# Sylvan Esso on yogurt, Sidekicks, and getting unstuck

> The duo behind Ow ∞ answer the Verge questionnaire, and the answers run from EarthBound to a washing-machine phone funeral.
- Title: Sylvan Esso on yogurt, Sidekicks, and getting unstuck
- Summary: The duo behind Ow ∞ answer the Verge questionnaire, and the answers run from EarthBound to a washing-machine phone funeral. Reinvention comes from removing…
- Keywords: music, sylvan esso, interview, nostalgia, gadgets, technology, culture, Sylvan, Esso, yogurt, Sidekicks, getting
- Source: The Verge — https://theverge.com/entertainment/994340/sylvan-esso-ow-infinity-interview-music
- Author: Terrence O'Brien
- Published: 2026-09-12T16:35:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: music, sylvan esso, interview, nostalgia, gadgets, technology, culture
## A decade of electro-pop
Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn have made low-key electro-pop as Sylvan Esso since 2014, starting with their self-titled debut and the single "Hey Mami."
## Always moving the sound
Free Love went dustier and more fragile. No Rules Sandy went dancier and glitchier. Each record pushes the edges without losing the Sylvan Esso center.

> constantly pushing at the edges of their sound
## Ow ∞ goes retro
The new album, out Friday, swaps glitchy modular drums and glossy dance production for turn-of-the-century breakbeats and distorted guitars.

> perhaps the boldest reinvention of their sound
## Soul Coughing energy
Tracks like "Hot Slob" and "Concrete Glen" echo Soul Coughing and Blur, though the bleeps and modern vocal production are still there for longtime fans.
## The laptop is everything
Sanborn has loved a run of MacBooks since high school graduation and cannot picture working without one. He hates doing real work on a touchscreen.

> I am absolutely one of those millennials who despises typing or doing any important work on a touchscreen.
## Fix the phone
Sanborn wants a phone that feels like it cares about him more than about its maker. Meath wants hers to be a food replicator.

> I wish it felt like it cared more about me than its creator.
## One good corner online
Sanborn still hangs out on a version of the old Monome forum, focused on programming and instrument design. Meath's pick is spellsofmagic.com.

> It's the only place on the internet that feels more positive than detrimental to me.
## Sidekick as diary
Meath saved up for a T-Mobile Sidekick in high school and kept her journal on it. She still calls it the coolest phone she has ever owned.

> I kept my journal on there :D
## EarthBound and Skyward Sword
Sanborn replays the 1994 SNES game EarthBound every few years. Meath's first Zelda, played with a houseful of roommates, opened games up for her as an adult.

> It's beautiful and strange and full of humanity.
## The radio he never built
Sanborn spent years wanting an AM/FM radio with an analog tuner he could drive from a sequencer. When an Italian company finally made one, four friends sent him the link in a week.

> Of course I ordered one, and it's good, but I still think it could be better lol.
## How to get unstuck
When something refuses to get good, Sanborn walks away and picks up a neglected instrument to make something unrelated and consequence-free.

> I find removing expectations and shifting gears to be really helpful for my headspace.
## Splurge on yogurt
A month without a phone, after it went through the washer and dryer, was heaven. The thing actually worth paying up for, though, is good yogurt.

> I just think good yogurt is utterly transcendent. Deeply underrated delicacy.
## Key takeaway

Reinvention comes from removing expectations, whether that means a new album sound or picking up an instrument you have ignored for a year.