A lot of Solipsisters grapples with the relationship between the self and the body. Did making the album and airing out these themes help you approach some kind of resolution?



It was definitely about working through that — trying to be clearer about what the argument was between my self and body. I don't think I'll ever reach any kind of resolution, but it definitely was a working through of that conflict. Originally, the album was supposed to be this dialogue between soul and body, or between different parts of myself: my heart and my brain. It ended up not making any sense, so I abandoned that, but a lot of the lyrics still are about this conversation. There's not many references to other human beings. There's a lot of "you" and "me" and "we", but it's really all just about me, because I was so totally alone while I was writing these songs. You end up talking to yourself a lot if you're isolated. The last line on the album is "Moving closer to a place for us to live." I don't think I have found anywhere to live. I'm still just moving.

Did collaborating with Devi on Some New Form of Life affect the way you approach your solo music?



Yes, huge amounts — especially just being friends with Devi and hanging out with her. Trying to get on her level artistically was a huge challenge for me. A lot of my vocals on that album are totally unaffected, and I'd never done that before. It definitely brought me out of my shell a lot and let me feel a lot less ashamed of what I looked like — what my voice sounded like. I had never posted photos of myself before I met her. It was a really long, transformative process. I wanted to be more open in my own music, and a bit closer to reality. — to make this unreal, dreamy music, trying to convey what it's like in my head and what feelings feel like. Devi's music is so unaffected, but it's still so trippy. It's really close to reality.

Do you feel that making and releasing music is a way of participating in community?



I treat it as sort of a beacon. If other people want to be like, "Hey, this resonates with me," then that's ideal. All my friends have found me through music — Devi found me through Flood Network. Being so isolated, my sense of community is probably different to most people's sense of community. Being on the internet primarily and not doing a lot of going outside due to a whole bunch of factors, like mental illness and disability and stuff, feels really desperate sometimes — just foisting yourself upon this stream, not wanting to be lonely.

