Having released their second full-length album Conscious last year to much critical acclaim, New Zealand brother-and-sister duo Broods very much fit the ‘big time’ equation, however for now they are happy recording with toy instruments they find at producer Joel Little’s house.  

Just before unleashing a pumping set at Marion Bay’s Falls Festival, Georgia and Caleb Nott spoke about instrumental experimentation in the studio and the impending standoff between ukuleles and recorders for pride of place in primary school music classes. 

“I use (Little’s) kid's toys a lot for percussion, he has a little kids’ percussion set and we use them a lot,” Caleb said. 

“In Recovery there is quite a lot of them, and (Australian singer-songwriter) Jarryd James uses her little recorder all the time and if he plays it it sounds like a majestic flute - he’s annoyingly good at everything.

“I’m really afraid (the recorder is) going to be lost, I think they've been replaced with ukeleles now – (although) it's a little less annoying so I'm sure that teachers are happy about it.”

Having teamed up exclusively with Little to write and record their debut album Evergreen, Broods took a different approach to Conscious, collaborating with a host of producers and artists including Lorde and Tove Lo.

The pair said working with a larger creative team had helped to keep the process fresh. 

“It’s just nice to work with other people because it's the best way to learn about your own ability as a writer and how other people's processes work and develop,” Georgia said. 

“It used to be when we first started writing 'nobody can be with me when I’m writing because I’m too personal', but now it's quite therapeutic working with other people.

“It feels like a session where you talk about your feelings and stuff - even though you might have just met them it's really nice to do it through a creative way that’s constructive.”

The massive crowd who braved a muddy moshpit to watch the band’s set at Marion Bay was an indicator of just how far the duo has come in just three years, yet little has changed in the makeup of the Nott household. 

Caleb said touring with a close-knit group including cousin Jonathan on drums served as a counter-balance to the “inconsistent lifestyle” of a musician.

“Hardly anyone asked me about it at Christmas time, people are just like ‘how are you? how are you doing as a person?’.”

“My grandad did get me to sign something for him at Christmas though,” Georgia added.

“He just goes up to people in the supermarket and says ‘hey nice to meet you, did know that Broods are my grandchildren?’ 

“He's very, very proud - they're all so proud and supportive of us but it's just exactly the same when we go home which is nice.”