by Tina Whelski
Canadian-born Leslie Feist takes her experience gained through eclectic unions with Broken Social Scene, Gonzales, By Divine Right, and others and turns it into what she calls a “cross section of reality” on her highly praised debut solo effort, Let It Die (Cherry Tree/Interscope).
Feist was originally quite content as a collaborator, four-tracking her original material only as an aside for many years. But when the moment came to share home demos with Gonzalez, her seductive voice and cinematic music premiered.
“We weren’t intending at all to make a record,” says Feist. “It wasn’t even on my radar anymore to make records for myself because I was always having such a fulfilling time playing with my friends. I love the role of supporting someone whose music you really believe in. I didn’t feel that anything was lacking…I made these songs and we realized it was a record.”
Identifying the singular moments between life’s episodes, Feist’s songs playfully skip through genres in songs such as “Mushaboom,” “Tout Doucement,” “When I Was A Young Girl,” and the record’s first single, a cover of “Secret Heart.”
“I’ve never really been a student of any particular styles or genres,” says Feist. “I’ve never had the patience to stick it through and learn all the ins and outs of particular genres…I’ll love something and I’ll love it until I love the next thing."
During production the intent was to keep all of the instrumentation very simple and maintain an uncluttered feel, which enhances the storytelling, hooks, melody and certainly the airy mood.
“With the players that I’ve really been drawn to playing with and listening to over the years, you can hear them deciding what not to play rather than showing every second what they’re capable of,” says Feist.
Let It Die accentuates Feist’s vocals and practices restraint, intensifying her expression amidst the record’s movement. Lyrically she practices the same philosophy.
“I guess when I saw that movie Lost In Translation somehow it resonated really deeply in me,” says Feist. “Afterwards, I thought, ‘Why did that hit me so deeply?’ I thought maybe that represents in a movie what, without realizing, I’ve been trying to write about, which is all the little moments between the drama. All the follow up moments where this enormous thing goes down and you’re by yourself and you’re in your bathroom sitting on the floor having one of those stark reality moments of truth?"
Originally posted to WomanRock August '05.
Feist video for "Mushaboom."
Feist was originally quite content as a collaborator, four-tracking her original material only as an aside for many years. But when the moment came to share home demos with Gonzalez, her seductive voice and cinematic music premiered.
“We weren’t intending at all to make a record,” says Feist. “It wasn’t even on my radar anymore to make records for myself because I was always having such a fulfilling time playing with my friends. I love the role of supporting someone whose music you really believe in. I didn’t feel that anything was lacking…I made these songs and we realized it was a record.”
Identifying the singular moments between life’s episodes, Feist’s songs playfully skip through genres in songs such as “Mushaboom,” “Tout Doucement,” “When I Was A Young Girl,” and the record’s first single, a cover of “Secret Heart.”
“I’ve never really been a student of any particular styles or genres,” says Feist. “I’ve never had the patience to stick it through and learn all the ins and outs of particular genres…I’ll love something and I’ll love it until I love the next thing."
During production the intent was to keep all of the instrumentation very simple and maintain an uncluttered feel, which enhances the storytelling, hooks, melody and certainly the airy mood.
“With the players that I’ve really been drawn to playing with and listening to over the years, you can hear them deciding what not to play rather than showing every second what they’re capable of,” says Feist.
Let It Die accentuates Feist’s vocals and practices restraint, intensifying her expression amidst the record’s movement. Lyrically she practices the same philosophy.
“I guess when I saw that movie Lost In Translation somehow it resonated really deeply in me,” says Feist. “Afterwards, I thought, ‘Why did that hit me so deeply?’ I thought maybe that represents in a movie what, without realizing, I’ve been trying to write about, which is all the little moments between the drama. All the follow up moments where this enormous thing goes down and you’re by yourself and you’re in your bathroom sitting on the floor having one of those stark reality moments of truth?"
Originally posted to WomanRock August '05.
Feist video for "Mushaboom."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment