As a celebration of both me cleansing my blogging slate and starting afresh AND it almost being the end of 2009, I'd like to share with you 9 of my favourite published articles wot I wrote this year. This is mainly because a) it's a slightly less complicated way of looking back at the year than writing about each album I enjoyed (apparently one shy of a 100, though I doubt I've remembered them all) b) it's a way of sharing my work which isn't readily available due to the perishble nature of print magazines. This also means that rather than having the edited articles, I'm giving you the full, unedited, raw copy straight from these hard working fingers.
So with the intention of plastering one a week across your eyes, here's the first: Micachu.
Having delivered one of my albums of the year, 'Jewellery', and completely mutated - with her band The Shapes - into a formidable live act (as witnessed a few days ago at Kings Cross Scala - Artrocker review due soon), she's one of my favourite musicians. Without further ado, here is the article in it's resplendent glory.
21-year-old Mica Levi has hit upon a type of pop music that has been described as “the lost and found sound of a new UK”. With homemade instruments, a classical background and interest in any musical idea, her disparate, exhilarating music has certainly redefined some people’s expectations of music in 2009.
“There’s just something that makes sense about starting from scratch.”
It’s hard to express how much impact this statement has without at least exploring the person who said it. Mica Levi is a 21 year old composer, currently releasing records and touring with her band under the name Micachu and the Shapes. On the phone she’s a lively, enthusiastic voice who seems almost embarrassed by her ideas and afraid of not being able to sufficiently express them in words. Starting from scratch seems the only place to begin.
“It’s been really helpful,” Mica replied vaguely to my opening question, about how her upbringing and where she came from has helped her musical goals. “I’ve been exposed to a lot of different types of music which, I guess could be a hindrance in that sometimes, I don’t really sure what I’m doing. Too much choice or whatever.” This modesty shows consistently throughout our conversation, so it makes sense for me to stop here and explain why this is significant.
This write really believes Micachu’s debut record Jewellery to be one of the most exciting collections of music he’s heard. Full stop. A bewildering blitz of toy-like sounds at home with being swathed in discordance, liable to change speed, tact and texture every few seconds or so. Mica’s London accent comes across as both tender and bolshy, perfect for the ambiguity present in all aspects of her music. It’s pop music for sure. It’s just unlike any pop music you’ve ever heard.
“I guess the thing at the moment is that it’s best to forget all that stuff really.” That stuff being her classical music education from a family she admits are “really obsessed with it.” So, while unlearning what she’s learnt has become important in the creation of her current musical angle, it certainly hasn’t gone to waste. She has actually written a score for the London Philharmonic Orchestra which was performed last year.
“Yeah it was like a Young Composers project I was involved with. It was really fucking hard man,” she says, laughing. “Really hard. A massive challenge. It was a very intimidating project. I hadn’t really written an orchestral piece before, so it was really scary and difficult. Amazing though, I feel very lucky to have had that opportunity.”
Just to add a bit more depth to her musical dimensions, she’s also author of a hotly-traded grime-slanted mixtape called Filthy Friends, which she’s looking to follow up this year.
Some might say that she can’t seem to focus on one thing at a time, and listening to Jewellery further confirms that.
“It’s part of the trying to forget things and that not really happening. Just hearing so many different things and not wanting to milk things and also my attention span is pretty bad. When you’re working on something, producing it and hearing it over and over again, you get sick of it. It’s the lack of being able to develop things properly really.” This seems incongruous with the elaborate, exhilarating lo-fi debut that’s currently spinning as I write this. It’s as soft as it is ragged and sharp, as melodic as it is noisy – it revels in it’s flaws and makes them part of it’s ramshackle perfection. Saying this isn’t a fully developed work is the sign of some harsh self-criticism. Surely this ADHD-like approach is a way of keeping things exciting for Mica?
“Yeah, I do (get bored easily). It’s something I’m trying to work on. I think part of it is that the songs are quite textural, they’re not groove based so it’s not the sort of thing you can let carry on. Dance music can be quite free-streaming and just carry on because there’s an ongoing pulse there. The minute you’re breaking things up it’s a different sort of area.”
Continuing with the theme of keeping things exciting, Mica’s band The Shapes – AKA Raisa Khan on keys and Marc Pell on drums – have been initiated into the songwriting process for her next work.
“I’m doing a lot more writing with The Shapes now. A proper band thing. That’s really exciting, something different. I’ve never really done that before, so that’ll be cool,” says Mica eagerly. So what are they bringing to your music now? After an amused giggle she answers.
“An incredible amount of commitment! Everything! At the moment we’re doing loads of gigs so Marc and Raisa are trying to interpret the record and everything is divided by three.” She admits it should be more together come time to record a new record although: “They’ve both got quite wild imaginations so maybe we won’t develop in that way at all. Maybe we’re just a bad combination. I don’t know. We’ll find out!” Isn’t that the point? Starting from scratch and finding out what works, what doesn’t – it keeps things fresh and new.
Speaking of such things, Rough Trade have recently come aboard, taking over where Jewellery producer – and renowned electronic artist in his own right – Matthew Herbert’s Accidental label had stepped in originally.
“We’re really excited. We’re sort of quite shocked. Matthew who runs Accidental is really happy about it. It’s really nice. They seem like a really nice family of people. They’re really excited about music and they really hate music as well, which is good. We feel pretty honoured, yeah. When we were talking to them they were very adamant, they were very realistic. They didn’t think we were gonna take the world over at all.”
Although this is indeed unlikely, the overwhelming response to music that, in all honesty, was not made for the masses has been extraordinary. Magazine covers, Rough Trade, mass music press plaudits: “I don’t wanna get too ahead of myself. It’s really nice when you’re working on things if you’re getting a positive response.”
For this cynical, sometimes fatigued, music fan, Mica Levi is a breath of fresh air. As with the majority of my favourite artists, she builds up from Ground Zero. “Just partly satisfaction in DIY stuff,” says Mica about her homemade instruments used to make her music, such as the three stringed guitar, The Chu, and a bowed instrument made from a CD rack. She even uses a vacuum cleaner on final track, Hardcore. “It’s off the back of this Harry Partch guy and his philosophy and attitude towards music which is an inspiration for me. The instruments I’ve made have been pretty shoddy. I need to do more planning. There’s just something that makes sense about starting from scratch. If you’re gonna write music then you’ve gotta make things to write the music with. It seems to be quite an obvious thing to do, doesn’t it?”
Only to those of us who believe in pure expression and making sure we don’t get bored too easily. Fortunately, with artists like Mica, there’s no chance of getting tired with music of any kind. Wiping the slate clean and creating what you want to create is a brave move, especially if it doesn’t work. When it does, it’s worth all the false starts and fleeting ideas.
Brad Barrett
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