‘Magdalene’ by Brie Stoner | New Album, ‘Me Veo’
Exclusive video premiere of ‘Magdalene’ by Brie Stoner, taken from her latest album, ‘Me Veo,’ out via Label 51 Recordings.
Produced by David Vandervelde (known for his work with Father John Misty), the album is a dreamy, reflective exploration of identity. It’s a celebration of breaking free from labels and embracing the diverse, mystical threads that form the fabric of the human spirit.
Brie Stoner, who spent her childhood in Madrid, Spain, and now resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, seamlessly transitions between languages, identities, and artistic expressions. As a creative code-switcher, her visual art complements the elegance of her music, and her lyrics flow with the same natural grace as her prose.
Collaborating with Vandervelde, Stoner has created an album that evokes the rich production of late-Sixties French pop and the ethereal psychedelia and sparse, delicate folk of ’90s alternative dream pop. ‘Me Veo’ isn’t just an album; it’s a deeply immersive, atmospheric experience that draws listeners into its thoughtful and authentic world, marked by brave vulnerability.
“Me Veo” translates to “I see myself” in Spanish, reflecting the album’s themes of self-discovery and homecoming. The songs trace Stoner’s own feminine journey, balancing between alluring seduction, tender vulnerability, and unapologetic truth.
Drawing from her multilingual and multicultural background, Stoner’s indie dream-rock music and artistic endeavors resonate with authenticity. Having worked with producers like Jay Bennett (Wilco) and David Vandervelde, her sound is uniquely hers, influenced by icons like Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, and Mazzy Star.
As a writer, Stoner has contributed to “The Call To Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening,” alongside voices like Oprah and Elizabeth Gilbert. She co-hosted the popular podcast “Another Name for Every Thing” before launching her own podcast, “Unknowing,” in 2021, where she delves into creative possibilities with artists, authors, and activists. During the pandemic, she returned to her musical roots, creating an album in English, Spanish, and French.
Brie Stoner discusses ‘Magdalene’: “The song is my confessional: my most raw and furious telling of the experience growing up in the confines of a conservative religious childhood. The song is my liberation manifesto, a feminine unapologetic genuflection to being fleshy and feeling and free from the confines of patriarchal, pontifical ideologies. It takes a long time to begin to disentangle one’s self from inherited views, and I wanted to use the Magdalene story as heroine’s journey in mirroring my own journey toward coming home to my humanity, agency and freedom in that way.
The video follows the story started in the ‘Loved Me Like A Weapon’ video, where a hired assassin breaks free of her handlers and is on the run. In ‘Magdalene’ she flees to the safe haven of Los Angeles, which previews the setting for the next album, and with the help of friends writes a tell-all whistleblower piece of journalism that winds up on the cover of a newspaper.
There’s a lot about that story that mirrors the experience of my album ‘Me Veo’ in finding the courage to share my personal experiences in music…and co-directing it gave me the chance to make references that are symbolically charged, like breaking down and being lost in the desert, or the montage of mirrored moments of emotional introspection paired with sequences at the typewriter…alluding to the inner vulnerability and outer tenacity that creating requires.
Working with Logan Zillmer and Jake Bruishas as co-directors really brought the story to life, and continued the cinematic and stylistic story telling that Logan and I have collaboratively created for this whole record and it was really pure magic to get to see my songs translate into a visual experience that mirrors the musical landscape of Me Veo.”
Brie Stoner Official Website / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube
Label 51 Recordings Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
