St. Vincent by Immo Klink for Spex Magazin für Popkultur #376 (September/October 2017)

English translation thx to a lovely L chat anon:



After the success of her last album, what’s next for St. Vincent? Three years, a Grammy, a successful series of concerts complete with weirdo costumes, her own guitar design for people with breasts and a magazine cover with Marc Jacobs. “New York” is her latest haunting single that yearns for older times, and expresses love for her adoptive home. The song’s style also refers back to the musical simplicity of Clark’s previous work.



An uncomfortably hot Summer day in London would have passed as some bizarre fever dream, if before the release of her latest, and as of yet untitled new album, St. Vincent was drinking Berlin beer with our editors and happily giving the inside scoop. Despite meticulous planning prior to the interview in July, its spontaneous nature meant it was hard to know what to ask. Annie had recorded two purposefully blurred guitar songs, one to be discussed before the conversation and one during. A female assistant dressed in a black cape and some extravagant shoe-work acted as door woman to the entrance of a room at Park Studios containing a wooden box, the inside of which was painted neon pink. Inside sat Clark like a high priestess in black light. An appropriate setting to share secrets. However, she is at first rather silent when asked concrete questions about new songs, but in the end the setting works conclusively. The discomfort is part of the concept.



Interviewer: Annie, thank you very much for the mysterious reception. Will you now foresee my future?

Annie: (laughs) We will see.



I: It smells very good in here. Is that incense?

A: The scent is coming from a candle. Meetings should be an experience for all the senses.



I: You said once that for every album you’ve had a figure in your head around which all themes have been built. For Strange Mercy it was alcohol dependence, the bored housewife, with St. Vincent a cult leader. What has been in your consciousness regarding these songs?

A: Manic Panic meets Poison Ivy from The Cramps.



I: We are currently sitting in a pink, florescent box. There seems to be a color concept happening here.

A: Yes, the color palette for this album is completely florescent. Florescent colors are very bright and at first seem cheerful, but can soon become too intense and then aggressive. This is exactly like my coming album.



I: Would you consider this album to be the logical next chapter following St. Vincent?

A: I don’t know whether you can apply logic to music. Before I wrote the new songs I knew only three things. I wanted the songs to be strong and powerful. I wanted to programme beats. And I wanted a steel-pedal guitar. I began with these three anchors.



I: Most of social media expressed surprise regarding the fact that New York was not a guitar-based song.

A: Really? I put so much guitar in it.



I: So was it your plan to not make a rock record?

A: I’ve never done it before. I definitely wanted to have big guitar moments on the album. Have I ever really made a rock record? So far very few people have heard the new songs, and there isn’t much known about the album. I’m looking forward to the interpretations and criticisms. But if someone doesn’t feel it’s a guitar record, should we not question both possible realities?



I: Possibly. Do you already have an album title?

A: Yes, but I still can’t reveal it to you.



I: Perhaps then we can speak about something more tangible. You current tour is named after one of your new songs “Fear the Future”.

A: This is intended to as an order; be afraid of your future!



I: What should we be afraid of?

A: Oh boy! We are living in insane times, and it’s only getting worse. I don’t know if you’ve heard: America has chosen Donald Trump, a woman hater and compulsive liar, as its president. America has said to someone like this: “You seem to be the right leader!”



I: Do you believe Trump will complete the four years of his term?

A: That would shock me. The countless scandals within the first six month of his presidency have sustainably ruined his reputation. Besides, I don’t have the impression that being President suits him very well. The only possibility we have of getting rid of this fear of the future is to name these things. “Fear the Future” means I am trying to regain control and make something constructive out of all the chaos.



I: What strategies do you follow in order to cope with these fears?

A: I don’t sit around all day worrying about the future. Today more than ever the personal is political, and the political has become personal. A lot of us move around in this world alone, meanwhile for many people it is a political act - for a great many marginalised people it is naturally the latter case. I have long thought about what I can do. Some of my friends are politically active, for example in the Black-Lives-Matter movement, or have previously worked for Obama’s administration. It seems to me most sensible to use the platform I have with my music to, for example, raise money for Planned Parenthood or other charitable organisations.



I: At the beginning of this year you celebrated your directorial debut with the premiere of The Birthday Party. You chose to present your film not as horror, but as a black comedy. What role does humour play when it comes to fear?

A: The absurd is definitely our zeitgeist. To go further, to drive the whole thing to the extreme, can be incredibly funny.



I: Does this exaggeration work for you as catharsis?

A: Definitely. The album deals with the themes of power and seduction in such a striking way that one could almost feel it as fraud. Sexuality is no simple matter, but I present it in a very obvious way, wherin there is also a lot of humour.



I: I also heard the new songs as asking for a conquest.

A: Songs sagen manchmal mehr über denjenigen aus, der sie hört, als über den Künstler. Ich kann also nichts, dafür,, wenn Sie überall Vaginas sehen (laughs).



I: With all the careful production before release, does it not bother you if you feel you are misunderstood?

A: I put a lot of time and energy into this record. I love this album. However once it is released there is nothing I could possibly say or do to make you love it just as much. That is out of my hands, and that’s the way it should be. It is no longer mine, it belongs to everyone who hears it. I can at most give you a pair of important details: I recorded majority of the album in my studio in Los Angeles. The rest I recorded in New York.



I: In New York you give a nostalgic look back at a place that appears to no longer exist. Is New York still the city you…

A: …love the most at heart? Absolutely! You know, every love is complicated. For me it simply stopped being my main place of residence. In the end I started spending a lot of time back in Texas, or I was working in my studio in LA, so just wasn’t in New York anymore.



I: Nostalgia can also be another way of reacting to current unpleasantness in the world - a very comfortable one.

A: I have a terrible memory, therefore nostalgia doesn’t really work for me. I don’t think the past tense is all that helpful anyway. Of course can learn from their mistakes, this has made the history of mankind. Earlier grief is inflicted again and again, but prevents us from moving forward.



I: A common thesis states that certain adverse circumstances can strengthen cohesion and solidarity in disadvantaged communities.

A: Yes, but the most important thing for marginalised people now is to not fight one another. A byproduct of patriarchy is women fight other women. That helps no one.



I: In Germany there is a lot of hostility among left currents, when their principles really belong together in solidarity. For example in feminist circles.

A: Yet feminism is not a fixed idea, it is constantly changing. There is place for diverse stances. Feminist ideas find themselves in an ever wider context, on which they may have stumbled along the way. At home, I also know that women are mutually shamed, because one does not correspond to the ideal. It is unhelpful to argue about whoever embodies feminism. I myself do not engage myself with a group, but prefer to let actions speak. Being a strong, independent woman is for me the strongest sign.



(A bell sounds)



I: Is our time already up?

A: Almost. I have a few answers recorded. Would you like to hear?



I: Of course!

A: (Plays around with her mobile phone until a distorted voice rings out) “David Byrne’s brain is a national treasure.” (noise) “The name St. Vincent comes from a Nick Cave song called ‘There Goes My Beautiful World’. It refers to the line ‘And Dylan Thomas died drunk in St. Vincent’s Hospital’.” (noise) You knew that, or you would have said so. Thank you for not asking.



I: You’re welcome. But since we’re talking about names: Who is this Johnny you keep singing about?

A: Johnny is a recurring character who has accompanied me for three albums now. For me he’s like a friend, a family member and a fiance.



I: But now he lives on the street.

A: There’s always hope.

