Evanston Township High School graduate and horn player Momo Seko is joined by guitarist Alvin Santner in releasing their new album “Among Other Things” on Aug. 30.
While this project isn’t the duo’s first, the new release marks their first album consisting of original music. The two previously released their EP “In the Meantime,” which includes their versions of Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me a River” and Patience and Prudence’s “Tonight You Belong to Me.”
Although horn and guitar are rarely paired together, the duo believes this combination creates a unique sound. Seko said their rehearsal process — playing from memory rather than using sheet music — lends itself to a more individualized result. Additionally, if a piece is only “just okay,” they’re less likely to remember it and more inclined to try something new, which makes a stronger musical statement in the end.
“The music becomes a bit more abstract and I don’t literally need to play all of the notes or I can add a couple extra notes,” Seko said. “I can change the rhythm, I can change the articulation. Through classical sheet music training, it’s about bringing what’s on the page to life — you want to honor all of the little details on the page and then bring that out.”
“But without sheet music, you’re just playing from what your idea of the song is. Yes, you want to bring the same amount of detail, attention and care as you would with sheet music. But without sheet music, you can make different decisions every time.”
Santner agrees with his partner that playing by memory is immensely rewarding for their two-person ensemble, but acknowledges the purpose of writing music down when playing in larger groups.
Momo and Alvin’s songwriting and rehearsal process usually starts out with Santner writing something out, followed by Seko coming in with the melody. The two then hash out the details in their living room, trying new techniques, phrase ideas and articulations until the final product is complete. However, the process isn’t as easy as it sounds.
“Honestly, there’s a lot of crying,” Seko said with a laugh. “We’re trying to communicate about what we imagine the song could be and so it’s a lot of trying both of our ideas.”
Santner agreed, saying the process can be difficult and lead to disagreements. But in the end he said it often lends itself to a more fulfilling, personalized product.
“We have been working on a song for months, and we know that it could be really great but it hasn’t gotten there yet. We’re both getting attached to it and maybe we’re having different ideas,” Santner said. “But that’s part of it because we needed to go through (those differences) to get to the other side where we could actually create something great.”
These differences allowed the two musicians to release an album of music they don’t know can be classified into one specific genre, instead saying it’s similar to sound or sonic meditation.
“You go somewhere inside of yourself, it’s like more of a process,” Seko said.
This is evident for Santner when he talks about his favorite song on the album, “Stonefruit.” He said the tune transports him to a new place emotionally.
“It’s a weird kind of sad because it’s not not a tragic kind of sad, but it’s the one I feel most changed by after it’s done,” Santner said. “It’s kind of a bittersweet, melancholy kind of feeling.”
Despite “Stonefruit” being his personal favorite, Santner said he expects “Snapdragon,” which is already released as a single, to be a crowd favorite because “it’s just a very friendly, playful sounding song.”
The duo, which refers to itself as “Momo and Alvin,” will release the album on Aug. 30 where it will be available on Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.
The two musicians currently perform across the Chicagoland area both as a duo, individually and with other groups, playing a wide variety of genres. Seko and Santner also teach lessons to students of all ages.
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
