Your last release was also a double single. Do you feel like when you write a track you reflexively leave room for its counterpart? 

Yeah I really like the idea of pairs of songs. I usually come up with a song very quickly and write the majority of the track in one go. But actually finishing them takes me forever and I feel like I have to move on to something else or i’ll go crazy. It’s also hard to feel confident that I totally summed up the exact feeling I had when I started a song. Any time you think you nail it or succinctly put something down, it’s so easy to go… ‘well actually..’ and just throw the whole idea out. Counterpart is a good way to put it. Hopefully they elevate each other that way. 

Your music is full of textural layers that can sound both fragmented/dissonant and fully-formed. It reminds me of a sample made into a pop song. How do you assemble all the parts that make your songs whole? 

Sampling was the way I started making music when I was about 15. But never felt like I was able to make something I liked with other people’s sounds. I got really into the idea of trying to write interesting music and performing it solo just with a guitar or something about 6 years ago. So now I kinda start with a simple song idea and record a ton of different ways it could go until something sticks. I think I spend most of my time trying to turn repetitive sounds into something that feels dynamic. The last song I did, Ef, was way more layered than these two, but a few people have told me it sounds the opposite. I also don’t really like to come up with new melodies, or I have a really narrow palette. So using something that’s just texture in place of a new distinct melody is more fun to do, and kinda makes me laugh sometimes. 

To me electronic music can convey the most emotion because it’s so much about a feeling and moving, physical force. It’s also usually focused on singles/EPs as opposed to full records. Most of your songs are pretty succinct and capture a very fleeting, waking up from a dream-esque type of ambiance. What do you hope to sum up in these blips of sentiment? 

I used to talk a lot about small everyday eureka moments. Like when you’re walking down the street and you figure out something that feels like a big universal truth, but is so simple that it can’t really be true and you forget it quickly. I think those are fun and inspiring. Being really sure of yourself for a moment, but like a dream trying to remember the feeling or why you felt it. I hope chanel beads music inspires movement. I’m not sure how I feel about making a whole record. I feel like most of my songs are different attempts at writing the same song or capturing the same feeling, so I don’t know if that would work past like 4 songs in a row right now. 

CHANEL BEADS
MIX

You’re from Seattle but now reside in New York City - how do the spaces you reside in echo in the music? Where is the ideal space you see your music listened to/performed? 

I think New York City is my favorite place to make music. But i’m glad i had a lot of years in Seattle to figure stuff out. I felt very supported in Seattle and that there were a few people who really cared and were interested in figuring out with me which direction I should take in approaching new stuff. I think my music comes from a very sentimental place and new york has helped take out some of the warmth and helped me embrace some nastiness. I think a lot of the newer music has a mean or hurt energy behind the words that feel good to sing out loud. I really like small spaces to perform and I like to be eye level looking at people’s faces. 

Tell us more about the recording process/inspiration behind this new track!

True Altruism was written this spring. I wanted to make something simple I could shout at shows. I feel like the way life is structured now, there are so many things that make you feel like a sucker, like the systems are playing you for a fool. I let that get to me a lot, being fixated on wanting to stick it to those in power but also just being all bark, no bite. I found something compelling in that idea musically, a conflict of desire and inability. With both of these songs I was into the idea of making the music sound sharp. Like harpsichords and picked guitar sounds that make the melody feel percussive. 

Any under the radar musical peers we need to know? 

Lipsticism has a record coming out soon, one of the best albums I’ve heard. My partner Colle has some tracks I hope she puts out really soon too, amazing stuff. Zachary Paul is the best string player. There’s a really awesome dance scene happening in seattle, August VM, Ingat, Yufi, Michete, Riki, tondiue, My Flower, a ton more. In new york, Lava Gulls, O Slow, Echo’s Fear, YHWH Nailgun, Nadoyel, Bobbi Lovesong, hopefully Pleasure Systems makes some more stuff soon. too much i’m forgetting. 

What’s special about the mix you’ve made? 

I noticed I was putting a lot of spoken word stuff in so I kinda leaned into that, but then also went a different direction. All the songs feel like a deep breath or something. I love these songs and had fun putting it together, people should check it out :)

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