LA-based sibling duo Between Friends (a.k.a. Savannah and Brandon) took the stage at Gov Ball for the first time, performing songs off their brand new, experimental pop EP, cutie.

Comprised of 9 tracks, the EP explores topics of growing up, love, and navigating relationships. This is their first body of work that they released after being signed to 10K Projects last year. Prior to this, the duo was hustling from their at-home studios and making DIY music videos. In addition to music, they have a shared love for fashion and beauty, having modeled for Burberry and Marc Jacobs. 

Check out BETWEEN FRIENDS exclusive photo diary below as they prepped for Gov Ball and the release of their new EP, as well as our chat with them about the new songs, their inspirations, and more.

rehearsing the set was so much fun. with these past two shows being our first official live performances, it was really special figuring out how to arrange the songs for a live performance.

An exciting day for you both – you’ve just performed at Gov Ball and you have a new EP out today. How are you feeling? 

SAVANNAH: Amazing! Overwhelmed with excitement and happiness. We’ve been looking forward to putting this music out for a minute now.

BRANDON: The fact that it all lined up with the festival, too, is so cool. It’s like the perfect release party today!

Can you tell me a bit more about your new EP? What was the process like for you both while creating it? What are the vibes?

SAVANNAH: Absolutely. I think the vibes are really just divine. We wanted to make a project that had no barriers or boundaries. We wanted to try different things and be different characters when making it. We don’t like to put any boxes around our music. We like to create and see where that takes us. I hope that it is perceived in that way when people listen to it because we just had a lot of fun. 

BRANDON: cutie is a personality for us, and it was almost like a confidence that we’ve never embraced. We created, you know, from different perspectives, and using that confidence of the character, we wrote the story. We’re just happy to have it out. We’re happy to give it to the world now. We’ve been sitting with it for so long, so it feels really good.

covered the bass in stickers cause we took a break.

sometimes glasses help with confidence in the rehearsal room.

a quick camera check after we shot the try music video, right before we left for new york. got a vx-1000 to bring on our tours. iconic cam.

When it comes to songwriting, I’m sure that you both have to open up to each other a lot about things that you’re going through and feeling. Do you feel that having this shared career and experience helps you bond even more with each other? 

SAVANNAH: I think we’re lucky because we can be super honest with each other regarding what we write and our opinions, or whether we like something or not. We’re very open with the process of how we write and the things that are going on in our lives, and we tend to tap into different stories and tell stories from other perspectives. It’s a really fun process when we write together. 

BRANDON: It’s very natural, too. I feel like we’re never really forcing anything. We’re just so close that when we get in the room to work on shit, it just turns the way we want it to, so that’s a really nice feeling. Kind of knowing at the end of the day that when we get together to work on something, it’s going to be something that we like.

You’re both very hands-on when it comes to every aspect of your music and the different content you’re putting out, like your music videos. Is it important for you to have that ownership over all aspects of your music and your creativity?

SAVANNAH: I think we’re just very OCD about our work. We love to create what we want to create and I think because of that we’re very hands-on in the process of everything. I’m sure as we move forward, we’ll need help. We’ve had so much fun making it ourselves and I think that it makes us feel so much closer to every little detail. 

BRANDON: It’s also hard to give up our control on stuff and I think that’s something that we’ve realized. We enjoy everything a lot less when we’re not taking control and doing a lot because that’s how we started this project. Between Friends happened in our bedrooms. We came up with ideas, made songs at home, Sav shot the videos, and we put out this stuff for fun, so we don’t ever want to lose that character.

it was CUTiE release day! made some custom jerseys to celebrate for the performance.

This is your first project with 10k Projects. How has it been working with them? 

BRANDON: It’s been amazing. They’re great. It definitely feels like we’re out of the bedroom now. It feels like the real-deal thing and we’re happy to be working with a team of great people that love the music. It’s gonna be a fun year.

What is your earliest memory of collaborating, whether that be the first song you both did or another form of art?

BRANDON: We’ve been making music together since we were so little. Our parents would drive us to talent shows and we just wanted to be on stage. I remember we played fairs when we were kids in Florida. We used to watch movies and write songs.

SAVANNAH: Yeah, we’d make soundtracks for movies. 

BRANDON: Yeah, we’d pull up to our parent’s room at four in the morning, like guys, the song’s done. We wrote our version of the Avatar soundtrack and stuff like that. We just always wanted to make shit. That’s how it goes. 

Fashion and beauty are also something you guys are both really into and have gotten to work with a lot of great brands like Burberry and Marc Jacobs. Is there a dream brand that you would love to collaborate with? 

SAVANNAH: We want to work with everyone! We love to make our own clothes, too. 

BRANDON I think that’s definitely something that we want to venture into – designing our own stuff. 

sometimes we sit. especially when a little nervous.

gov ball was so much fun, so happy and grateful for everyone who came to see us <33 hope u guys like the new music! CUTiE is out now <33

Who are your biggest inspirations when it comes to fashion?

BRANDON: We love things that relate to our childhood, like the cartoon characters we loved. Things like anime, Rocket Power. We also love motorcycle outfits and racecar driver outfits. We love wear that has something to do with doing something with it if that makes sense. All of our favorite items of clothing are what people wear to do something. It gives it sentimental meaning and we want to design and make stuff that has meaning.

What are your plans for the summer?

BRANDON: We’re gonna be in the studio. We’re gonna do a little bit of traveling and then we’re gonna just lock ourselves in the studio. 

You can always take the studio with you. You can make a studio anywhere!

BRANDON: Yeah, we’ve done it. That’s what we’re gonna do. Like we’re gonna travel around and visit some friends abroad and set up studio wherever we can and make as much music as possible.

Interview Naureen Nashid

Photo diary BETWEEN FRIENDS

CUTiE is out now.