From: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org (navy-soup-digest) To: navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Subject: navy-soup-digest V7 #102 Reply-To: navy-soup@smoe.org Sender: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-navy-soup-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk navy-soup-digest Wednesday, November 17 2004 Volume 07 : Number 102 In This Digest: ----------------- Interview with Sarah ["lindsay dobbin" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 03:13:26 +0000 From: "lindsay dobbin" Subject: Interview with Sarah Good day everyone, I recently did an interview with Sarah for my school newspaper and I thought I would foward the article along to all of you as well as the entire interview. So, without further ado, here they are. LIFE AS A CABIN: Sarah Slean changes environment and finds a new sense of self in her creative world Change in environment can either aid or choke off creativity: the outcome is dependent upon how the artist reacts to that change. The former occurs when the artist surrendersnot the white flag typeto the environment and, in turn, forges a uniquely symbiotic relationship. Canadian songwriter Sarah Slean chose to surrender to the stripped down environment of a cabin in a forest outside of Ottawa and, as a result, created Day One - an album laden with ideas of revolution ignited by wonder and awe. In the summer of 2003 after the success of her major label debut Night Bugs, Slean ran for the hills. Literally. Her motivation: to rid herself of the psychological noise that her presently grim world created. With her painting tools and her piano by her side throughout the four months, Slean madly created proving that the new environment was the greatest teacher of all. As Slean said in a succinct statement of the experience, It was so amazing to me that music came back in such a warm tide, and painting just leapt out at me when I stopped struggling. I recently talked to Slean about her experiences in the cabin and how it changed her perspective of her own identity, the world, and, inevitably, her artistic methods and creations. You said in a pervious interview that one of your main motivations for going to the cabin was that you were hungry for a teacher. Who and what were your teachers while in the cabin? I would change the word hungry to absolutely starving. I also went to the cabin because I felt that all of sudden everything was hilariously meaningless and everything was ridiculous. I thought to myself why does anyone do anything and I couldnt shake it. When I got there and I was looking for some direction - some sort of lifeline. I read Eastern philosophy which had wisdom in it. A lot of Canadian poetry: Leonard Cohen, Michael Ondaatje, Al Purdy. It wasnt any of those in specific; it was being where I was and having a chance to actually devote my energy to them. It was like they were revealed to me because of my environment and my environment was the greatest teacher of all. When I spoke to you two years ago, we discussed the many different identities you attach yourself to, in particular the lady in the red dress on the back of Night Bugs. You said that you envisioned yourself as her on stage singing with all your might. Do you feel you have become more close to the centre of that identity after your experiences over the past couple of years and with Day One? With this [album] I cut a little closer to the bone. My whole reason for going to the cabin was to try to carve off some of the costumes that I had put on myself and were basically there for protection, I think. I took the scalpel to it and got some courage to peel some of them off and let who I actually am emerge. Who did you discover yourself to be outside of those costumes and the external things that you thought defined yourself? I think who I really am is who people really are in the very centrea piece of this miracle that is life or God or whatever you want to call it. Were all that: this sort of infinite power that is just infinitely good, nameless, and ageless. Did the cabin experience teach you anything about artistic method? Although I dont like to carve into details about how I go about making things, I feel like it comes from that place, that black holeWhen I stopped fighting, I surrendered and it all came like it was there forever and it was the most amazing feeling. On Day One there was a conscious decision for more rhythm. To me the dichotomy between the rhythm and melody suits the binary themes of the album such as science and faith because the music feels determined and direct, but there is still the vulnerability and wonder of the melody there. How do you feel coupling the two has changed the delivery and interpretation of your music? When I sing these songs, the rhythm is right down my spine all the way to my tailbone. I think that some people are accustomed to my older music, and they kind of go Oh my God when they see this new show, but I feel like this is an urgent time in history and my tiny insignificant little life I want to express how urgent the need for revolution isfor wonder to return and for people to open their eyes. >From the album title to the papers with today written on them to the clock with now as each hour, throughout the album artwork I see an emphasis on today and the number one. What is today? What is Day One? The psychology behind that was that I was reversing the one day sentiment. It became frighteningly clear to me when I was reading Eastern philosophy and I was sitting by the trees on my little back porch by myself in my bare feet that every single moment is right now. You could completely reinvent yourself in five seconds. You could turn the boat of your life another way. In eastern mentality thats the most glorious and exhilarating faith that everything is happening now and now can cascade past you constantly. Thats freedom, not horror. I wanted to embrace that because I was sliding down this path that was making life heavier by the day and as soon I could feel day one in my heart and soul anything was possible. In the song Out in the Park, you sing: What are your hearts and wheelbarrows for. Could you elaborate on what you mean by that and how it connects to people? When I used that line I was thinking about all my friends that I consider noble. Most of them have nothing in the eyes of the modern world, which means they dont have enormous bank accounts or homes and cars and husbands and wives, etc. I take great inspiration from people that can step back and say my life is a tool. Its about trying to give something to the world thats beautiful before you go and trying to leave a mark in that way. I pictured their revolution as people with big shiny hearts using whatever tools were at their disposal to ignite a revolution. Sarah Slean will be playing on the same bill as Ron Sexsmith and Nathan Wiley at the Rebecca Cohn on Saturday, Nov. 20. The show begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $28.50. Available at the concert is Sleans new book Ravens which consists of her paintings and creative writing. And the full interview... When I spoke to you two years ago, we discussed the many different identities you attach yourself to, in particular the lady in the red dress on the back of Night Bugs. You said that you envisioned yourself as her on stage singing with all your might. Do you feel you have become more close to the centre of that identity after your experiences over the past couple of years and with Day One? With this [album] I cut a little closer to the bone. My whole reason for going to the cabin was to try to carve off some of the costumes that I had put on myself that kind of stuck and were basically there for protection I think. I took the scalpel to it and got some courage to peel some of them off and let who I actually am emerge which is kind of difficult to do when you are used to creating fanciful fiction. (laughs) Did going down to the marrow of yourself while you were at the cabin integrate those identities into one solid identity then? What I was trying to do was to kind of let it happen itself. I was trying to be Zen about it you know? The dont aim kind of feel. I was just so sick of trying to calculate it and trying to reflect back at who people thought I was. There was so much psychological noise and there was so much indecision and so much emptiness as far as the meaning of being alive. So I needed to take off as many skins as possible and just see. Just kind of let it happen. When I woke up in the morning I didnt write a list of things I wanted to do or I didnt have achievements in mind. I simply went towards what I wanted to do and I let myself be a human. I read some days or I would just walk or I would not speak for four or five days in a row. I was trying to be kind to myself and remember who I am and remember that my body is made of ancient atoms and treat it that way. Who did you discover yourself to be outside of those costumes and the external things that you thought defined yourself? Thats an interesting question because nobody has asked me that directly. I think who I really am is who people really are in the very very centre - - a piece of this miracle that is life or God or whatever you want to call it. Were all that. This sort of infinite power that is just infinitely good and nameless and ageless and just good. I really really felt that. I am not religious in any way and I really felt that when I would not speak. You can become so wrapped up in your consciousness that you forget about your unconsciousness and there is so much creative power there. Glenn Gould used to say that most fantastic ideas originate in negation, a sort of emptiness, this void as a backdrop. I think thats what I found in the cabin. Do you think that would be a common thing all people would find given the opportunity and having the motivation? I think we are all part of the same thing. The Dali Lama said you cant harm another without harming yourself and I think that ties into it because we are all the same. It sounds like a really bad Lenny Kravitz song (laughs) but its something that I think that needs to be readdressed. You said in a pervious interview that one of your main motivations for going to the cabin was that you were hungry for a teacher. Who and what were your teachers while in the cabin? I would change the word hungry to absolutely starving. I also went to the cabin because I felt that all of sudden everything was hilariously meaningless and everything was ridiculous. I thought to myself why does anyone do anything and I couldnt shake it. When I got there and I was looking for some direction, something to help me, some sort of lifeline. I read deep poetry which had a lot of wisdom in it. I read a lot of Eastern philosophy which had wisdom in it. A lot of Canadian poetry: Leonard Cohen, Michael Ondaatje, Al Purdy. There are gold mines of poetry in Canada. It wasnt any of those in specific; it was being where I was and having a chance to actually devote my energy to them. It was like they were revealed to me because of my environment and my environment was the greatest teacher of all. Nature. Life happening and not arguing with anyone. Just happening. I consider the greatest teacher a bumblebee for instance. A tree. A tree doesnt wreak terror trying to change the world. It simply is a tree doing tree things and it causes no harm. Did the cabin experience teach you anything about artistic method? Yeah. Although I dont like to carve into details about how I go about making things I feel like it comes from that place, that black hole we were talking about. It was so amazing to me that music came back in such a warm tide and painting just leapt out at me when I stopped struggling. When I stopped fighting. I surrendered and it all came like it was there forever and it was the most amazing feeling. Thats interesting that you mentioned creativity coming when you stopped struggling. One of the major themes on your album is science and faith. Do you feel that if the two gave into each other and stopped creating so much tension that they would become one entity like they used to be? Absolutely. Absolutely. Amazing observation. I would say too that the glue for those two is wonder. We have reachieve that childlike pair of eyes where everything is so incredible. I dont think science would get all puffed up about itself and think that humans are pretty hot shit and arent we smart if we look at how a caterpillar becomes a completely different being (laughs) all by its own doing. Its insane what nature and the powers that are out there can already do. Its utter arrogance for science to think that it exists in a category on its own. And wonder can only be religious. It is spiritual. Its reverent and awe. We need those back. America needs some reverence and awe. >From your interpretation what has happened to science and faith over the course of history? I think its greed. I think spirituality kind of got pulled out of the world and pulled into Heaven so that people could run churches and control communities and centralize power. Which I am sure is good on one extent but it also takes God out of the forest and puts him in an unreachable place and makes this place, there here and now, sort of an in between. Its absurd because we are living among so much miracle and wisdom and beauty and we need to not constantly look elsewhere for it and feel guilty and feel that this place is where the punished are and we have to earn our way upwards. So I think that was the problem with faith. And science did the same thing: it pulled out of the world as scientists got hungry for money and power and control as well and it started making acts of hubris. Polluting machines and all the other terrible things that science can come up with. On the new album there was a conscious decision for more rhythm. To me the dichotomy between the rhythm and melody suits the binary themes of the album such as science and faith because the music feels determined and direct but there is still the vulnerability and wonder of the melody there. How do you feel coupling the two has changed the delivery and interpretation of your music? Well, I first must mention that this album is exhilarating to play live for me. Even though we cant really emulate all the tricks and the extra production on the record but its amazing for me to feel that. The word determination you used I really feel that too. When I sing these songs the rhythm is right down my spine all the way to my tailbone. I think that some people are accustomed to my older music and they kind of go Oh my God when they see this new show but I feel like this is an urgent time in history and my tiny insignificant little life I want to express how urgent the need for revolution is - for wonder to return and for people to open their eyes. To me it seems like you are a fan of personification with the song Lucky Me where you personified science and faith. If rhythm and melody were two individuals what would they be like? (laughs) I think that they would be the same. We would instinctly think that rhythm would be male and melody would be female but you could turn that around. For instance in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness the native woman standing on the shore when he sees her he is terrified of her and completely intimidated to the core by how gorgeous and strong she is. She could be rhythm too. Rhythm is very sexy as well and melodyits almost the Lennon/McCartney thing. I would say Lennon would be rhythm and McCartney would be melody. >From the album title to the papers with today written on them to the clock with now as each hour, throughout the album artwork I see an emphasis on today and the number one. What is today? What is Day One? The psychology behind that was that I was reversing the one day sentiment. It became frighteningly clear to me when I was reading Eastern philosophy and I was sitting by the trees on my little back porch by myself in my barefeet that every single moment is right now. You could completely reinvent yourself in five seconds. You could turn the boat of your life another way. In eastern mentality thats the most glorious and exhilarating faith that everything is happening now and now can cascades past you constantly. Thats freedom not horror. I wanted to embrace that because I was sliding down this path that was making life heavier by the day and as soon I could feel day one in my heart and soul anything was possible. How does your perspective change on the world when that anxiety lifted off? Thats interesting you ask that because I remember reading this quantum physicist which is a deeply spiritual discipline. He said change the way you look at things and things change the way they look. In quantum physics the act of observing an atom changes its behavior literally. To me that was like WOW! Its almost like that physically happens when you change your mentality, when you change your perception. When you start thinking from a different place its as if the ugliness goes away or you can deal with the ugliness or conversely you can even find beauty in ugliness which is one of the greatest human feats I think. That definitely happened. It was as if I tossed my eyeballs in the river and gave them a good scrub or something. Learning is important to you and youve received a university education but it seems you have learned more from what you have done on your own. What do you think about todays educational system? When they educated the monks you learned about the world and that was everything. It wasnt like you were this or you were that. You became educated and you pursued education and it was only that. It wasnt Im going to be this or This job makes more money or I could get a promotion here or I have a natural affinity for this, it wasnt that. It was the world is sacred and diverse and teeming with information and teeming with wisdom and they made it a life long thing to study the world and I think that is totally noble. That is the way we should be educated. You just mentioned wisdom there. How does wisdom differ from knowledge? I think wisdom is innate and it needs to be unraveled and I think knowledge is something you acquire and you pick up pieces along the way. I think wisdom is something we all have that we have to pull out and polish. In the song Out in the Park, you sing: What are your hearts and wheelbarrows for. Could you elaborate on what you mean by that and how it connects to people? When I used that line I was thinking about all my friends that I consider noble. Most of them have nothing in the eyes of the modern world which means they dont have enormous bank accounts or homes and cars and husbands and wives, etc. I take great inspiration from people that can step back and say my life is a tool. Its about trying to give something to the world thats beautiful before you go and trying to leave a mark in that way. Not leave a mark in I made a lot of garbage and I made a lot of money (laughs). I pictured their revolution as people with big shiny hearts using whatever tools were at their disposal to ignite a revolution. So if life is a tool, what kind of tool would yours be? Ohhh, thats too hard. I will have to think about that one. Can you describe this musical you are working on called Boy Wonder? It basically reflects what we were just talking about. Boy Wonder is personified in a little boy who stokes the main furnace fire of a city and then one day he goes missing and of course the fire starts to die. And the city starts to get cold but nobody really knows why because they never really paid attention to him. Lindsay Dawn Dobbin Department of Psychology and Social Anthropology Dalhousie University Email: lindsaydobbin@hotmail.com On the Web: http://www.geocities.com/lindsaydobbin ------------------------------ End of navy-soup-digest V7 #102 *******************************