By Erik Myers
largely went unheard last year, a quieter voice which slipped past music critics despite the winsome woe of her full-length release, “Half Way Home.” But as the months roll on, she is catching the attention of She just signed with JagJaguwar for her next record.
Despite the album’s somber tone, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter has said her songs are only inhabited by “characters.” She is happy in real life. Speaking with Reverb before driving down to San Diego for the next stop on her tour, Olsen was frank about past decisions, emotional honesty and the “blood harmony” felt in a recent collaboration. She will be performing at the Hi-Dive on April 14.
Reverb: I read that you chose to skip out on SXSW this year.
Angel Olsen: I’ve never been there, but I guess I just didn’t feel like doing it. Everybody always raises about it. Maybe itap awesome but… it just feels like a party. I think a lot of festivals are like that, honestly. Festivals are great – you get to share your music and you get to meet a lot of people and you’re sharing your music with a lot of people at once, and itap really awesome when you get the chance to do that.
But at the same time, with the kind of music I’m making, itap really sensitive sometimes. Playing at a big party is not what I’m about, not my scene. I have to be kind of careful about preserving that. I guess I was afraid of that – not going to SXSW and being like ‘Oh…’ Maybe one day I will.
What initially drew you to music?
I played piano growing up, and I dunno, I guess I just felt like that was always the one thing that I was really good at, the one thing I wanted to do.
How did you become acquainted with and the Cairo Gang?
I had some friends in common with Emmett (Kelley) of the Cairo Gang. I didn’t realize that he had been working with Will Oldham. Emmett came to a bunch of shows and we hung out a couple of times and he even tried to put a show together for my band a long time ago, and it didn’t work out because our schedules are conflicting. And a year later, he contacted me about doing a one-off tour with Will, specifically to do a cover band, and I would sing for the cover band.
This was when you performed as “Angela Babbler.”
Yes. I listened to their recordings and got back to them both. I was super stoked on it. It was different than anything else I‘d ever experienced before. And I never worked with a full band. I went from working at a café to working three hours for Will Oldham and the Cario Gang and the Babblers and learning tons of songs. Learning how to harmonize, doing all this stuff. It was a totally crazy change in my life.
You’ve said even though you’re more used to performing solo, you’ve grown comfortable touring with your backing band. Does touring in such an arrangement ultimately influence your writing style?
I think it does. But I also think I’ll play solo shows as well as playing with a band. I know I’m going to try really hard to keep my music from being overproduced with too much happening. But I enjoy working with people and sharing my music with others and seeing what they can bring to it.
When you’re playing solo, it feels really awesome to be giving so much to people. But at the same time, itap better, I think, to share it than to yield to others changing it. I think I’m still going to write sort of quieter songs as well as maybe louder songs. My writing style is kind of back-and-forth.
For you personally, how important is emotional honesty in music? It seems many journalists had the impression you were emotionally unstable when writing but that wasn’t true.
Itap really important, but also, you need to know when to step out of it. Like when you’re on a stage and you’re acting and you’re really into a scene with someone. Itap convincing and awesome and you’re going back to something you’ve seen or experienced before, just draw that feeling up and make it real again. You have to be like “Thatap what we did. Now we’re stepping off and living our lives.” Itap cool to share intimate music, even if itap not totally relevant to me anymore. I think it can still be relevant to others.
I can see why someone listening to my music think “Is everything OK?” (laughs) But… things aren’t always OK. Itap good that not everything is always OK.
Where was the new 7’’, “Sleepwalker,” recorded?
Emmett Kelly produced it in his basement studio. was one of those songs I had written that really didn’t fit anywhere else. And it was the same with “California.” The two of them belonged together. It was really simple, not, like “This is my new direction.”
I loved the video for I understand it underwent an extensive editing process. You put out a statement describing the development, but were you the one who came up with the concept?
Randy Sterling Hunter organized it. He did the first video for me for and it was sort of this 16mm similar sort of the thing, just an exposure of me standing in a room. I said to Randy, “Maybe we should expand that idea for the next one.” We ended up doing several different takes and overlapping them. From there, we drew a map up. He was giving us directions from Austria, it was kind of crazy. We were like Skyping with him about how to do everything… (laughs)
How was the experience working with Marissa Nadler on
It was fun. I don’t live in Boston, she does, but we connected a few months ago. We were just like “Letap make stuff together for fun.” I think our voices are similar in many ways, but I think we’re also very different in the way we approach things. I thought this might be something fun to make with blood harmony. I’m still into that idea.
I’m not familiar with that term… “blood harmony?”
Itap like… when you hear something or feel something with someone, where you’re like “Whoa, you’re really intuitive about where I want to go.”
Are you working on new music? Any upcoming projects?
I’m working on some new songs, some new material. I’m really excited about it. I’ve been playing a couple of them here and there at different, random shows. I feel my writing is changing a little bit, but… I dunno, I feel pretty solid about it. And I’m looking forward to touring in May… I’m going to tour in Ireland and England for a little bit. And then I’m going to New York to open for
Just because you mentioned it… you feel like your writing style is changing a little bit?
Just a little bit. Like I said earlier, itap hard to articulate because itap in the process of happening. When people ask me about it, I’m like, “Well, yeah.” Itap the same, but itap changing. (laughs)
What has brought it about?
Well… I don’t know. I just feel like I’m in a different phrase of my life. You know… a different chapter.
Name three songs, records or artists you’re loving right now.
Oh man… we were just talking about in the van last week. I got into him a year ago… I love that song He’s got blood harmony with himself, whatever that means. (laughs)
And then, who else… I’ve been listening a lot to Of course, I’ve been listening to them for a while, but itap really fun to be in the van listening to The Clean. I love that song
And… man… I’m just drawing a blank right now…
Perhaps an old favorite instead?
Well, I’ve always really liked the song, (laughs)
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Electronic blogger Erik Myers is a Denver-based writer and new contributor to Reverb. Contact him at erikmye@gmail.com or
