Dublin based brother and sister duo who’s music is a mix of dub beats and roots music are following up on a top gig at the body and soul festival this year and striking while the iron is hot with a headline show in The Workman’s Club tonight.
The live show will have a full horns and brass section so it will be an interesting show. Our interviewer Deirdre Harrison asked a few questions to the siblings before their show.
Firstly, how would you describe your musical sound to people who have not heard it?
It’s a solid and bassy, with a variety of flavours, including soul jazz and roots music – but with an original and individual sound
Where does the name MADU come from?
The word MADU is a Malay word that originates from our Malaysian heritage (our father is from Malaysia) It means honey (in the organic sense!)
You decided to work together in 2000, over the decade how has your musical relationship evolved?
After 2000 Salim went to live in NZ and hung out on the reggae and dub scene. Having co-produced her own album ‘Caravan Trail, Aminah came back to Dublin and collaborated with a variety of different artists – Rodrigo & Gabriella, for example. As a duo we’ve brought these influences together. We’ve gone off an explored our individual interest and across that decade we’ve come together at points to collaborate – through that we’ve learned to understand each other and as a result – each other’s music.
Your debut album, “From the Elders’ Yard”, was recorded between Dublin and Kuala Lumpur, do you think recording in such drastically different environments made an impact on individual tracks?
Growing up both cities has had an influence on our sound – with regard to the music we’ve been exposed to. Recording in 2 different places made us really focus on a high standard because we wanted to music to translate well – and gave us the opportunity to work with different pools of talent. However, although the songs were written in New Zealand, Malaysia and Ireland the majority of the music was recorded in Dublin.
You collaborated with many musicians from diverse backgrounds such as Liam O’Maonlai and Ridzwan Shaffi of “40 Winks”; how did these collaborations come about?
With Liam – Aminah met him through another project she was working on (Parish). They hit it off and got on really well. Liam a real explorer of music. He was happy to come over to our studio in Dublin and collaborate with us. 40 Winks is a band we know in Malaysia – we needed horn parts for a few of the songs so we hooked up with them – Salim describes them as the ‘brassiest’ band in Malaysia..
Were you worried that incorporating so many different collaborators with polar opposite styles might make the album feel a bit disjointed?
Absolutely not.. The basis of all of the tunes is a Madu sound – having different collaborators enriches it!
Do you think being siblings is a help or a hindrance towards writing together? Or touring together?
It makes us a stronger unit -. Our musical interests growing up have been different – but our musical communication is instinctive
What can people expect from your live show at The Workman’s Club?
Uplifting and vibrant – the thing that will grab people is that it’s a fresh sound! And it’s something that while people may have a pre-conception of what the music is people will be able to relate to it . Each gig we play at has a really nice atmosphere. People let go – have a dance..it’s an infectious environment. Expect to dance! We’ve got brass –onstage this Sunday, which brings a live ‘black belt’ element to the show and lifts it up!