Episode #240 is up featuring a conversation between Emily Wells and Homoground host Maia Macdonald. Emily gives us tons of insight behind her latest album “This World is too ______ for you” and the process behind orchestrating her live performance.
Transcription of Emily’s story:
” I guess you kind of have to compartmentalize the processes. So when I was writing the record, for instance, and when I’ve written any records, I find that my process hones over the years. I go into a different kind of self-hood, I would say, and I allow myself to go into that, and I really limit any performances, which is a bit of a luxury. You kind of have to get really scrappy and frugal. Just tour your ass off and then try to make room for yourself to be a maker and not a minstrel. I engage a lot with literature during this period and poetry, and I’m really interested in the mind and how the mind works. All of these things are all connected. And all of that can, if you’re open, become part of the songs as well. So I just try to be that “self” and try to write songs. Almost simply, especially this record, I forced myself that they had to pass the Casio Test. I don’t have a proper piano in my studio, so if I could play it on this old Casio keyboard and sing along with it, and it still was emotional and still was a “good song”, then it passed. Otherwise, it was out. That helps me not get too caught in the… You have some nights where you’re working on things and you start to dabble into the production side of it, which is really fun and can be a great release. But I still had to step away at the end of each song. Then you move into recording mode, then you move into editor mode, then you move into insane person mode, actually making the final decisions, and then you move into like an intern at your label trying to like make it work, you know.”
You can read the full transcript of Emily’s interview on our patreon.
CREDITS
This episode was recorded and produced by Maia Macdonald.
Executive Producer: Lynn Casper
Intro Jingle by data.data.data
Interview transcription by D Orxata
Transcription was made possible by Queer Public Podcast who let us use their transcription software.