KATSEYE Talk ‘Forever’ Sister Manon, Beyoncé Inspiration For Coachella

KATSEYE are gearing up to take make their debut at the Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif. on Friday night (April 10) and to hear the group tell it they are taking inspiration from one of the event’s all-time greatest headliners.

“I feel like we’re heavily inspired by Beyoncé at Coachella,” member Lara Raj told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in a new interview ahead of the show of Bey’s iconic 2018 “Beychella” sets that paid tribute to HBCUs and Southern Black culture. “I mean, the most iconic. We are so inspired by the 2000s and how the showmanship of those artists were so valued, and to have shows that were so maximal and so many things going on. I think that’s something we really want to carry. We want it to be a circus; people are watching and they’re constantly excited by something that’s going on. That’s definitely a big inspiration.”

Raj said Friday’s performance is also very inspired by the currently five-member group’s hyper pop new single,’ “Pinky Up,” which dropped on Thursday (April 9) and is their first not to feature on-hiatus member Manon Bannerman. “You’ll see that [inspiration] within the outfits and the set design,” she said.

When Lowe asked how it’s been getting ready for the show as a five-piece, she added, “I don’t want to say too much … it’s been a grind. It’s been crunch time. We actually only had two weeks to do this whole thing and there’s a lot of new things that we’re working on, including our new single. So it’s going to be really exciting. We’re really happy about it.”

Her bandmates, Sophia Laforteza and Daniela Avanzini, also told Lowe that “Pinky Up” is a testament to their restless energy and, according to Laforteza, their inability to “stay still.” She said they always feel like they, “have to be doing something and we always want to make an impact and sort of leave an impression anywhere we go. And I think the biggest way we can do that is through our music. So we like keeping people on their toes and we like releasing things that we enjoy and want to dance to or connect to or bring out a lot of emotions and also bring to the stage.”

Lowe wondered how they’re feeling about performing “Pinky Up” for the first time live on stage, with Avanzini noting that it is “always so exciting when we start a new era and start a new song. And we all love, love, love this song so much. And we’re really excited to perform it on stage for the first time.”

As EYEKONS are very aware, this weekend’s show will be the group’s latest since Bannerman recently went on temporary hiatus to “focus on her health and well-being.” Lowe said he didn’t want to pry to much about what the situation is with Bannerman at the moment, but when asked to comment on her absence, Laforteza said, “Manon has been on hiatus and we love her so much and we know that she’s doing well. You know, she got to talk to the fans about it and we’re just really excited and we’re really just rooting for all of us, like each other. You know, we’ve gone through so much with each other.”

At the end of the day, she said the group that also features members Yoonchae and Megan Skiendiel, “all want each other to win. And to be good. And to feel good and to be happy and just, you know, just keep showing up for what we want.” Raj added, “I think we also want to say like she’s our sister forever. You know what I mean? Like we love her so much and we built this together. So we just want to give her all the space and love she needs right now.”

“Pinky Up” was written by Justin Tranter (Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande) and produced by dwilly, “hitman” bang and FRANTS, with the video directed by Bardia Zeinali (Kacey Musgraves, Troye Sivan). The high-gloss, frenetic visual, also their first not to include Bannerman, features a series of glamorous, high-fashion setups, as well as cameos from Elon Musk’s daughter, Vivian Wilson, who briefly appears alongside musician Mel 4Ever, model Katalina, drag queen Vhex and DJ Saturn Risin9.

“Pinky Up” dropped on the eve of KATSEYE’s Coachella debut, which will be their latest show without Bannerman, following gigs at Lollapalooza Argentina and Lollapalooza Chile last month; KATSEYE will also take the stage at the second weekend of Coachella on April 17.

Listen to the Lowe KATSEYE interview here (discussion of Coachella and Manon begins at 23-minute mark).