by RAF KATIGBAK

To say that Montreal artist [sic] is busy would be an understatement. Beyond her full-time job, she somehow managed to start her own music label (Squirrelgirl) and release her hauntingly good debut full-length experimental album …And Rabbits Named Friday (getting props everywhere from Vice magazine to the BBC). Furthermore, she’s now collaborating in an experimental music trio (Cold Brown Towel with Graham Gulden and Marc Devolver), producing a solo multimedia performance for the upcoming Vancouver Underground Film Festival and working on her new album, due out in spring 2003. The Mirror had a chance to sit down with [sic] over some pierogies and Rikaloff Vodka (Baltimore’s finest) to find out just how she does it.

Mirror: You’re a busy lady. I take it you don’t sleep much.

[sic]: I’ve had insomnia since I was a kid. When I don’t get any sleep I can often be thought of as schizophrenic. I see amputees and black cats and people pressed up against windows breathing and having conniption fits.

M: Spooky.

[sic]: It’s not so bad ’cause it allows me to lead the life I lead because I can get a lot more stuff done in a day. Sure, you toss and turn at night, but thankfully I have my studio here so I can just get up and make music. I’m someone that has to do creative work or else I go insane.

M: I understand your approach is very minimal.

[sic]: I think limiting yourself is the best thing you can do for music, ’cause if you don’t it ends up being noodling.

M: If you’re not into the noodling, then what floats your boat?

[sic]: Sure, noodling colours the sound, but if I’m blown away by something it’s because it hits me emotionally, not technically. I know if I really wanted to I could be technically great, but that’s not what interests me. I’m interested in evoking some sort of emotion, whether people like it or they fucking hate it. If they hate it, to me it’s just as good as them liking it. Truth be told, anybody on the face of the planet, whether they’re retarded or not, can do the music I do. I have no special talent at all, but I think it really shows that I’m doing it from my heart and not from my hard drive.

M: Your …And Rabbits album can be perceived as ambient, but there’s also a certain underlying tension there. Is that from the insomnia?

[sic]: A lot of what I do is about trying to fix problems but making it worse by spending time fixing them when all the while, the fact that you have no time is really your problem. It’s about being mental and too busy trying to find a balance but all attempts to find a balance are actually making you more unbalanced.

M: So what’s the solution?

[sic]: I found out that in the end, it’s actually better to just live your madness, do your stuff, and be happy. :

With Roughage and the Royal Tease at
Casa del popolo on Thursday, Nov. 7, 9pm, $5

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