‘Spell VII: To Ephemeral Stars’ by Jolanda Moletta | She Owl | Interview | New Album, ‘Nine Spells’
Exclusive video premiere of ‘Spell VII: To Ephemeral Stars’ by Jolanda Moletta, taken from her latest album, ‘Nine Spells,’ a collection of vocal-only compositions by experienced vocalist and multimedia artist.
Jolanda Moletta explores sound through a multimedia perspective, experimenting with vocals, short films, collage animation and more.
Having fronted the folk band She Owl for over a decade, releasing two full-length albums and playing more than 300 concerts across Europe and the US, Jolanda turns the isolation of the past two years into an undeniably personal project of ancestral connection and healing. Her solo venture first appeared in 2021, contributing vocals for the Pepo Galán & Karen Vogt album ‘The Sweet Wait,’ as well as a loop for the Thesis Recurring project. ‘Nine Spells,’ however, sees her delicately arresting voice take centre stage for the first time. She Owl also recently released a new album, ‘Invisible Heart’.
The Turin-born, Berlin-based musician found the urge to rediscover her origins while traveling with her band. Collecting photos of her female ancestors, she uncovered their stories. She learned of her great grandmother, a herbalist and healer, who defied the dangers of WWII to gather medicines to help the people of her hometown; she learned of her grandmother the violin player,who gave up after marrying, the only other musician in her family; she learned of her great-great-grandmother, the nomad, who ended up settling in what is now their hometown of Turin; and she learned of her great aunt, the first woman to receive a literature degree in the city’s university.
Though her intention was to connect with and heal the past of her ancestors, what transpired was the reverse: their stories of courage gave her strength, imbuing her present experience with healing echoes. Channelling these formed the basis of the ‘Nine Spells,’ from the ethereal, haunting opener ‘Let the Wave In,’ through the melancholic reverberations of the inner cages of loneliness in ‘Spells III’ and ‘IV,’ right through to the sacred, choir-like conclusion in ‘Your Wildfires Light Up the Darkness of Your Heart’. Each musical composition, written from each spell, drawn from each collage, has been evoked from a place of healing intention, that can be enjoyed together as a full practice.
Along with the accompanying videos, supplementary limited edition ornaments, boxes and Giclée prints, ‘Nine Spells’ presents a fruitfully holistic, multimedia approach to musical healing. Unencumbered by instruments, and unfiltered by words, Jolanda’s heartfelt radiations emanate with each Spell. And why a spell? This is perhaps best left to the poetic words of Jolanda herself:
Because of their evocative intent: singing beyond words is a way to express an entire lifeline in one single breath, a way to represent and move emotional mountains, clouds full of tears and winds of laughter, infinite gardens where memories and desires intertwine and work together. The purpose is to break the frame and let the paint spread throughout the wall.
“My approach is to continually explore, research and experiment”
How long did you work on your latest album, ‘Nine Spells’?
I made ‘Nine Spells’ during a six month period. But, honestly, it feels somehow like I am still working on it because these songs feel very alive. I recently did my first livestream on Bandcamp and played the entire album live. The process of re-arranging my songs for a live performance felt like I was rewriting the album. It was actually a similar experience when I was preparing to play at Le Guess Who? Festival in November 2022. ‘Nine Spells’ was written very quickly, but I love how the songs feel so alive and they continue to grow and evolve with me.
Can you share some further words about the recording and creation process for it?
I wrote, recorded and mixed the album in my home studio. Each track is inspired by the life of one of my female ancestors. I learned their stories while interacting with physical items of theirs – family photos, letters, and keepsakes. As I was writing the album, I felt inspired to make a series of videos, collages and an animated collage for each song. I continued working on that accompanying material after I had finished the album and handed it in to the label to await release. It was nice to have those videos and artwork to continue the connection with that album right up until it was released.
Would you like to elaborate on the concept behind this tribute to nine of your female ancestors?
I chose to pay homage to my female ancestors as a way to reconnect to my roots. I had always been interested in my family stories and wanted to go deeper into them. It is said that trees with strong and deep roots can survive any storm, and I can now say that this sounds true to me and my family tree. My female ancestors were forced to sacrifice their dreams. They survived two world wars, and they raised children under the most dramatic and difficult circumstances. Through learning their stories, and about their strengths, I learned more about myself. I feel like I am supported by these deep roots of my female ancestors and this gives me much confidence. If I am here, if I can make music full-time, it is really thanks to all their hard work and sacrifices. So I want to do my best to honour them. Making this album felt like a great place to start by paying tribute to each one of the songs on ‘Nine Spells’.
Do you feel the pandemic allows you to concentrate on your solo work?
I was visiting my family in Italy when the first lockdown hit. After almost ten years on the road of playing shows with my band She Owl it felt like a good time to take a rest from touring. I used that time during lockdown to learn how to record and produce my music. Being in isolation in the Italian countryside made it possible to really focus, experiment and have the time to figure it out. I asked a producer friend to share some mixing tips with me via Zoom and gave him singing lessons in exchange. We did this each Wednesday for a whole year. On the other days I would practice mixing while I was recording compositions. First I recorded my upright piano and then I tried my vocals. This evolved into being the first little project that I wrote, recorded and mixed myself. I called it “Birdscapes” and it was a series of piano compositions combined with field recordings of birds that friends and fans around the world had sent me. So thanks to everything I learned in this project I was then able to continue and to make ‘Nine Spells’ next.
Can we also talk about She Owl, it would be fantastic if you would share some words about the two albums you released.
When I look back on the first two She Owl records they really feel like these little miracles. Our budget at the time was so tiny and they were recorded mostly live, with just a few takes. Both records were mixed in a couple of days, but we wanted to capture the raw energy of our concerts in those recordings. I love the first two records very much because of this.
The first album (‘She Owl,’ 2013) came with a series of dreamy fairy tales that I wrote and also some illustrations. ‘Animal Eye’ (2015) was born when we started exploring rhythm and percussion. We wanted to create a minimal sound based on percussion, guitar, and vocals. Kalimbas, harmonium, and some keyboards were also included on that album…
‘Drifters’ EP is our third official release and we consider it to be more like a mini album. We had a very clear concept and also a series of videos and images that were strongly linked to the story.
When we were making ‘Drifters,’ we had more time to focus on the sound and explore new ideas, arrangements, and soundscapes. Our new album (‘Invisible Heart,’ 2023) was released on my birthday, January 22nd.
The recording process for this new album was completely different from previous ones. Demian and I recorded in our home studio while I was still fine-tuning my mixing and production skills. For the very first time, we could work on each song and truly enjoy the process of experimenting with some things. There was finally no rush or time limit. When looking for someone to mix the album, we had three producers in mind. Marta Salogni is an amazing Italian producer whom I would love to work with one day. She liked the project, but was overbooked for the next year and could not take it on. Next on our list was a wonderful, talented producer called Sam Beste who we had already met in Berlin when his band Hejira played a show there. I was a fan of Hejira and I really loved the band’s sound, so I reached out to Sam and was thrilled when he said yes. Sam mixed ‘Invisible Heart’ in his London studio and we worked together remotely by sending notes and mixes back and forth for six months. We were in no rush for the mix to be done and Sam was able to fit it in-between other music projects he had going, but this suited us just fine.
And you were touring pretty much non-stop?
For almost ten years we have been pretty much touring non-stop. We played more than 300 shows during that time and I love the thought that I’ve spent almost a year of my life sharing my music with people. We played in so many amazing places, from churches to festivals, from regular venues to a wolf park. We also played a show with one of our favorite artists ever, Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance) in a beautiful theatre in Germany. These are incredible memories and experiences that will stay with us forever..
What about your collaboration on Pepo Galán & Karen Vogt album ‘The Sweet Wait’? How did that come about?
I have known Karen for a long time and I love her work so much. We met when She Owl played a show with her band Heligoland in Paris. But the first collaboration with Karen was for her experimental project “I just want to feel”. She knew that I made art and she really wanted me to create the artwork and visual concept for that EP. I worked on a series of collages and collage animations that would eventually become an animated film. A few months after the release Karen reached out again to ask if I’d sing on two songs for a new album she was working on with Pepo Galan which would become their debut ‘GALÁN / VOGT’ album.
I had no hesitation and was excited to be asked and involved before even listening to the tracks. It also gave me a chance to do more film making, which is something I have always been very involved in with my band She Owl. I made two videos for the songs that I contributed vocals to (‘Starseed’ and ‘Nacre’). I especially love the video I created for the song ‘Nacre’. This was filmed in Italy by the sea and I am really proud of the final result.
Would you like to comment on your singing technique?
I am a self-taught singer. My approach is to continually explore, research and experiment. I trust my body very much these days and am guided by gut feelings. The voice is an instrument that is so personal and unique. No one voice is like any other. The way I sing is perhaps so unique because I didn’t learn any specific technique. This is one of the many advantages sometimes of not having formal lessons and instead allowing yourself the freedom to find your own way.
“Sometimes I dream of entire songs!”
How do you typically approach music making?
The way I approach making music really depends on the project. I am working on a new vocal album at the moment and I am recording little vocal improvisations on my phone as I visit specific places. These voice memos are creating the foundation of what will become a record. This feels very clear to me that this is the way I am meant to be making this specific album.
For She Owl the process is different when it comes to making music. I usually improvise at the piano while doing wordless singing until I find something that sounds good to me and eventually it will turn into a song. Sometimes I get an idea while walking in the forest, or while accomplishing something completely different. Everyday tasks like doing the dishes or driving can sometimes be interrupted by an idea that seems to come out of nowhere. Sometimes I dream of entire songs! If I remember the dream when I wake up, then I record a memo on my phone. I would love to record an album with songs that I dreamt of – but actually, these dreaming songs don’t happen so often.
What’s next for you?
The next thing coming up is that we are planning and preparing for a She Owl short European tour this May. We will have a full band and we are very excited to play our new ‘Invisible Heart’ album at some shows. I am also working on a new vocal ambient record and am in the process of researching and designing the new sonic and visual world I am going to create for that. I will be replaying the live stream for ‘Nine Spells’ on Bandcamp for the next full moon. I have had many requests to do that and so I look forward to sharing that with people again as it is really special to all be experiencing it at the same time around the world. There are also two more videos to be released for the ‘Nine Spells’ album. I made all the videos myself and they are really a visual extension of the songs. I can’t wait to share those with everyone very soon.
Are you involved in any other active side-projects going on at this point?
I have collage art that I have been working on and at one moment I would like to have some exhibitions of this work. It would be great to show this at a small gallery and find a way to incorporate sound and music into it somehow. A song was just released called ‘In Light’ that I wrote in collaboration with We Dream of Eden. The song was part of a vocal ambient compilation by ‘Ambient Echoes’ called ‘Anxiety / Hope’. The album was intended to express the emotional spectrum between anxiety and hope so I really took great care with that. The song starts with an inner voice telling us it is over and whispering that we can do nothing to change a situation except to destroy all that we built or just walk away. The final section of the song brings a different inner voice that is gentle and maternal. This voice tells us it will be ok, and it’s going to be alright.
Thank you. Last word is yours.
I would love to see people (including myself) re-learning how to sit down for a moment and enjoy a record, a film, or a painting – instead of multi-tasking all the time. Remove distractions so we can remember what it’s like to focus and concentrate more deeply on one thing. I also want to invite people to create a magical and sacred moment for themselves when they listen to ‘Nine Spells’. We consume music and art, but we rarely take the time to truly experience it and interact with it. One last thing that I want is to encourage people to support independent artists. Financial support is always welcome, but there are also many other ways to support artists that can have a big impact too. Sometimes you just need to reach out and ask them how you can help and let them tell you how.
Klemen Breznikar
Jolanda Moletta Instagram / YouTube / Bandcamp
She Owl Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube
Ambientologist Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube / SoundCloud
