BLUMS

Hi Kelsea, and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. 

Thank you for having me 🙂 

There is a real patchwork tapestry going on with Sunk Cost Fantasy, being that it is a broad collection of workings that have been with you for some time and carry with them the timestamps of different periods in your life. Can you detail some of the more extreme ends of the experiential spectrum that some of the tracks touch upon?

Yeah, I think there’s a scale from isolation/emptiness, frenetic mania, and more of a lofty wash. Whether it was alone time and hyper reflection, excessive partying, or other people, I was really looking to figure things out or get to the bottom of it, which I don’t think actually works, but at the time, I was making an earnest attempt, and writing these songs was my way of making sense of things. A big part of this was learning to sonically celebrate all of the extremes in a playful/whimsical way and find the underlying colors so that it’s not just a broad sweep of a generalized feeling.

Equally, the musical expression of those sentiments is as wide and diverse as the assortment of topics they explore. Was each track and its instrumental construction driven by the events it was born out of, or conversely, the sonics you began tinkering with shaped the eventual course of the song?

Most of the tracks were pretty bare bones, written with my guitar/piano and lyrics/vocal melody before ever going into production, driven by events/experience, sure. Lots of the interlude pieces were in real time, sort of gluing the more fleshed-out songs together to live in this world. Building that very lush world for all these songs to live was very intentional and a big puzzle.

How does it feel in reflection to finally see these tunes laid down on wax and to have those life moments forever enshrined?

Cathartic if not a little indulgent….:)

This is indeed your first solo release, but certainly not your first time making music. Having played with other New York artists, like Fantasy of a Broken Heart, May Rio, and Shallowhalo, what did you take out of those experiences and put into your own work?

Almost all of these songs were written and well underway before I’d ever actually played in or heard any of those projects. I think the biggest takeaway from those experiences has more to do with the logistics of leading a band, playing live shows, and what type of experience you want to curate onstage.

Within the NYC music scene you have been a part of and some of its subgenres, how have you seen the nuanced sounds and corners of the scene develop, and, to that end, how have you attempted to tap into them?

I’ve definitely seen sounds and corners develop, but I’m not sure how to articulate them. I don’t think I’ve consciously attempted to tap into them.  A lot of this record and my writing happened from lots of isolation and listening to older things, then lots of stops/starts during production to sit with it/feel it out.

Few global cities can match the creative forces that they muster, and for you, how has NYC influenced your direction and encouraged your expressions?  

I think the biggest gift of NYC is access.  Abundant access/exposure to so many different genres, mediums, and forms really gives so many different colors to paint with. I have so many friends with jazz backgrounds, classical backgrounds, film, photography, etc that I’m able to collaborate and have the funnel of all these influences that I really admire into what I’m trying to curate the visual and sonic world of Blums.

Lyrically, what was your approach and methodology toward extracting and extrapolating what it was you were drawing from to adequately capture the emotions you felt?

Try, try, try again, all the while asking, “is that true?….”, “Is that what I’m really trying to say?” ….”can I say it better?”, and “can I say it with less words?”

Produced with Kirk Palsma, what did Kirk bring to this record that bears his unique fingerprints? 

Kirk is the best! So many things.  He’s a killer player/producer with a jazz background, I think that’s heard for sure. I think Kirk has a very eclectic production style with lots of spirit and intention. I told him I wanted to make an art pop record, and he’d never done pop before but was down to give it a go.  It’s hard for me to spell it out, but there’s a lot of magic here that feels synonymous with the presence he evokes when I see him play live. He has incredible technical skill, but there’s a special thing I can’t quite put my finger on that draws me to him as a musician. 

Having worked with so many different artists and musicians over the years, during that time, have there been any words of wisdom spoken to you that really resonated with you, which in turn altered the way you approach your craft?

Absolutely.  Low and slow/ slow and steady. Truth doesn’t yell, it whispers. Trust your gut. Trust your gut. Trust your gut.

What does music give you that nothing else does?

The most immediate sense of connection.  Whether it’s making, performing or listening.