Sylvan Esso - Hey Mami

Sooner or later the dudes at bodegas will hold their lips and own their shit.

Album: Sylvan Esso [debut album]
Genre: Dance, Indietronica, Synth-Pop
Album Release: May 12th 2014
Single Release: July 16th 2013 [lead single]
Length: 3.21
Producer: Nick Sanborn [age 30]
Vocalist: Amelia Meath [age 25]
Label: Partisan Records

Live on Moog Music in 2013


Live on KEXP in 2014


Live at Hangout Fest in 2015


Audio

Charts, Streams & Sales

US (albums): #39
Spotify: 50,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 6,600,000 +
Paste Magazine Best Songs of 2014: #1

Credits & Gear

MF-104M Analog Delay Mic

Details

• The band got their name from the Sylvan Sprite in the game 'Sword and Sworcery'.
  
  
• Both members of Sylvan Esso have a folk rock background but made a synth-laden, indietronica album when they joined forces. Amelia Meath used to play in the acapella folk group Mountain Men and Nick Sanborn was the bass player of the psychedelic outfit Megafaun.
  
  As well as changing their sound, the switch from band to producer-vocalist resulted in a new way of working for Meath and Sanborn. Two people simply can't do as much as five, especially live, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. For the music to reach its full potential, a duo must maximise their ideas and performances, which gives each member more creative freedom, but also more responsibility.
  
  On the business side of things, working as a pair results in more money per member because they only have to split the profit between two people. If a five-piece band make £1,000 from album sales, the payout is £200 each, but for a duo, it's £500. So a smaller group can stay profitable because they make more money by selling less albums.
  
  
• The song is about a confident woman walking around town who has men cat calling after her. There are references to staring eyes "as she pulls on the eyeballs of all the kids standing tall" and "she owns the eyes" which could be interpreted as she is enjoying the attention, she is taking ownership of the eyes upon her. The staring is on some level a compliment as men wouldn't stare at people they find ugly but it can cross the line as is also expressed in the song "she's walking so fast, she's walking so fast" which sound like she's trying to get away from someone.
  
  The song is based an Amelia Meath's own experiences which is standard for her work. She sees her singing as a continuation of her self as if her voice is a manifestation of her inner life given form. This makes her music very personal and therefore not abstract. The lyrics are concrete and free of metaphor or allusion. When Meath says "she's walking so fast" it's exactly what she means. As the lyrics aren't a matter of interpretation they are easy to understand.
  
  The accessibility of the music could explain the instant success of Sylvan Esso as the pair were playing sold out venues soon after the release of their first single 'Hey Mami'. Their previous bands didn't receive such a reception despite playing together for years which isn't meant as a criticism. Some acts are more suited for a broad audience and both approaches have their own merits. 
  

• I wrote the song when I was living in Red Hook. There was always a team of dudes who would hang out outside the bodega below me, underneath my room. Every morning I would come down to get my bacon, egg, and cheese, and they would call me "princesa."

  But sometimes I would get cat-called in a way that was really threatening, usually when I was walking home at four in the morning. I would feel scared. (Amelia Meath talking to Genius)
  
  
• "Sometimes there would be a pack of old men outside of the building who would look at me and say "Ugh, bless you." It would make me feel like a million dollars. I realised that I didn’t think that cat calling was always a bad thing. It is really wonderful to be acknowledged as a beautiful being. I also like to acknowledge others as beautiful beings in public. It’s a kind of communication. People usually just like to decide that I'm saying cat calling is wrong in this song. And in some places it is wrong, but I like to cat call people, man. I like to whistle at dudes, or tell women they look lovely. Sometimes it's nice, if you figure out a way of doing it well. I think we should be able to acknowledge each other in public spaces." (Amelia Meath talking to Genius)

Artwork