Hey Mami

Vampire

Hey Mami by Sylvan Esso

Recommended by Skye

Skye suggested this band a while ago, and she gave me a couple of their tracks to choose from back in May. At the time, I listened through the short list and settled somewhat arbitrarily on Coffee.

Now that I'm more familiar with Sylvan Esso and their discography, and I want to introduce y'all to Hey Mami.

This was actually the first single from Sylvan Esso's debut album in 2014, so you probably already know it. I'm just not plugged into pop culture. They performed it on Jimmy Fallon and everything.

Amelia Meath's voice is unique, the harmonies are beautiful, the electronic beat is thrilling.

Elle said the track "embraces saccharine synths, bright xylophone tones, and dance beats" (x). Gwarlingo comments on the "rich and sparse" balance of "the organic, folk-like qualities of Meath's vocals with electronic beats and found sounds" (x).

When they mention "found sounds," they're referring to the electronic noises that back up the vocal line. Listen closely and you'll hear that the bottom layers are actually "a field recording of boats on the Milwaukee River" and "a looped car passing" and "[producer Nick Sanborn's] foot scraping along a wood floor" (x).

Okay, maybe we couldn't have heard all of that without insider knowledge...but now that you know what to listen for, you can at least pick up on some of it.

"I always love it," Sanborn says, "when the recording environment colors the record" (x).

In interviews, Meath has said that despite its folk influences, Sylvan Esso makes true "pop" music. That is, "these songs were meant very specifically to be catchy, to appeal to a wide audience" (x).

Still, she resents the idea that pop music can't simultaneously be folk music. Just it makes you want to dance doesn't mean it can't be quiet (x). "There's a lot of movement," but there's also "honesty" (x).

You'll notice that the lyrics of Hey Mami are from the point of view of an outside observer. That's because Meath prefers to dig into "universal, human emotion" (x). She says:

I don’t really like writing songs from the first-person perspective. I like talking about situations that are neither good nor bad. Like “Hey Mami” is definitely talking about cat-calling, but it’s also talking about cat-calling in this way that’s not, “You f***!” Sometimes getting cat-called is lovely if it’s done right. Sometimes it makes me feel really shitty and threatened. So writing about that, writing songs that are questions and not statements, is much more interesting to me. (Wondering Sound)

Stephen Thompson from NPR observes, "it's commenting on guys who make leering catcalls toward women, but it also functions as a catcall itself...It's very coolly seductive while also commenting on less-cool attempts at seduction" (x).

Overview:

Genre:
Electronic Indie Pop
(and folk "in an ethnomusical sense")

Favorite Lyrics:
She owns the eyes as she flies right through the sound
Moving her body all around town

Verdict:
guys want her, girls want to be her (but also want her)