Some artists describe their music as a labor of love. For Marley Rae and Brian Frederick of Subtle Smiles, that sentiment is truer than for most.
The two met at a Porch Party Records event in the summer of 2015. Marley was singing backup vocals for Bootleg Orchestra and Brian was brought in to record, mix, and master the group’s first EP. The two quickly formed a bond over their shared affection for downtempo, drum and bass, trip-hop, house, and dream pop music. By the start of 2016, Brian and Marley were an item.
To celebrate their one-year anniversary, the couple recorded a one-minute demo. That song inspired Brian to create close to twenty short songs for Marley. From there the two began collaborating in earnest on a full-length album.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Subtle Smiles about their music, challenges, navigating the digital world 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.)
SS: Long Beach, CA. We make Indie/dream pop with elements of our favorite styles of music thrown in. You’ll find drum and bass, house, trip hop, and down tempo vibes all over this album.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
M: My first inspiration to collaborate with electronic based musicians came from my exposure to Bjork. Listening to her expressive harmonies over synthetic sounds changed how I thought of music. After years of singing and songwriting, making music is like breathing. However, the motivation to complete a song comes from the desire to share my thoughts with the world, and the want to start a new track.
B: Growing up in long beach I had a neighbor, a guy by the name Brian Halter. He played drums with a 3 piece band called Lead and Thoughts and Spears. He taught me to play drums and he got me into digital recording as well. We built a recording studio in his Garage when I was around 16 years old and I recorded a ton of stuff in there over the years. He introduced me to all kinds of great music like The Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Dali’s Car, Peter Murphy, and Portishead. It’s easy to feel but hard to explain why I keep going. There’s a part of me that makes music hoping people will experience it and enjoy it, but most of it is just the joy of the process in finding and creating new sounds.
How is this album release different than previous projects? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
M: This is our first album together, and as such is inherently unique than any music I have worked on previously.
B: There’s a great deal of love that went into this album. After our first writing session I had a feeling that I wanted to try and make this the best record I had ever released. There was no deadline (not always a good thing, haha) and we had nothing but time to explore ideas, arrangements, and instrumentation. At times it was just a fun way for Marly and I to Workshop creative ideas together, at times knowing what we were exploring would probably not get used.. but then magic would happen and we’d end up with the vocal sound we got on the song ‘Subtle Smiles’.
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)?
The biggest challenge is being heard in the constant barrage of content we get from the moment we rise to just before the moment we close our eyes. There’s so much content available these days that it can be difficult to make a ripple in the bigger picture of someones day, let alone in the moment itself. Whats great about tech however is how you really do get this direct line to people, so, more than anything its a way to practice effective messaging in real time. You know you want to connect with people, you know its a genuine desire and messsage, but how does that look and feel and most importantly resonate with the fans? Its part of the music business thats a little nerve wracking to talk about, because its not cool or sexy like making the art itself.. but how do we share it with our audience in the best way? I think its just as important as the lyrics.. Because how you prepare someone with the news is just as important as the news itself. Thats why nobody proposes while they are taking out the trash.
What was the last song you listened to?
M: Sylvan Esso – Parad(w/m)e
B: Lead and Thoughts and Spears – ‘Vulture’
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
M: I love the particular sound vinyl has, and the ritual of playing a record. However, my busy state of life prefers the convenience of listening to MP3s.
B: That all depends on the moment. Vinyl is best for those times where you want to devote 100% of yourself to the listening experience. Everything about vinyl is selfish in the truest sense of listening to music. It asks for 100% of your attention throughout the experience, and rewards you as such. With that said.. CD’s imo offer the highest potential for fidelity and MP3’s keep me from going insane on the drive to work.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
M: Spotify has a convenience for me personally. Although not all music is available via Spotify, there is a huge selection that allows me to easily share my favorite tunes with my family and friends.
B: My artistic preference is/was Spotify because of the visible play stats and playlists, but recently I’ve been using Apple Music quite a bit. It seems kind of weird to use both as I answer this question, but I hadn’t thought about that fact till now.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
B: Instagram and Spotify
Anything else before we sign off?
SS: Have a great day!
