Following their dual performance at Folk on the Rocks, the musical group of Mise En Scene was kind enough to chat with the Yellowknifer about their history and their identity.
Yellowknifer: So, tell me how did you get started with your album SA国际影视传媒淒esireSA国际影视传媒檚 Despair SA国际影视传媒� in 2014?
Mise En Scene: SA国际影视传媒淲e started making art together and painting, and then we became really close friends that way and then we just kinda decided to go for it, and Steph applied for us to do an Indie band residency at the Banff center - because it was this really cool chance to record with all these producers and stuff, and we got in, and i thought that that was pretty awesome because we didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have a lot of experience behind us at that point, we were just kind of like SA国际影视传媒渙h, letSA国际影视传媒檚 go do thisSA国际影视传媒� but Steph and I went with this attitude like SA国际影视传媒渨eSA国际影视传媒檙e going to make a new album, weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to push this thing as far as we canSA国际影视传媒� we had like, big goals there - so, we went, and we got to record with some of the best producers in the world, but it was only ever meant to be demos - but us, weSA国际影视传媒檙e like SA国际影视传媒楴o! WeSA国际影视传媒檙e going to release all these!SA国际影视传媒� So we kind of like collaged all the work that we did a little bit, and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 how we made our first record.
SA国际影视传媒淲e ended up mixing it with Howard Billarman, who is one of the producers there, and yea, if you look at it, it kind of sounds like a collage, and even the art for it is just a whole bunch of different art and fabrics from StephSA国际影视传媒檚 and my closet - we just had big dreams for that, but it was a really great experience and a neat way to make an album.SA国际影视传媒�
Y: I read that you went to Banff and were surrounded by classical musicians and people who could read sheet music, and that wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 at all who you related to - can you speak a bit more about that?
MES: SA国际影视传媒淚 started playing guitar and sing when I was like twenty, I taught myself, because I was an athlete before, and I just couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 do it, and when I stopped playing sports competitively and I got into music - I had always been writing poetry, but I wanted to put my poetry to music, and then thatSA国际影视传媒檚 when I started doing stuff. But I was really shy about it because I was learning how to play by playing other music, so I would learn covers, and the easy chords I could play at the beginning, right? And then I started to understand SA国际影视传媒榦h, these are the chords that go togetherSA国际影视传媒� and then you start singing along and humming along, and you know it sounds good and then you just put it together and it becomes very intuitive, and, ISA国际影视传媒檓 really happy to talk about this because for so long I felt so inferior because of that - and also being a woman in music, also because we started ten years ago, and the issues are still there - itSA国际影视传媒檚 still there - but itSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot better than it was ten years ago, like a lot better. So feeling like SA国际影视传媒榦h, I canSA国际影视传媒檛 play music, I donSA国际影视传媒檛 know what key any of my songs are inSA国际影视传媒� and if ISA国际影视传媒檓 playing with a capo - which I love to do because I have a female voice so I want the option to play with range - so, yeah, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 an A-minor shape, but thatSA国际影视传媒檚 not an A-minor on a capo - and I still donSA国际影视传媒檛 know what that is.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淏ut, one piece of advice is - your hired players that you play with and your producers? ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 their job to know that, you donSA国际影视传媒檛 have to know that - they just figure out how to work with you. There are so many songwriters who sit down with a whole group of session players who just sit down with their acoustic song and play it once and everyone is like SA国际影视传媒渙kaySA国际影视传媒� and they all go into the studio and everybody knows what to do. So, there is a lot more of that than people think, but there is that illusion that SA国际影视传媒榚verybody knows everybody about music, all of the science and the charting and that deeper stuffSA国际影视传媒� and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 just not true. And sometimes when you donSA国际影视传媒檛 know that stuff your music is coming from a different place - itSA国际影视传媒檚 coming from a real emotional, and instinctual place - instead of following the music of, say, music theory.
SA国际影视传媒淭o fast forward - I was at the Banff center, again, for another residency where I met a really good friend of mine and I asked him - so he is doing his PhD on the Viola, he wrote a musical, he plays all these really cool venues in New York, he plays for Broadway - all this stuff - so I asked him SA国际影视传媒淚 canSA国际影视传媒檛 read sheet music, do you think thatSA国际影视传媒檚 holding me backSA国际影视传媒� and he was like SA国际影视传媒淎t this point? No. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not. Actually - you would probably be really frustrated by the SA国际影视传媒榬ulesSA国际影视传媒� of music, and it would actually make your world smaller, instead of making it bigger.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd it can make your music less unique - if you start getting the same tool box as everybody else has, then you start sounding like everybody else.
SA国际影视传媒淎t the end of the day, art is about reflecting on life, and reflecting on life and emotions, and politics and social justice and your history - and, you know, sometimes itSA国际影视传媒檚 nice to learn the techniques, but you donSA国际影视传媒檛 need a degree to do that.SA国际影视传媒�
Mise en Scene played twice at FOTR and both times the audience showed up and showed force - proving that you donSA国际影视传媒檛 need technical proficiency to rock the free world, and keep an audience entranced.
