I arrived fifteen minutes early to meet Denitia & Sene late January in Manhattan. After giving the place a quick once over, I sat at an empty bar stool. No sign of them and no missed calls. It turned out the guests of honor had been waiting for me in the back of the restaurant behind a huge velvet curtain. “We’ve already tweeted the magazine about being stood up,” joked their manager. After a round of laughter and a handful of apologies, we got to know each other over a few drinks, some small plates, and a brief photo shoot on a rooftop across the street.
You two did a few performances on Parisian stages last year. Was it a dream come true or is that just what we do?
D&S: (Laughs) Well we’re big on Europe. It was amazing! We played a few shows in the north, west, south; we basically got to hit the whole country.
It seems like every interview you’ve done calls you the Brooklyn-based boy/girl R&B duo, which I can imagine is tiresome. Let’s switch that up. What are some of your favorite duos? The Jazzy Fatnasties? Groove Theory?
D&S: Greatest duos? What a hard question. Let me think about that. The White Stripes. Hall and Oates. Was Phil Collins in a duo? He is like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory on stage; the hair going everywhere. Rhye is another one. Outkast. While we’re at it, the Governors ball is going to be good this year. Oh, Simon & Garfunkel too!
