playing some festivals.
Words: Scott Bates