Art connection
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| Angela Chambers photo © Pablo Lauf |
Angela Chambers is an American-born flautist, vocalist and performance artist. Her music career started touring with her New York italo-disco band Dust and releasing two albums. After their second european tour she decided to move to Berlin where she is currently living. It is a restless spirit always looking for collaborations with very diverse artists, without forgetting their own solo projects. Currently, her main project is Waking Dreams, a project that started in 2012 in New York along with Jason Letkiewicz.
Now she is presenting the brand new single Easelle , a collaboration with sound artist Enyang Ha.
What does music mean to you?
It has captured my soul since I was a child and I dont know why, but to this day, it will not let me go in another direction. I will always write and perform music. It is in my blood. My biggest inspiration as a child was my brother, because he showed me what music was, and he had the greatest voice and I thought it was so cool that he could sing and play the guitar, and I really wanted to be just like him.
What are your main music influences?
Here are some, just to name a few: Fleetwood Mac,Crosby Stills & Nash, PortisHead, Mazzy Star, Kate Bush, Jethro Tull, Kraftwerk, Can, Björk, Gwen Stefani
Angela, you are singer, actress and flautist. How did you start playing the flute and why thisinstrument?
Yes, I started singing at the age of 6. When I was a kid, home alone, I would sneak up in my brother’s room, put on a record, and sing along to it as loud as I could. I knew the lyrics toal most any song. Later, I learned how to play the flute in middle school while playing with the marching band. Something about the sound was so nice and pleasant. I also eventually got my dad and brother to teach me how to play guitar as well.
You started with an italo-disco band. What could you explain us about that period?
Dust was really the first band I started performing with, even though I had many projects along the way. The live set was high energy and I had LOTS of energy for self-expression. I really enjoyed this time writing, touring and performing with the band.
And after that you started working in the Neu West collective in which you collaborated withseveral interesting artists.
It has captured my soul since I was a child and I dont know why, but to this day, it will not let me go in another direction. I will always write and perform music. It is in my blood. My biggest inspiration as a child was my brother, because he showed me what music was, and he had the greatest voice and I thought it was so cool that he could sing and play the guitar, and I really wanted to be just like him.
What are your main music influences?
Here are some, just to name a few: Fleetwood Mac,Crosby Stills & Nash, PortisHead, Mazzy Star, Kate Bush, Jethro Tull, Kraftwerk, Can, Björk, Gwen Stefani
Angela, you are singer, actress and flautist. How did you start playing the flute and why thisinstrument?
Yes, I started singing at the age of 6. When I was a kid, home alone, I would sneak up in my brother’s room, put on a record, and sing along to it as loud as I could. I knew the lyrics toal most any song. Later, I learned how to play the flute in middle school while playing with the marching band. Something about the sound was so nice and pleasant. I also eventually got my dad and brother to teach me how to play guitar as well.
You started with an italo-disco band. What could you explain us about that period?
Dust was really the first band I started performing with, even though I had many projects along the way. The live set was high energy and I had LOTS of energy for self-expression. I really enjoyed this time writing, touring and performing with the band.
And after that you started working in the Neu West collective in which you collaborated withseveral interesting artists.
Yes, I collaborated with Owen Roberts
who was working with Johann Johannsson at the time and had a studio down
the hall from me, as well as Sam Slater, and Casper Clausen, just to name
a few.
In 2017 you started a new project, AC MEADOWS, releasing an EP full of hypnotic sounds anddreamy atmospheres. How was the creation process of that EP?
It was more or less a collection of songs from all the collaborations. These were songs that I felt like should get out into the world.
Now you are presenting a new collaboration, the video single EASELLE with artist ENYNAG HA. Is it the first of further projects together? How was the experience?
Yes, this is a track we made together in her studio. She had come up with this hypnotic tribal beat, and I went over to her studio one afternoon and we ended up recording some really nice vocals and flute, along with some weird percussion stuff, which really added a nice touch to the atmosphere of the song. It was later on, when she told me that she had found the perfect video film from 1993 ‘Une Mission Ephemere’ by Piotr Kamler, to use for the song, and that it somehow synced up perfect with thesong. We were so happy to get the permission from the publisher to sync our track with the film.When she showed me, I was in shock and amazed at how nicely they fit together. We are planning to do more tracks together in the future. It is so nice when these organic collaborations come together like this.
What are your upcoming projects?
I will release a full album under the name ‘Waking Dreams’ in collaboration with Jason Letkiewicz and features Cameron Findlay on drums. This album will beout April 24th on Digital, Vinyl, Cassette. We will drop the first single ‘Etched’ from this album onFeb 28th. Also, Im currently writing and working on another album under my own name, as well as various other collaborations coming up and playing a role in artist, Peter Piek’s new film, whichwill be exciting this year.
In your opinion, music and creativity in general are valorated enough in society?
I feel there are different pockets, which are hard to find these days, but do help artists get to a next level in their careers. Let’s face it, the music industry is over-saturated these days. Anyone can be an artist, and also you don't even need to have so much talent, but people can also buy their way into the industry. I do like that so many artists are now taking control of their music and releasing it themselves how and when they can. Many artists do not get the fees they deserve, if and/or only until later on in their careers. However, I feel that being an artist these days is also about dealing with rejection, emotions and the pressure to do something great, while remembering to do it for yourself and because you love to do it. Forgetting the noise and always keeping in mind why you started in the first place.
Could you explain us a dream that you had while sleeping?
I have a reoccurring dream about being chased around a castle by a face that I can never see clearly, up and down a winding staircase, through strange doors and into the darkness beyond...Wow, that would make some nice song lyrics...:)
In 2017 you started a new project, AC MEADOWS, releasing an EP full of hypnotic sounds anddreamy atmospheres. How was the creation process of that EP?
It was more or less a collection of songs from all the collaborations. These were songs that I felt like should get out into the world.
Now you are presenting a new collaboration, the video single EASELLE with artist ENYNAG HA. Is it the first of further projects together? How was the experience?
Yes, this is a track we made together in her studio. She had come up with this hypnotic tribal beat, and I went over to her studio one afternoon and we ended up recording some really nice vocals and flute, along with some weird percussion stuff, which really added a nice touch to the atmosphere of the song. It was later on, when she told me that she had found the perfect video film from 1993 ‘Une Mission Ephemere’ by Piotr Kamler, to use for the song, and that it somehow synced up perfect with thesong. We were so happy to get the permission from the publisher to sync our track with the film.When she showed me, I was in shock and amazed at how nicely they fit together. We are planning to do more tracks together in the future. It is so nice when these organic collaborations come together like this.
What are your upcoming projects?
I will release a full album under the name ‘Waking Dreams’ in collaboration with Jason Letkiewicz and features Cameron Findlay on drums. This album will beout April 24th on Digital, Vinyl, Cassette. We will drop the first single ‘Etched’ from this album onFeb 28th. Also, Im currently writing and working on another album under my own name, as well as various other collaborations coming up and playing a role in artist, Peter Piek’s new film, whichwill be exciting this year.
In your opinion, music and creativity in general are valorated enough in society?
I feel there are different pockets, which are hard to find these days, but do help artists get to a next level in their careers. Let’s face it, the music industry is over-saturated these days. Anyone can be an artist, and also you don't even need to have so much talent, but people can also buy their way into the industry. I do like that so many artists are now taking control of their music and releasing it themselves how and when they can. Many artists do not get the fees they deserve, if and/or only until later on in their careers. However, I feel that being an artist these days is also about dealing with rejection, emotions and the pressure to do something great, while remembering to do it for yourself and because you love to do it. Forgetting the noise and always keeping in mind why you started in the first place.
Could you explain us a dream that you had while sleeping?
I have a reoccurring dream about being chased around a castle by a face that I can never see clearly, up and down a winding staircase, through strange doors and into the darkness beyond...Wow, that would make some nice song lyrics...:)
An interview by Juan Carlos Romero
Photo by Pablo Lauf
© + courtesy of Pablo Lauf
For further information please visit
angelachambers.net
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