Coke Machine

We caught on to Coke Machine, a new Indie duo straight outta Compton Cairo, when they recently released their first EP – Something To Do – which features two Low-Fi tracks, simple in nature but complex in emotion. With Kamal Tabikha, 21, on guitar and bass and Zeina Aly, 22, on vocals, the two singles wash over  the listner like the last wave, lapping against the shore. Check out the EP and our chat with the duo…

How did Coke Machine get together?

We met in an art class at AUC and became friends slowly, I was studying music at the time and didn’t really have a direction. Zeina had no background in music at all up until about a month ago when I sat her down and we played the song that we always play, Sea of Love, by Cat Power. We agreed we’d start jamming because we had both been stressed and wanted to find something to do, hence the name of the EP. We felt very good and we decided to continue.

How would you describe your music?

We don’t really know how to describe it because we are somewhat overwhelmed by the whole thing but we have a lot to say and we are only starting to say it.

What's your songwriting process?

We usually try to talk the song out, we will discuss what the mood/vibe we want to create is and we try and write that down. Usually we will have mild expectations and we accept that the song is subject to change. Sometimes we will hear a few notes played and they will resonate with us and we’ll build a whole song around it.

Which artists would you say inspired the EP?

We really admire Shoegaze artists such as the Raveonettes and The Jesus and Mary Chain. We are also huge Velvet Underground and Cat Power fans. As for which bands inspired the album, we can’t say we channeled a specific artist or artists but we’re sure our influences carried through the music.

What situations in your own lives inspired the EP?

We are both sometimes consumed by living in Cairo, it gets too real sometimes, if that makes sense, and this music is a direct product of that. And even if we dont get anywhere right now, we'll be good.

Do you have any live performances lined up yet?

We are in the early stages of writing so any live shows we do now will have to be short and simple as we want to present music that is well-rehearsed and we want to be ready for a show. For lack of a better word, we don’t want to half-ass this.

Listen to more from Coke Machine on their Soundcloud here