A hypnotic Brooklyn-based band, PROM (comprised of Ella Zoller and Gabriel Stanley) has been delivering dreamy synthpop tunes since 2012.
Interviewer: When did your love for music begin?
Stanley: I can’t really pinpoint a time, but according to my family I have been singing, playing, and banging on things compulsively since gaining object permanence.
Zoller: That goes for me too! I spent my childhood performing a lot in recitals and plays, but mostly singing loudly to Christina Aguilera at the dinner table.
Interviewer: How did PROM form?
Zoller: My parents used to host touring bands at their house outside of Boston, and one night when I was there a band came through to stay with us. They invited me to their show in New York the next week as a thank you, and Gabriel and I met when we all went out for drinks afterwards. We chatted about how we both had some demos in the works and were looking for collaborators, and we started working together right away. Six years later, here we are!
Interviewer: Which bands/artists inspire your music?
Zoller: The Magnetic Fields, Beirut, and Grizzly Bear shaped my music tastes and writing style before I started recording music of my own. When we formed PROM, Phantogram and Purity Ring inspired our music early on, with some Youth Lagoon and Beach House thrown in there.
Stanley: This answer is always changing but right now I am really into Jai Paul, Mura Masa, Superorganism, A.G Cook, Promises Ltd, Cautious Clay, Danny L Harle, and the Childish Gambino Re-Release of his 2011 EP.
Interviewer: Which one of your songs is your favorite?
Zoller: “Mindsight” or “Keeping Company” (which is my favorite to perform live!).
Stanley: “Flickers” or “Tremayne.”
Interviewer: What advice would you give young musicians?
Stanley: If making music isn’t something you need to survive and stay sane, then I suggest learning to code.