Full Spectrum

fter five years as two-thirds of New York act Galaxie 500, and over 20 years as ubiquitous duo Damon & Naomi, real-life couple Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang are finally making their way to Australia. The absence of a rhythm section may seem like an aberration, but like most things about Krukowski and Yang, nothing is that straightforward.

“We shy away from telling people what to play,” Krukowski explains. “So when we invite musicians to come play with us, we don't give them parts to play, it's a collaborative effort. Yet it's always been the functionality of how we write; in the habit of writing with a piano or guitar in our living room. It was a conscious decision to keep (live shows) intimate, to play how we play at home. We invite people to add their elements just like you would if guests visited your home. Bass and drums, we are somewhat possessive of that, it's what we do in the studio, so it's the one area that we could get a little bossy.”

“Although it'd be fun to get Bootsy Collins in some time, get people dancing,” Yang states cheekily.

The “legacy” of Galaxie 500 has hung over Damon & Naomi ever since the band split in 1991, yet the brevity of that outfit speaks volumes about the pair. They have truly grown as songwriters and as people side by side, and it's allowed them more personal and spiritual development than Galaxie 500 ever would have.

“We came to focus on singing and melody more over time,” Krukowski muses. “We didn't start out as singers, and I think that's why it's so hard to think of ourselves in that way. But when we go on stage now, it's just us and these songs. Galaxie 500 was a short-lived band, and a lot of bands are, but what we had a lot in common with those kinds of bands is we were focused on what the band sound was. It wasn't about the songs per se, nearly as much as it was about the sound of the group. As a duo we have never travelled down that path, rather it's always been about the songs themselves.”

The last two albums Damon & Naomi produced stand by that aesthetic, yet embodied emotions and themes that were very much the polar opposites of each other. Within These Walls (2007) dwelled in the disruption and despair that a tumultuous, dark series of events can cast over one's life at any given moment, while 2011's False Beats & True Hearts offered a buoyant counterpoint, the light at the end of the tunnel. 

“The previous record was very dark, it came out of a dark time for us,” Yang espouses. “On Within These Walls the challenge was how dark can we be. It was our state of mind then, and it showed, but once we were writing we wanted to see how far we could take it. So we came out of that and started writing again and we wanted everything to be brighter and more joyous. We are really writers that live in the moment, especially in the lyrics. I think that constant shift in emotions, that rollercoaster ride, is something that everyone has experienced in their lives. Really dark times and a sense of loss can be offset by those better times. Live we have learnt to harness both those abstracts of our music.” 

“A musician like Bryan Adams can go through those extremes of emotion all within a minute of one song, from verse to chorus,” Krukowski laughs. “It's true of us too, but over a much slower arc; over whole albums that take us years to make. But we get there in the end.” 

Damon & Naomi will be playing the following dates:

Wednesday 10 April - Brisbane Powerhouse
Saturday 13 April - The Rosemount, Perth 
Sunday 14 April - Melbourne, Toff In Town
Tuesday 16 April - The Vanguard, Sydney