Neptune’s Core Talk New Singles, Support from the Chicago Music Scene, and Tackling the Music Industry
By Justice Petersen
One of Chicago’s most prominent indie-rock groups is a group of two sisters who are taking on the music industry with both radiant positivity and an unprecedented maturity in their artistry. The group, Neptune’s Core, is composed of Sofie Richter (vocals/guitar), Hannah Richter (vocals/guitar), Jackie Cywinski (bass), and Kaitlin Cywinski (drums). Having shared the stage with local favorites such as Dehd, Mamalarky, and Friko and earning praise from the likes of the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Tribune, Neptune’s Core is making their mark as one of the city’s most successful and dedicated bands.
On March 8, the band released two singles, “Box” and “Anyway,” which serve as A and B sides to one another. Their latest musical effort showcases a heightened level of experimentation and sophistication in their musical expression. Neptune’s Core released these singles prior to their recent SXSW showcase, and now they are currently on tour for the rest of the month.
Writing music that compels listeners through their effective combining of jazz and classical with indie and punk, Neptune’s Core creates work that is as intelligent as it is entertaining. The alternative quartet sat down with Chicago Music Guide amidst their SXSW showcase to talk about new music, how they pursue music as an all-female lineup, and the undeniably unique connection that they all have with one another.
Thank you guys so much for taking the time today! To start, going back to the beginning, how did the band start originally?
Sofie: Kaitlin and I were in the same class in middle school and we both had a common interest in music, so we started messing around with music. We dabbled with a couple original songs and had a good time trying things out and learning our instruments together. We were both classically trained, but still in the early stages of that, so we were kind of learning together. Things started to solidify when we played with Dehd at their New Year’s Eve show at Empty Bottle. That was the gig where we were like, ‘Holy shit, this is real. We can’t give this up.’ Ever since then, we’ve really taken this completely seriously.
Neptune’s Core has already gotten so much opportunity and attention for a local indie group. You’ve been praised by several local Chicago radio stations and news publications. You’ve also played SXSW! How does that feel for you guys?
Jackie: Music has been a big focus, but it’s definitely a turning point for us. We started delving into the business side of things more, so the radio stations, interviews and even being in the Tribune is a different side of success that we’ve experienced and it’s very rewarding. We’ve just been working so hard for so long and haven’t been giving up, so it’s paying off and it feels great.
Kaitlin: We’re grateful for all of the opportunities we’ve been able to have but, like Jackie was saying, it’s because we’ve been working really hard. We’ve been on it for a solid two years now and it’s really cool to see it all come into fruition. I think Chicago’s a really good place for that to happen and we’ve been grateful for all the people who have been showing us love and support and been there for us. It’s very surreal. When we saw us in the Tribune, a publication that we’ve grown up with, it was hard to believe.
How has the Chicago music scene influenced you?
Jackie: Chicago is the most supportive place. Some bands, like Finom, have been very vital to us. Not only with their badass music, but they’re the sweetest, most supportive people ever. Everyone in Chicago is just so supportive and uplifting. As a young female band, I think Chicago is the best place to be.
Kaitlin: I think mentorship is a really important thing. Being out of the Chicago scene, especially as a young female band like how Jackie mentioned, artists like Finom, Kaina, and V.V. Lightbody have all been really good sources of inspiration and encouragement for us when things can feel a little shifty sometimes. There’s a really good sense of camaraderie in Chicago and it encourages everyone to keep that going.
Going off of that, how has it been pursuing the music industry as an all-female band?
Sofie: It’s had its difficulties, and it takes a lot of effort to get to the places that other people can easily get to, but I think there’s no place I’d rather be doing it than in Chicago, which goes to say that Chicago is home to such incredible female mentors. It’s always difficult because some people will have first impressions of us that aren’t what we are, but we’re always able to prove ourselves in a way and gain respect. In Chicago, respect is already there because there’s just this inherent support in the scene.
Hannah: I feel like there’s been a big learning curve in the past. It affected us a lot when other people didn’t take us seriously or we felt like we had to prove ourselves. But I think growing into the Chicago music scene and getting more of our place here you got to learn to stay true to yourself, and if people aren’t going to like you then that’s not who we’re appealing to. I think Chicago is great and being a woman is hard, but you have to learn to accept it and we’ve been really lucky to have been able to prove ourselves to most people.
Kaitlin: We’ve had to learn everything ourselves and find all of our connections and genuinely go to shows to meet other people, but I think that’s all for the better because we learned the inner workings of the industry. Every time we have an accomplishment it genuinely is such a great feeling. When we were asked to play SXSW we were freaking out. We thought it was the coolest thing ever, and I think it’s because we see what we’ve been pining for coming together and there’s no feeling like that.
I also wanted to ask you about your two recent singles that came out, “Box” and “Anyway”. What’s the story behind “Box,” the A-side?
Sofie: We had a really fun time with that song. I came up with the initial idea of sitting with the acoustic guitar, just letting ideas flow. I took it to the band and we knew we were going to have fun with this one. I had an idea for one vocal part, but I wanted Jackie to write the other vocal part so we could do it separately and then put them together. It was like fate, in a way. The lyrics also happen to complement each other perfectly. We just had a blast trying out all sorts of songs. Kaitlin went to town with the drums. We went outside of her comfort zone, and it really paid off.
Kaitlin: A fun thing about “Box” is all four of us sing on it, which is cool because I never sing. Hannah sings a little bit. It’s kind of cool when we come together and do all this experimentation. I think that’s what we liked doing in the studio for this song especially. In terms of the drums, there was a lot more of a percussive feel. You don’t really hear it, but once you listen to it, it’s very nuanced and interesting.
You all like indie and punk music, but you all come from classical and jazz backgrounds. How do you incorporate or combine those elements in your music?
Sofie: I think we see our music as a melting pot for all the genres. We come from so many different backgrounds of music. We see it as a chance to throw it all in there and create something unique and new and never been done before. For me, I’m very vocally inspired by Nina Simone. I love her voice because of how unique and powerful it is, especially in her lower range. A lot of people sleep on lower ranges, but I think I have so much fun exploring that kind of resonance. I love Fiona Apple, Sinead O’Connor, and Finom, which is a Chicago duo. There are endless musicians, especially female musicians, to be inspired by.
Kaitlin: We love to dance. We love to create hot energy on stage, but we like to do it in a smart way because that keeps us stimulated. When I listen to Art Blakey and take in his subtle ride details or the snare stuff that he does and put it in with the band, I think it adds a little bit more life and feeling to it where you can totally dance to it. But it’s also something that you can sit down and listen to and it’s still interesting.
What I love about both of the new singles is that they take on a different sound compared to your previous material. What inspired this change?
Sofie: The recording process itself was very inspirational. For “Anyway” we went to Jamdeck Recording Studio with Doug Malone with the mindset that the song was not finished when we entered it. It’s only finished when we leave it. In the past, we’ve been like, ‘Okay let’s just record this finished song.’ But for ‘Anyway’ and ‘Box’ we were like, ‘Let’s have fun with this.
Let’s try new things. Let’s take a risk even if it doesn’t feel 100% right in that moment.’ With ‘Anyway,’ I remember Doug suggesting that towards the end of the song we drop out all the instruments and just do the vocals. We tried it and it just made so much sense. We just entered the studio with such an open mind and it really paid off.
Hannah: I think a lot of it had to do with where we were in our lives. I feel like we were growing out of our old selves and into the newer versions of ourselves. That really is showing in our music and we’re constantly evolving and changing. That whole recording process at Jamdeck was a big moment for us where we got to experiment more, really get out of our comfort zones, and figure out where we wanted to go with this.
What future projects are you guys working on? What’s on the horizon for you all?
Jackie: We’ve been writing a lot and we want to get some recordings done. We have a shit ton of new material and we’re excited to see where it goes. We don’t know when it will be released or if it’s an EP or an album or anything. It’s all very up in the air.
Kaitlin: Until then, we will be playing those new songs live. We have an East Coast tour coming up when we get back from SXSW starting on the 23rd. We play in Urbana and then we go to New York, Philly, DC, Richmond, and then back to Chicago.
Sofie: We love feeling the new songs out live. It’s super fun to write actually. Before our Metro show, we had the set list solidified, but then we started working on this new song and it was too good not to play it so we had to squeeze it in there. We ended up playing it live on the stage and it was one of the best moments of the set.
Kaitlin: Feeling the songs out live like that is a great source of inspiration before we go into the studio. We get all these ideas flowing when we write new songs and test them out live because our music or any person’s music is going to change if they’re putting their emotion into it and if they’re learning more about their instruments as they go. Playing it out, testing it out, and seeing what sticks is very important to our writing process.
Are you ever nervous about performing new or unreleased material?
Kaitlin: You catch us before a show and we’re hugging each other and we’re super nervous, but then we get on stage and it all melts away.
Sofie: Playing a very new song makes it a little less nerve-wracking for me because it’s a different ballpark. It just makes me more excited to play the set because it’s something new. I think it takes a little bit away from the nervous energy because it’s more exciting. But it’s a very nerve-wracking process just to go on that stage. I feel like making eye contact with my bandmates and realizing we’re all in the same place right now gets me through it.
Whether it’s on-stage nerves or just the stress of pursuing music in general, what keeps you all motivated? What keeps you staying positive?
Sofie: Talking to people after the shows and hearing how our music impacts them, how they relate to it, and how it makes them feel okay about themselves. I love to see people smiling in the audience and feeling something, so I’m really happy to be able to bring that into people’s lives.
Kaitlin: For me, I really like the connection between the four of us. Being with the three other people that I genuinely love spending time with the most is just a really special experience and I feel like that keeps me going. It’s a fun experience with each other when there’s that love and community. I think meeting other bands and creating those special connections is really fun.
Hannah: To build off of that, I feel like the connection we have is something you can’t find anywhere else. It’s very hard to replicate that with other people. Being in Neptune’s Core has been such a big part of my life, and I think being in it with these people is what keeps me going. I don’t know how I would do it if I wasn’t with my sister and two best friends. We’re all practically sisters, though.
What should the world know about Neptune’s core?
Sofie: The songwriting process is just something that we really value. We put a lot of intention into our music and we absolutely love sharing it with people. My favorite part is either the songwriting process or the live shows because being there on stage with everyone so connected to the audience feels like we’re all just one.
I love that experience. I think we’re also always trying to put our best versions of ourselves out into the world, whether that’s on stage or something, we’re always trying to one-up what we did before. We’re always growing.
Kaitlin: We’re here to experiment and we’re here to party.
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Biography:
Neptune’s Core reflects their growth in musicianship, songwriting, and as people with their latest release, a double-sided single “Box / Anyway.” Their EP Called Upon (Side Hustle Records, 2023), recorded with Doug Malone at Jamdek (Deeper, NE-HI, Girl K), explores new sounds and powerful emotions. They at once look toward the future while also throwing things back to the 90s Chicago rock sound, with bands like Veruca Salt and Smashing Pumpkins being a big inspiration. With melodic bass lines, powerful drumming, shimmery guitars, and an unapologetic sense of self are what give Neptune’s Core their own, truly unique sound.
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Links:
Official: https://www.neptunescore.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neptunes.core/
