Samantha Gongol, photographed by Nadia Bedzhanova,
courtesy of Marian Hill
Samantha Gongol and Jeremy Lloyd, courtesy of Marian Hill
Philly natives Samantha Gongol and Jeremy Lloyd of Marian Hill can’t get away from one word: saxy. Their signature sound is, well, saxy — sultry, pop-infused songs driven by the saxophone. But their musical tastes run far deeper and broader than brass-driven fare, it turns out. And this young duo’s karaoke go-to? Downright surprising (and fun). Read on.
Our song of the summer…
“Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd — no question.
Albums/songs that made us want to be musicians…
JL: To be honest, it was probably something my parents were listening to before I even knew what an album or artist was. Memory is admittedly a little fuzzy from back then, but I’m gonna go with the album Songs of New York by Mel Tormé. The songs, the arrangements, the vocals… everything.
SG: Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club was the first record I remember sitting down and listening to. Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me was very influential on my sound. “Don’t Know Why” was the song that changed it all.
What we listened to in high school (when we met)…
We both were in a pretty serious singer-songwriter phase and Ingrid Michaelson was a definite favorite. And then we were both also pretty obsessed with Eminem.
If our high school selves made a mixtape for us now, it would include…
JL: Probably lots of The Postal Service, Eminem, Missy Elliott and “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap… forever classic.
SG: Eesh… I think Ms. Lauryn Hil, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, anything on the radio at the time.
Guilty pleasure song and/or karaoke song…
JL: “A Whole New World.”
SG: Waaaait. Super weird, we didn’t even discuss this, I was just listening to “A Whole New World” last night! Super into it. That and anything old Britney.
Our onstage look…
Lots of black.
Our favorite band, album or song to come out of Philly…
Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” because it’s classic, and how do you not love “Lady Marmalade?”