Emerging from the shadow of Sound Of Contact, Simon Collins and Kelly Nordstrom return as eMolecule with a sci-fi concept album about tyranny and redemption. The duo talk to Prog about being musical soulmates and the importance of always moving forwards and not looking back, with their lives, careers and music.

Words: David West

eMolecule: building new ideas on The Architect.

Images: Nick Elliot

When Sound Of Contact released Dimensionaut in 2013, the band were tipped as the next big thing in progressive rock. The quartet – Simon Collins, Kelly Nordstrom, Dave Kerzner and Matt Dorsey – won the Limelight prize at the second Prog Awards and everyone waited with anticipation for their second album. But it never arrived.

In January 2018, Simon Collins and Kelly Nordstrom officially announced their departure from the band, yet the two musicians continued to collaborate, working together on Collins’ 2020 solo album, Becoming Human. It was during the making of that record that guitarist Nordstrom planted the seed that grew into the duo’s new band, eMolecule, and their debut album, The Architect.

It started innocuously enough, with Nordstrom coming up with a guitar lick that formed the basis for the track that gives the project its name, while Collins and producer Robbie Bronnimann were occupied on Becoming Human. “eMolecule came out of the ether,” says Nordstrom. “The riff just fell out of my fingers. I recorded the demo in the room I was staying at, and it really had a positive impact with Simon.”

To fan the creative flames lit from that spark, the pair started jamming and composing, and it became clear they were musically tuned into the same wavelength. “Through much deep discussion about where we are in our lives at the moment, in our careers, and what we want to achieve, what we don’t want to do, we came to the realisation that we could do this together,” says Collins. “Kelly and I started Sound Of Contact; it was originally a duo, then we invited Dave Kerzner and Matt Dorsey in and things got sticky. So, we returned to what we did originally, but doing it right this time. We’ve worked together for a long time for a reason. I’ve always said this: Kelly is my musical soulmate, so that’s where it all started.”