In this interview spotlight, I chat with Chantmagick about the latest release (A Dance For Trees), motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I grew up in Pennsylvania in the suburbs 45 miles west of Philadelphia.
I came up with the tagline “Kate Bush meets The Carter Family” to stake out to two polar extremes of my musical sound. The description is actually pretty accurate. I am deeply moved by old time music but also easily depressed by its inherent sadness. On the other hand, I am elevated, mystified and transported by Kate Bush’s lush cinematic sound and visuals. I want my music to be like that. In the middle of the two extremes is grunge music. I love the twangy I-don’t-know-how-to-play-guitar sound of early Seattle 90’s grunge.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
One of my earliest recollections is of knocking on my parents’ bedroom door when I was five. My mother had bought a violin for each of my sisters and I wanted one too. My father answered the door in his underwear. I told him what I wanted and I think he laughed. Next thing I knew, I was taking violin lessons with my childhood friend Kathy. The lessons only lasted for a year or so. Then we moved and I never went back to violin until 2013. That experience of playing as a tot was deeply significant though. I could hear, see and play with ease and that instilled a certain level of confidence in music that has never left me. By the time I had reached my twenties, I had lost my connection to music and had no idea why I was alive. Thankfully through studying capoeira in San Francisco, I had a chance to explore movement in a musical setting and I gradually picked up percussion, guitar and keyboard. Haven’t looked back since.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
A Dance for Trees is my fifth album. The two previous albums, Chantmagick and Six More, were recorded in Fall 2017. The two albums before that, Spacetime and Shake Flowers, have songs that were recorded in 2016 and 2015 respectively. A Dance for Trees, like the two previous albums, is based on very simple acoustic guitar and layers of vocal harmony. The difference is subtle but I think on this latest work I went deeper into a dark, rich, mysterious sound. I was interested in conveying the nuances of forest life, wild animal life, the movement of planets and clouds through the lens of just an awestruck and grateful person.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Probably my biggest challenge right now is finding the right creative partner. I’ve been working alone for almost two years and I’d like to start playing out at the open mic level. I am down to play and sing by myself initially so that I can really learn the songs and how to share the feeling of it all. But I know that ultimately, I’d like at least one more musician to support the work and add the right touch to round out my sound. I’m hoping I’ll find someone through the open mic scene. There are musician classifieds also. The dream is a Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. It’s going to be a needle in the haystack at best.
As for technology, to quote my friend Sandra Rolus, “social media has been nothing but a boon for me.” Sandra and I were part of the same YouTube creators online community and I had the opportunity to interview her. During our conversation, I asked her the exact same question about technology. Her response was so refreshing. She was the first person I’d met with a successful online business who admitted that social media had been awesome for her. I had stayed away for so long and only switched to a smartphone in mid-2017. Once I got up to speed and saw how easily you could capture audio, video and still images and then edit them and distribute them globally, I felt foolish for having waited so long.
Technology has helped me capture audio and video, edit it and distribute it globally. Need I say more? Yes, there are downsides but nothing a sturdy self care practice and support from friends and community can’t mitigate.
What was the last song you listened to?
Heaven Adores You by Violet. I found them through a music magazine like yours called “It’s Psychedelic baby.” Reminded me of Catherine Wheel and Echo and the Bunnymen, both groups I love.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer vinyl but don’t have a working record player (it’s missing the speakers). Cds suck because of the plastic, but I just made 100 because a lot of people like something to hold. The reality is that I listen to mp3s and m4a on my Macbook through iTunes and my phone. I resent Spotify but use it to find new music and have put my music there.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
My new favorite is Bandcamp because it feels personal. I can see who follows, downloads and buys and the platform lets me send messages and communicates with me when people engage with my page. Apple Music, iTunes, Google Play and Spotify feel like black holes. You drop your music into them and then that’s it. I used Distrokid to release albums 1 – 4 through those platforms. With the latest album, I’m just using Bandcamp and (ugh) Spotify.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
I just updated my website to introduce total newcomers to my work so that’s the best place. https://chantmagick.com I post all my new songs on my YouTube channel but folks can get to there from my main site.
Anything else before we sign off?
I really appreciate the opportunity to share some of my story with you. It’s a long road that is made the merrier by supportive people like you. Thank you.
