A small chat with Kee Avil on her debut full-length, Crease, collaborating with Zachary Scholes and Myriam Bleau, and the 2022 tour.
Art Laundry: Your 2022 Fall Tour has already begun, with concerts taking place in Budapest (UH Festival), Martigny (Caves Du Manoir), and, yesterday, in Munich (Favorit Bar). Now you will travel through several Italian locations. What impressions have you got to share about this tour so far?
Kee Avil: The tour has been so great. Everyone has been extremely welcoming and I feel like we've been able to connect through this music, which is always special. We've also had the chance to visit some magical places, I wish we had much longer to go.
Art Laundry: To conclude the tour, you have chosen the Understage in the city of Porto. It's your first time playing live in Portugal and I hope everything works out as expected. Have you ever visited our country before?
Kee Avil: I've never been to Portugal and am looking forward to it. We're actually going to be spending a few days there before the show so if there are any must-sees and do's, let me know.
"HHHH", Kee Avil | Live in Concrete
Art Laundry: Your Crease live show was co-produced by Zachary Scholes and Myriam Bleau provided backdrops for the shows. I've watched your interpretation of "HHHH" in Concrete and I was intrigued by the eeriness of the experience. Regarding sound engineering, what pieces of advice have you received from Zachary? And what was Myriam's goal when you both reflected on the visual spectacle that takes place simultaneously with your performance?
Kee Avil: Zach was integral to the production of the live shows, how to approach the technical aspect so that the show can be adapted to all types of venues. He also co-produced the album so he has a deep understanding of the music, which helps when deciding how to present it live.
With Myriam, I'm not sure there was a particular goal beyond finding a way to represent the music visually. I think an underlying theme was the exploration of physical textures (wax, paint, leaves made of jelly), and combined with her technique of AI generation, the result is something digital that has a type of visceral feeling - it always makes me feel like I'd like to be able to touch her visuals.
Art Laundry: Let's discuss your debut full-length, Crease: the way you work around the vocal range, experimenting with distinct organic and electronic techniques, reminds me of singer-songwriters such as late-stage Scott Walker, early P.J. Harvey, Lydia Lynch, Jenny Hval, or even Björk at some points. Nevertheless, in the end, Crease sounds like Kee Avil developing her very own idiosyncratic style.
Kee Avil: Thanks, yeah, I think for me it's important to take all my inspirations and find a way to copy the invisible. Often I like to recreate moods, feelings, or even specific moments that other artists' works bring up, but in an abstract way. I like to create these types of links, with musical ideas being familiar but without being able to pinpoint exactly what is being copied.
Art Laundry: The tracks on Crease have an anxious, almost claustrophobic-like, feeling to them. The way you vocalize your lyrics, often resorting to whispering, sounds intimate. This department is complemented by an emphasis on industrial instrumentation. The worlds of Post-Punk and Avant-Pop definitely collide in your creation, while the guitar work often pushes things toward the '90s Rock-ish side (in this case, I'm thinking P.J. Harvey's Dry and Rid Of Me, specifically).
Kee Avil: Claustrophobia and anxiety seem like a good time. Come to the show. It'll be fun, I swear.
Art Laundry: Crease sounds like a bad trip, but in a good way: it's packed with sonic palettes, textures, and suspense. Every track is an unpredictable journey and stands for itself. Meanwhile, if you take a look at the bigger picture and let yourself go, you can sense the dark loop swallowing you. Do you still feel very connected to this artifact, or have you already started planning your next studio album?
Kee Avil: Both. It's definitely a challenge to build on this album while also making something new but I'm looking forward to trying.
Art Laundry: Crease sounds like a bad trip, but in a good way: it's packed with sonic palettes, textures, and suspense. Every track is an unpredictable journey and stands for itself. Meanwhile, if you take a look at the bigger picture and let yourself go, you can sense the dark loop swallowing you. Do you still feel very connected to this artifact, or have you already started planning your next studio album?
Kee Avil: Both. It's definitely a challenge to build on this album while also making something new but I'm looking forward to trying.
Art Laundry: Would you be kind enough to tell us about the visual art surrounding Crease, including the way you've been presenting yourself in Press Releases, shows, and photographic sessions?
Kee Avil: I'd like to keep building on this idea of transformation, how masks are not always made to conceal but also to transform. How different characters can present the music differently, how visuals generally work to change the perception, the experience. It's a work in progress.
Art Laundry: Select a picture taken from the Internet and explain the reasons behind your choice.
Kee Avil: A peek behind-the-process of the visuals by Myriam.
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