Interviews

From: Jumper [url]
Date: November 2005

Terami Hirsch

She's a creative girl who doesn't like limits, constraints and strict rules: Terami Hirsch is a singer-songwriter, of course, but also a designer, an actress, a photographer. She can't imagine a life far from art and from what inspires her, like nature, music, friendship.

A few days before the launch of her new album Entropy 29 - an album able to mix both dark atmospheres and electronic experimentation - Terami took a rest and had a talk with us, telling us about the birth and evolution of this new work.

Beyond being a singer-songwriter, you're a webdesigner and you created the graphic design and cover art of your latest album, Entropy 29, you studied design, cinematography and photography, and you even acted in movies... Who are you? ;)

I'm all these things rolled into one. I see the world as a matter of pixels and digits...glitches and music. Piano came first (age 5), then acting and singing (teenage years). In college, I was all about cinematography and photography... and design came last. It's hard to imagine myself sitting still.

You've recorded Entropy 29 in a converted bathroom. Here people joke and say that lots of people think a lot and have their best ideas in the bathroom... do you agree? ;) Was this intimate location, in your house, important for the 'mood' of the album?

I suppose people can get the best ideas anywhere... I don't know that I tout the bathroom as the sanest place for deep thoughts... but with a little drapery, a holiday frog, and some candles, it will do. Though, most of the album was written in my studio, which has a window overlooking a hillside. So I think most of the mood comes from that visual perspective. It gives me inspiration.

In the "thank yous" in the booklet of Entropy 29 you thank also many indie artists: what's your relationship with them? Do you like exploring all the new bands' music and maybe going often to their gigs?

Some of the artists I thanked on the album are friends. I've had so much support from these people, it's unreal. For instance, Karen Jacobsen (who's based in New York) came out to LA several times while I was recording. We'd get together for lunch and it would turn into a therapy session. She was recording her album, Here In My Heart, while I was working on my project. So we'd talk about what we were going through and swap advice and ideas. (Crying and general blubbery was involved, all on my part, I admit.)

However, a lot of the artists I credit, I don't know personally. They make music that moves me and during the recording process, their songs gave me inspiration or courage. I think I wrote something about them being a compass...like a little Dawn the Fawn in my ear, whooping, "Eternal! Eternal!" ...and from the glimpses of hers and others' talent, I've been heartened to follow my own.

I do enjoy discovering artists. With every new bit of sound that reaches me, it changes my approach just a little. I'm very easily inspired. I get excited by talent.

As for live performances, I go to as many shows as I can. There's never a shortage of interesting gigs in Los Angeles.

Is there any band or singer you'd like to suggest us or you think deserve the attention of a wider audience?

Noe Venable. I think her talent is staggering.

Your latest album is a huge work you took very... personally. I mean you took care of the production in each step, not only in the songwriting moment, but also editing the material with your computer and softwares. What's your relationship with technology? Was it something you just had to learn... or was it a pleasure because you already enjoy this world?

At first, I didn't intend to produce the album myself. I was going to collaborate again with Kevin Benson. However, we could both tell that it wasn't going to work. So, by default, I started playing around with some software, trying to see if it was something I could do. I ended up loving the process. But part of why it took me so long to make this record, was that I didn't know what I was doing for about a year.

Illegal filesharing is a issue, especially for indie or new musicians. You thought about a new way to "take care" of your audience, without loosing the personal contact with them... can you tell us about you Little Light EP project?

Giving away the EP was basically an exercise in doing something different. On a smaller scale, I've given out music before. But this experiment was more ambitious. I wanted as many people as possible to be introduced to the new songs.

From a business perspective, it was pretty simple. I could either take this money and pay a radio promoter, or I could try something else. And I just decided to distribute my music in a more creative way.

The downside was that I was a little bit unprepared for how overwhelming the response would be. We scrambled for weeks, trying to figure out how to keep track of everything. It was a crazy idea, really.

Finally... after listening to Entropy 29 we're eager to know what you're up to! What about your next projects? After the release, will you tour in the US or also outside?

I've been busy writing. I don't know what the next project will sound like yet, but it's crackling.

I hope to tour in 2006, but I'm not sure how it will all come together. The dates will probably only include US cities...though I've had my eye on Europe for a long time. It's just a matter of the right circumstances.

It's fun to not know what will happen next. I highly recommend it.