Pige-ifying a Pandemic: How Best Friends Became Musical Duo Pigeon

By Minna Abdel-Gawad

The Seattle based Indie duo, Lucy Woodruff (she/her) and Phoebe Setter (she/they), recent high school graduates, began collaborating in 2019. Since formation the band has released an album, ‘Scattered’, and five singles.

With Pigeon, first came friendship—then came the band. The two met at the birthday party of a mutual friend and quickly became close. The musical duo came together after Setter posted an Instagram story that read “I just learned the chord progression to Brazil by Declan Mckenna”. Woodruff responded that she knew the lyrics and they decided to post a cover on SoundCloud. Their similar music tastes and strong bond makes producing music both fun and easy, and they make it very clear that, just as they formed, “We're friends before we’re a band”. 

Uploading a cover required an artist name. Woodruff suggested “City Pigeon,” but Setter said it reminded her of the Calpurnia song “City Boy” so they decided to drop the “City” and simply become “Pigeon.” “Pigeons don't get enough representation in [media], especially the music industry. So I was like, might as well be unique,” said Woodruff

The band’s first release “Good Old Days” was written at the beginning of the pandemic. Binging television series like most teens in lockdown, Woodruff was watching the finale of “The Office (US)” when a line delivered from Andy struck her: "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.” Woodruff said, “I was like, wow, yeah, same cause I felt like the world was ending. And I would never be able to go back to life as it was before quarantine.” 

Releasing their first songs amidst the pandemic created a unique approach to collaboration. While most bands had to adapt to the new format of making music remotely, Pigeon started that way. “When we started in quarantine, we would just be sending projects back and forth. And honestly, we just kind of still do that.” Setter shared.

This method held true when recording their latest single “Inevitable.” The two spoke about how their releases thus far have clung onto themes of nostalgia; the same rings true in “Inevitable”. The song’s opening lyric is: “In a few months time// Life as we know it will completely disappear”. With big chapters in their lives coming to a close they “resonate a lot with [nostalgic music]” Woodruff says. “I wasn't intending for it to be so nostalgic, but when I started writing it, that's just how it turned out” Setter adds.

Setter works on production and all instrumentals in the band. She spoke of how she started producing and messing around with Garageband in eighth-grade, recording “little ukulele songs on my mom's iPad.” Moving on to more challenging tasks, Setter would pick her favorite songs and work backwards to create them herself. “I remember I did this with ‘Reptilia’ by The Strokes. And I would just find the vocals of the song on YouTube. And then I would create a project where I would just completely remake the instrumental on my own.” 

While Setter works on production, Woodruff is the mastermind behind the lyrics. “I first started making stupid little songs in like, third grade,” she said. “I remember the first song that I ever wrote that I was like, ’Wow, I'm going to show this to everyone, this is the best song ever.’It was about lemonade.” 

Songwriting slowly became an emotional outlet for Woodruff: “In seventh-grade, I think, I wrote an album and it was really sad because Middle School is rough,” she said. Her dad helped her get equipment to record her music to explore the medium. “After I got all the recording stuff I would be on GarageBand like every single day, just like not even recording any vocals. It was just like making beats.”

Pigeon songs begin softly but rise in energy to crescendo. It’s distinct to their sound that the band’s songs “always have a big ending.” The duo described that their distinct sound also comes from matching guitar tones, making sure to always quantize their guitars to “pige-ify it”. 

Following their high school graduation two months ago, the duo spoke of their intent to continue making music together despite the new distance they will have. 

A musical project born in isolation and developed in an online world, the pair is aware of how the internet affects their growth as artists. They approach interactions with their listeners as any form of human connection, not framing it as building a fanbase. “You want to make them feel like we're all friends, because we are,” Woodruff said. Setter continued: “I don't want them to just see us as ‘Pigeon’, we're Lucy and Phoebe.”

That friendly, intimate approach is why they are playing their first concert on August 13th in Woodruff’s backyard. They are independently organizing the gig and excitedly shared that more than 100 people are expected to attend. “We didn't expect [the response] at all. I thought it was just going to be our close friends,” Setter said, “It’s just crazy because people are probably writing it on their calendar.” Woodruff jokes: “My parents are freaking out. They don't know what to do.” 

Following the upcoming gig, Pigeon is also  preparing to release their sophomore album. It will feature 12 songs and is mainly a compilation of projects Woodruff and Setter have worked on separately, but of course, are “pige-ifying”. 
Follow Pigeon on their journey on Instagram and Spotify