Vines is the challenge of Illinois-born and Brooklyn-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Cassie Wieland. Earlier than recording music beneath the moniker, Wieland principally composed music for others to play in a classical music context, however the brand new challenge allowed her to experiment with vocal processing and lyric-based writing in a brand new method, at first by way of stark, slowed-down renditions of songs like MGMT’s ‘Youngsters’ and Bo Burnham’s ‘All Eyes on Me’. Immediately, Wieland has launched her debut report as Vines, Birthday Get together, which spans seven unique tracks and closes out with a canopy of Modest Mouse’s ‘The World at Giant’. The road “My ideas have been so loud I couldn’t hear my mouth” is a becoming conclusion for an intimate but hypnotically expansive assortment, which swells round small, remoted phrases that resonate immediately however whose which means grows with every added texture and haunting repetition. Co-produced with Mike Tierney, Birthday Get together gives entry to an inside world that’s richer and hotter than the loneliness that pervades it, and in doing so, manages to carry it outward.
We caught up with Cassie Wieland for the newest version of our Artist Spotlight series to speak about her musical background, the inspiration behind Birthday Get together, overlaying Modest Mouse’s ‘The World at Giant’, and extra.
You’ve got a background in composing music for others in addition to decoding different folks’s music. What was your relationship to songwriting and writing lyrics beforehand, and the way has it developed over time?
Yeah, songwriting and writing lyrics is one thing that I’ve been afraid of for lots of my musical profession – and even earlier than that, after I was first studying guitar and began to compose. The explanation I gravitated in direction of music was as a result of I may specific myself in a method that didn’t use phrases. I grew up actually shy, and I didn’t really feel snug with that form of format for expressing myself. I form of simply assumed that any lyrics that I’d write could be silly or corny, so it’s one thing that I scared myself out of for a very long time. However after I began selecting up this complete vocal processing factor, clearly it’s an instrument that wants phrases to energy it, so I put myself in a state of affairs the place I wanted to do the factor that I used to be fearful of to get the end result that I wished. And that’s after I began practising, with this EP. It’s very bare-bones relating to lyrics, however I form of like that. I believe one sentence again and again, regardless that you’re saying the identical phrases, can evolve in feeling and in inflection the extra instances you say it, like a mantra. I actually wished to play with that with this report and see how the phrases may evolve all through the track.
If you began Vines as a challenge, did you’ve gotten a selected imaginative and prescient for it, or was it principally a automobile for this type of experimentation?
It truly began with a classical composition that I wrote; I wrote a 30-minute composition for a saxophone quartet and my vocal setup. I used to be very a lot solely practising in my bed room when it got here to performing, and I wished to place my voice onstage lastly. I had this residency at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, and so they instructed me I may do no matter I wished, so I wrote this assortment for my good buddies ~Nois quartet and myself. That was extra of a classical format, however that present received COVID canceled. I noticed when the present received canceled how badly I wished to do it, and at that time I used to be like, “I’ve at all times wished to make a report, nevertheless it’s solely been a conceptual or distant objective for me. I’m simply going to take the cash in my financial savings account and make a report with this and make it actually what I need to make it.” I actually wasn’t enthusiastic about the tip objective apart from I wished to make a bit of artwork my method. But it surely simply so occurred that at the moment I used to be additionally attempting to apply efficiency – microdose efficiency, if you’ll – by doing covers on Tiktok, and that form of melded along with this course of of constructing a report.
What did it imply so that you can ask that query of how you would make it your method?
I wished to make one thing that was nearer to the music that I take pleasure in listening to. Most of my work up till that time had been very a lot within the classical scene, however I grew up listening to, like, Midwest emo and math rock, and I’m nonetheless very a lot into the indie world. However I assumed I can’t do this, as a result of that’s what I do know, is simply writing music for different folks. I don’t know the best way to put collectively a report. This was my leap of religion to strive it out.
A part of what’s so resonant in regards to the method of slowing down the songs you cowl is that it additionally strips their feelings all the way down to their core. I’m wondering if the same factor occurs whenever you work on unique music as Vines, the place you deal with small phrases and construct them out till they reveal one thing deeper beneath the floor.
There’s positively a relation there. At any time when I’m engaged on Vines stuff, whether or not it’s a canopy or my unique songs, I attempt to make that feeling of honesty and that feeling of directness drive no matter it’s I’m doing. It’s humorous, I principally simply began doing covers simply to get higher on the instrument and to get higher at performing. There’s a lot music on the market that I like that I need to share my love for with folks. However it’s at all times actually enjoyable and attention-grabbing to see what lens I may put any person else’s music by way of –and God, I hope they’re okay with it. [laughs] I haven’t actually discuss to many individuals that that I’ve lined. However I simply attempt to take my ardour for what I like to do and distill it down as a lot as doable.
You began writing the album round your January birthday. Do you suppose you’d keep in mind these days in another way if you happen to hadn’t completed the report?
I do suppose making this report has allowed me to reclaim my birthday slightly bit, as a result of this complete report is known as a journal entry of previous birthdays that I’ve had. My birthday is in January, which is normally a really gradual, quiet, chilly time, and I’ve so many recollections of simply being alone on my birthday. Not out of isolation or something, nevertheless it made me look again on the character of celebrations, and the way they will really feel isolating in a really unusual method. Particularly in faculty, the place I grew up within the city that I went to school in, so I used to be on this desolate faculty city for my birthday. All people else was nonetheless on winter break at dwelling, and I’ve these recollections of simply strolling round within the snow on my own – I believe everybody has cried on their birthday, not less than lot of people who I do know. Even the titles of the EP, like ‘candles’ and drive via’ – that was actually simply me getting steak and shake on the drive by way of alone on my birthday.
From the reception to this point, I see that lots of people felt the identical factor, which additionally makes you’re feeling rather less alone.
There’s positively that theme of loneliness behind celebratory events, however there’s one instrumental monitor, ‘another’, that stretches out in a method that feels prefer it’s coming from a special, extra hopeful place. What recollections or photos does it fire up for you?
I truly love that as a result of it began out as a extremely miserable monitor. ‘another’, for me, initially represented the thought of, like, “Only one extra drink and I’ll be high quality.” However I’m actually glad that you simply talked about that, as a result of my co-producer, Mike Tierney and I, have been within the studio attempting to reconfigure it for a report, and we each gravitated in direction of a extra optimistic ending. It begins in minor after which it ends very main, and that wasn’t within the unique track. But it surely does within the context of the report really feel like slightly little bit of a turning level the place there’s mild on the finish of the tunnel.
How did the character of the songs extra typically rework because of collaboration?
As a result of the report began off as a classical composition, it began very inside and really a lot a solo act. However the entire challenge very steadily proved me mistaken, in that I assumed I used to be gonna have to do that on their own, and extra folks steadily got here into it and introduced it to life. My pal Andrew got here in to assist produce the ‘World at Giant’ cowl, and once we introduced the unique saxophone quartet, ~Nois, who got here again into the studio, their elements needed to be completely totally different as a result of we modified the whole lot. So that they have been offering suggestions and we’re chopping and pasting, rearranging. My pal Adrianne [Munden-Dixon] got here in for violin, and my husband Adam [Holmes] got here in to play drums on the report. It simply confirmed me how a lot I like working with different folks. I don’t know why I assumed I needed to do all of this alone, it appeared very daunting. But it surely was simply really easy due to these nice musicians that wished to be part of it.
I’m curious how a lot ended up filtering out lyrically. Did you begin with these small phrases, or did you’ve gotten a bunch of notes and ideas that you simply needed to distill?
As a result of this was my first try at lyrics, I actually simply wrote them down and I saved them. On the time that I used to be songwriting, it was only a no ideas form of second for me the place I looked for one sentence that I favored, and I used to be like, “Alright, that is it, we’re sticking with this.” However since then, I’ve been journaling much more. I’ve a number of chaotic notes in my telephone, extra lyrics. I believe that forcing myself to simply provide you with one sentence opened one thing up in me; I believe on the following report there’ll be possibly even two sentences per track. [laughs]
It appears like a turning level musically, nevertheless it additionally should have been useful and releasing on a private stage.
It was actually useful in permitting me to see that not worrying in regards to the finish product truly made me loads happier and much more free for me. Making this report was about in regards to the attempting – about letting myself do one thing new, letting myself sit down as soon as a day, typically as soon as every week if I’m busy or not feeling it, and simply creating and never worrying in regards to the finish product, or how individuals are going to see it, or how I’m going to current myself when it’s time to take action. And simply trusting – I do know “belief the method” is so corny, however that’s that’s what I did. What was speculated to occur nonetheless occurred, and now I’ve all of those instruments, the place I really feel I can journal, I can say roughly if I need to if I really feel prefer it. It’s been actually nice for that.
What was the considering behind ending the report with the ‘World at Giant’ cowl?
I used to be engaged on the duvet across the time that we have been mastering the report, and it wasn’t initially speculated to be on the report. But it surely was truly in a PR assembly, I used to be speaking with Jake Saunders, and we have been enthusiastic about probably doing a 3rd single. He was like, “Are there any covers on this album?” And I used to be like, “No.” And he was like, “Would you like there to be?” At first I assumed that I shouldn’t put a canopy on the album, as a result of I’m presenting myself within the type of unique works, and I didn’t need it to look gimmicky to place a canopy on the report. However I believe that track match so properly into what I used to be attempting to say that it simply made sense. I listened all over to the album, together with the duvet on the finish, and it felt like such a pleasant epilogue to the story. On prime of that, that track has so many phrases. [laughs] I assumed it was very nice that I’m saying like two sentences for 30 minutes, after which 30 sentences in two minutes. It created a form of full circle second.
Birthdays, like all form of celebration, usually makes us consider dwelling. If you sing about it on the second to final monitor, what’s it that involves thoughts?
That preliminary lyric, “I suppose I’ll go dwelling,” got here from a reminiscence I’ve of getting stood up on my birthday. [laughs] Devastating for me in the mean time, however once more, it was a way of, I wished to reclaim that second, as a result of now I like going dwelling after like a social occasion. I believe on the time, that reminiscence, it felt like dwelling was a final resort. However I really feel like over time, I’ve gotten to search out my own residence in myself and take company over deciding what dwelling and what consolation is to me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability and size.
Vines’ Birthday Party is out now.
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