Nine Perfect Lives debut with «Die»: a musical bond tested by distance
Distance between Los Angeles and Brooklyn became the unlikely starting point for Nine Perfect Lives. Helena Straight and Stella Wave, longtime collaborators in
Distance between Los Angeles and Brooklyn became the unlikely starting point for Nine Perfect Lives. Helena Straight and Stella Wave, longtime collaborators in Hello Mary, released «Die» on October 27, 2026, introducing their new duo alongside a signing to London label AD 93.
Two cities and a creative relationship
Straight had moved to Los Angeles while Wave remained in New York. After years of seeing each other and making music almost every day, the musicians began exchanging demos remotely. Straight wrote an early version of «Die» in response to the heartbreak and confusion her move had caused. Completing it together reminded them that their creative connection could survive the separation.
Why this is not simply another Hello Mary release
The material developed a character that felt different from the work associated with the pair’s teenage years in Hello Mary. Unusual song structures, intricate rhythms and close vocal harmonies bring art-rock experimentation into contact with intimate songwriting. Rather than force the songs into an existing identity, the musicians created a project with space for who they are now.
AD 93 and a video by Milo Hume
The debut single comes with a Milo Hume-directed video and marks the duo’s relationship with AD 93. On stage they are joined by bassist Jeanne Hill and drummer Shanne Garcia, with dates supporting Friko and Lime Garden in the United States. There is no confirmed Nine Perfect Lives album announcement yet. For now, «Die» establishes a compelling origin story: two musicians discovering a new way to write precisely because they could no longer share a room.
How distance changed their writing process
Exchanging demos forced Straight and Wave to listen to each other’s ideas without the immediate feedback of sharing a rehearsal space. That method does not replace playing together, but it can encourage a different kind of attention: every recording arrives as an invitation to interpret, complete or challenge another person’s work. «Die» emerged from precisely that exchange. It helps explain why the duo felt these compositions deserved a new name rather than remaining part of Hello Mary’s established history. AD 93 provides a fitting context for songs that resist simple structures.