Together, Anna Nordeen and Reni Lane make up Fever High, but they’re more than just an indie-pop duo who make retro-tinged, danceable songs with harmonies and earwormy choruses up the wazoo. Proof is their latest set, EP All Work. It makes sense, since, along with collaborator/producer Adam Schlesinger, Lane and Nordeen boast a pretty stellar musical resume.

Schlesinger is a member of the power-pop quartet Fountains Of Wayne and was in the bands IVY and Tinted Windows. He also writes and produces music for film and television. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Nordeen has released a solo EP, You Know Where I Am (“It’s more indie dream rock with some doo-wop beats,” she says), and has acted in various indie films.

Multiinstrumentalist Lane — who plays piano, guitar, bass, trumpet and trombone — downplays her famous connections, but aside from also having her own solo album, she’s performed with Joseph Arthur, the Eurhythmics’ Dave Stewart, Linda Perry, Howie Day, and more. “I was briefly in an all-girl group called The Like, which was really fun,” Lane says. “We did a tour in the US opening for the Arctic Monkeys which was truly bananas. I think that experience taught me that all-girl groups are surprisingly naughtier than the guy groups!”

Living in Brooklyn, Nordeen says, is a vague metaphor for Fever High’s music. “Our music is about having fun and letting go, and that’s exactly how I feel when I get off the subway from being in the city all day!”

Hometown:

Anna Nordeen: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Reni Lane: I was born in Corvallis, Oregon but moved to Williamsburg, Virginia when I was 11.

Homebase: Brooklyn

Why are you called Fever High?

AN: Fever High came from a combination of two band name ideas: Slight Fever and High Stylist. We couldn't agree on a name — it took like three months. One day, during a band-naming text session, I just said, what about Fever High? We immediately looked to see if it was taken because everything under the sun was already taken and it wasn't!

Are you considered a duo or a trio? How did you all meet?

AN: Yeah, Adam is part of the band. We were always sort of in the same scene in New York. Adam would have me come over a lay down vocals for demo tracks and he'd be writing. One day, he asked me to sing on a song he was working on called "Thats So Typical." That's when we decided to start collaborating and writing and turn it into a band. We found Reni through a friend of Adam's. Apparently, we have a million friends in common but never crossed each other's paths before.

RL: I have a feeling Anna and I may have locked eyes on the dance floor some starry night long ago…

How did you guys discover music? Did you grow up in musical families?

AN: My dad was a guitarist and had some rock n roll and bluegrass bands and my mom had a large record collection. We were the kind of family that would get out the records and dance in the living room after dinner.

RL: My parents were definitely very creative and kind of ex-musicians from their school days. My dad was first chair french horn in high school orchestra and my mom played piano and sang all throughout her childhood. She would buy season passes to the university orchestra and take me when I was little, which I loved.

Describe the moment when you realized you wanted to make music for a living.

AN: It was at my first solo show at Ace Hotel in New York City. I was so nervous. There was one particular part in one of my songs that I really had to belt and go for it vocally. I was terrified! The song started and the whole time I was aware the part coming up in the back of my head. Then, the part came and I was like fuck it, and went for it. I lost myself in it. The universe opened up to me. It's like I was floating in space passing by nebulas or something. Pure magic. It was only for a moment but it felt like eternity! When I came back down to complete my song, I felt all tingly inside and awake. That's when I knew I wanted to do it for a living and I think that's what most musicians keep fighting for. It doesn't happen all the time.

RL: My parents picked up a tiny Casio keyboard from a garage sale when I was about 6. I wrote so many songs on that thing, but my mom eventually made me learn to read music so I could write my compositions down. Once I had a folder full of my songs all notated like that, I had an “a-ha” moment where I realized I might actually be able to do this for the rest of my life.

You've a lot of famous musician friends, but who is on your list of people you'd love to collaborate with?

David Bowie, Sia

What do you do for fun?

AN: I have dinner parties with my friends that turn into full on sweaty dance parties. My friends just bought a house upstate and they have a river that I'm very fond of tubing down. I also like to write Halloween songs. I'm also trying to convince the band to put out a Halloween album.

RL: I love to cook. I love to cook in the wild. I love to cook vegan food for my boyfriend in the wild. Nothing like freshly blackened tempeh sticks to say “I love you.”

How would you describe your music to someone who's never heard of you?

AN: Retro-tinged synth pop with girl on girl vox.

What are your day jobs? Do they help you make music for the band?

AN: I work at the New York Times, but get out at 4 p.m., so I have a good chunk of time to jam it out with or without the band after work. Naps are my best friends. I would like a vacation though! On a beach. In the sun! For about a year!!!

RL: I hustle. I believe anything and everything in life has the potential to inspire your musical output. Aside from writing and playing for other people’s projects and working my own solo stuff, I’ve recently been doing funny things like organizing eccentric savant’s houses. I was on Task Rabbit for a minute and somehow got really lucky and roped a few amazing clients who keep hiring me to do random stuff. I really like it because it’s always something new and I get to shoot the shit with my bosses. I was organizing this bookshelf for my friend Giulia who is a very talented writer and all of these books had special notes from the authors written to her inside the cover. That was pretty cool!