Interview: Marissa Nadler

Folk singer Marissa Nadler rolls is touring she to promote "July", her first album for Sacred Bones entitled July. A review of the album can be found below.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2014/06/marissa-nadlerjuly.html

I managed to catch  Marissa as she was heading out to discuss both tour and album .

Wil-So how's the tour so far ?

Marissa- It just started . I have already done a few groupings of date here and there, but this is the first show of this leg tonight. It's ever hot so far.

Wil- This is your first album with Sacred Bones, How familiar were you with the label and their artists before you signed with them? 

Marissa-Caleb from Sacred Bones reached out to me a few years ago. They have a very cool roster . I really like Zola Jesus a lot .

Wil- Sacred Bones is known for having artists involved in the whole goth or dark wave revival.How do you relate to that scene?

Marissa Nadler- My music has a dark edge, but I try not to pigeon hole myself . It is not punk or like a lot of the noise elements some of the artists they have use But growing up I think there was fifteen years where I didn't wear color, not that I get decked out in full goth regalia Wil- One thing that really struck me listening to the new album were some of the incredible harmonies , did you already have them written or did that come for playing around in the studio. Marissa- Thank you, I wrote them all before. They are part of the song , in the case of "Drive" the first song , I had it in my head to make them pop. The album was ready to go when I went in to record it. Wil - Anything you learned or discovered during the recording process? Marissa- I don't know. I'm happy with all the hard work.when I wrote this album , I had intense focus. I set out to write an album start to finish rather than it be a collection of songs. Wil-Any lyrical themes that are prevalent ? Marissa- The  record is all written in first person, so most of those aren't hard to figure out. Wil- there is a country undercurrent to the album is that an influence? Marissa- definitely , It cam e later in life as I grew up in Massachusetts so it's not easy to find. One of my best friends is a music writer and he introduced me to country . Tammy Wynette and a lot of those . They influence is that now my vocals are more relaxed. Wil- What other female singers have inspired you? Marissa- Patti Smith , the Horses album and Kate Bush.as far as country goes Connie Francis. Wil- When you play these new songs live are they evolving or staying intact? Marissa- Shows like the Atlanta date tonight, I have a woman who sings with me , because with out the harmonies they feel empty.Rather than use a delay pedal or harmonizer , it's better to use a human voice. She is also a cellist so the songs stay intact the instrumentation changes. So it's me and Janelle. I play a twelve string acoustic and an electric , she's handling harmonies and playing cello. I think for these shows it s ok to be stripped down. Especially in places I haven't played before like Atlanta. I have been touring for ten years , so have learned to keep the overhead low to make it work.