After an intense four-year hiatus, filled with grief, loss and life transforming experiences, Melbourne’s own singer- songwriter Jen Cloher is back with her long awaited record In Blood Memory (launched May 27th). Written over six months, recorded over a period of six days and supported by fans via a crowdfunding campaign, it is the follow up to her critically acclaimed second album Hidden Hands. In this exclusive Undercover interview, the artist shares her journey throughout the record production, remembers her parents and assures that life doesn't have to be dramatic to create good art.
In your blog, it says that In Blood Memory is a live album. Why did you choose to do it this way? Did you want the album to sound unpolished and raw?
I wanted to capture a sound that was ‘alive’. So much music today is produced, often over produced. Everything sounds perfect. Recording live means there’s risk, something at stake. What I love about this album is that it feels like it could all fall apart at any moment but it somehow pulls itself together and carries on. When you record live, you have to be in the moment - all there together in the same song making it work. That creates something electrifying, in a way that you don’t need any gimmicks or tricks to hold the listeners attention.
The title is inspired by Martha Graham returning from obscurity to choreograph until her death. Was making this album a journey for you too? After many years of suffering is this your return from obscurity?
Not so much obscurity. I feel like I needed time to find something – that key that unlocks the door to the next album. I had written all of these songs in 2011 and then scrapped them and started again. This album came quickly, the first track Mount Beauty was the song that opened the door to something new. The rest of the songs were written swiftly after that, probably within four or five months. Martha Graham has a famous quote where she says the only job an artist has to do 100% is keep the channel open. Just keep making work regardless of the outcome. She choreographed new work right until the age of 96 which is remarkable.
(The title is inspired by the great American choreographer Martha Graham who after years of alcoholism, returned from obscurity to choreograph right up until her death at age 94:
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours closely and directly, to keep the channel open.”)
After both your parents' passing at the end of 2011, you decided you wanted to write about what was alive in you. Is this the way you also want to remember them?
I like that insight, I hadn’t thought of it that way. I just didn’t feel sad when they died. I felt relieved. They had been through so much and it was their time to go. It would have been disingenuous to write an album about grief. In Blood Memory has a sense of humour, for the most part I’m not taking myself too seriously. I enjoyed bringing that lightness into my songwriting.
What happened to those songs you had written by the beginning of 2012? Are they lost forever or will you look into them when you feel strong enough?
I’m about to record one of them with Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer for a tour we have organized in November – Dyson, Stringer and Cloher. I will definitely make use of those songs down the track, they’re not sad songs so much, it just didn’t feel like the right time to record them.
In Blood Memory was written and recorded quite rapidly. Was moving quickly and intuitively a need you had after so many years of grief, waiting, and planning each step?
Yes. The process of seeing my parents struggle with degenerative illnesses – Alzheimers and Parkinsons – took its toll. I am their only child so I had to make a lot of decisions and be the grown up. I guess I wanted this album to be about life and the living. My previous album Hidden Hands delved into the grieving process and reconciling watching my mother slowly disappear into Dementia. I wasn’t inspired by the idea of traversing that emotional territory again.
How successful was the crowd sourcing campaign you ran to fund the release? How fast did you raise the money you needed?
It was a great success, we raised our goal and the campaign had its own momentum. I never felt like I had to push too hard. People were genuinely excited to support the project. I know that if one of my favourite artists were asking for funds to get their new album pressed up, I’d be right there, first in line to support. As a fan it gives you a sense of ownership, knowing that you contributed to the album finally seeing the light of day.
I liked an expression I read your father used to say: "pressing on regardless". How do you manage to avoid just "doing the drill" and find the complex, random, passionate and beautiful side of life?
A lot of life is just about doing the drill, making enough money to pay rent, making sure you eat well and exercise, cleaning the house, doing your laundry. There’s an endless list of shit to get done and it’s never going to get done. So I try to celebrate the good moments in life, just notice when I am happy. I draw inspiration from simple things, life doesn’t have to be dramatic to create good art. In fact silence is generally where I connect with the next idea, the next bit of truth. Making music is a labour of love. I love doing it.
IN BLOOD MEMORY
Album Launches
Friday 28 June – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
with special guests Ainslie Wills & Fraser A Gorman
Tickets $23 from The Corner Hotel
Friday 12 July – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
with special guests Melodie Nelson & Courtney Barnett
Tickets $23.50 from Moshtix
