Mother Feather Interview

Photo by  Shervin Lainez

 

We had the honor of chatting with Ann Courtney of Mother Feather! Mother Feather is more than just a band, but an experience to listen to and see live. Having elements of metal, indie rock, alternative and so much more, Mother Feather cannot be defined by a single genre. Be sure to catch them 1/31 at Mercury Lounge!!!

1.) How was the making of Constellation Baby?

It was a labor of love and a mixed bag. From the moment I started writing to the day the album was finally released, it ran the gamut. There was joy and despair. I was faced with opportunities to re-identify my intentions and my integrity to myself. It was beautiful, terrifying, fun, definitely revelatory, at times wildly frustrating, and ultimately victorious.

2.) Was there a preconceived idea for this record or did things come naturally?

The only pre-conception was that this album needed to be even better than our first. If by “naturally” you mean “easily,” the answer is definitely not. It required a lot of discipline, hard work, and guts to cut through naysaying and frankly— attempts at sabotage, to create something out of nothing that we all could be proud of. There was blood, a lot of toiling, and a few thousand buckets of tears.

3.) I noticed a lot of different sounds on this record, is it fair to say you take inspiration from multiple sources?

Absolutely. The main difference is that we had Joshua Valleau producing, who has a treasure chest of tools that he uses with the goal of serving the song, the album as a whole, and the artist he’s working for. One of his superpowers is that he helps make people sound better than they dreamed they ever could and exactly like themselves at the same time.

4.) Do lyrics or a concept ever determine the outcome of the music?

Absolutely! That’s part of the fun of production.

5.) As someone who has seen you live before, it is a completely different experience seeing you live vs. listening to your music. Is it different for you playing live in front of an audience vs in a studio?

To some extent, people hear what they see. You can use this to your advantage onstage or have it work against you if you’re not taking it into consideration. It takes me a lot less time to do my makeup for the studio.

6.) The imagery that you portray on stage is very unique. Are you portraying a certain character in you performance, or is this an extension of who you are as an artist as well?

I’m not playing a character. It’s me. Mother Feather allows me to step into a power and freedom that I don’t have access to in my every day, simply because of this terribly inconvenient thing called “propriety.”

7.) Being a band from NYC, what is your take on the NYC music scene today?

NYC has scenes— there is no single live scene. Mother Feather works in a multiplicity of them, which I think accounts for part of our success building a diverse following.

8.) What does the future hold for Mother Feather?

I am very excited to see where this album is going to take us— particularly geographically! Japan is still at the top of my list, with the rest of the world a close second. We sure could use some help getting there though. If you’re reading this and you can help MF get out on the road, get at us!

Photo by Rosie Cohe

 

 

Be sure to catch Mother Feather 1/31 at Mercury Lounge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Haber

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