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"I love to play," says Adrianne Lenker, "but unfortunately, the more you grow, the more mitote. "
mitote (pronounced "mih-toe-tay") is a word that Lenker and his group mates in Big Thief have been using a lot lately. They found it in a 1997 book of spiritual philosophy called The four agreementsof the Mexican author Don Miguel Ruiz, where he represents "all that surrounds our human experience," says Lenker. "Everything that relates to the projection or constructions, ideas or concepts on the other."
"Most of the time," adds drummer James Krivchenia, "I have the impression that it's a replica of" bullshit "."
For Lenker and his band, it seems like the benefits of being a rock band in full swing – very followed shows across the country, with endless meals in the green rooms and a team in charge of the logistics of accommodation – come add to disconnect from reality. "There are so many things mitote surrounding everything, "says Lenker. "The airport is so mitote – you have to cross so much mitote just to fly somewhere. Even by browsing for ideas that people have trained on who you are. It's a lot when you're sensitive. And most artists are.
In just three years time, Lenker, Krivchenia, guitarist Buck Meek and bbadist Max Oleartchick have attracted an enraged audience, due to their talent for merging the scary intensity of Lenker's composition with indelible indelible arrangements. Their tireless work ethic also helped: after debuting rave reviews with Head-to & # 39; work in 2016, the group continued with an even more ambitious statement, Capacity, the next year. In 2018, Lenker paused just long enough to release a dark and ruminant solo album, abysskiss. This spring, Big Thief accelerates again with his third album, U.F.O.F. On May 3rd, their first release for the indie 4AD group is an exercise in radical focus and self-definition. More than 12 songs corresponding to the group's indie-folk group, the group creates a warm and insular world in its own words.
Lenker pauses when asked if the new album is a reaction to the feelings of mitote she dreamed. "I do not think we have reached a point where we have to record our record of rebellion," she said. "But in a way, all the music I compose deals with that and pushes it away. I think this album is doing it, in the sense that we do not take all that into account. All ideas All constructions. Any expectations that anyone could have. We just do not think of them.
What does it mean for U.F.O.F., mainly, is a complete absence of obvious singles with hooks as melodic and radical as the early breakthroughs of Big Thief such as "Paul" and "Masterpiece" or "Shark Smile" of 2017. To mark this point, the group has chosen This time, the single was the title track, an eccentric acoustic number on which Lenker murmurs obscure images about his "UFO friend".
Contrary to Lenker's usual propensity to write about the natural world, the group is particularly interested in the supernatural and extraterrestrials – what Lenker calls "the cosmic and heavenly realm" – in the process of writing and recording their last record. "It's a big part of us," she says. "We are really attentive to this type of magic: what we are made of, where we come from and beyond. As we deepen our relationships as friends and friends of the group, there is more room to explore. It was therefore important in this recording to create a bridge between terrestrial, raw and physical forms – the sounds of us playing in one room – with all that other celestial kingdom. "
The closest to everything that is immediately accessible on U.F.O.F. is presented in the form of several staggered and beautifully rendered folkloric acts such as "Cattails" and "Orange", songs whose melodies sound and feel like centenarians. Lenker began writing the old song the day before the day they recorded it in the studio. "It was like a gust of wind in the room," she says. The next day she played "Cattails" with her 12-string guitar, accompanied only by Krivchenia on drums. The third take, which ended on the album, was the first time Lenker could even remember all the lyrics of the song. By the time they finished, the group's engineer, Dom Monks, was crying.
Big Thief saved U.F.O.F. in a cabin in the state of Washington. It was the first time the quartet had the luxury of devoting much of their time to the recording sessions, which seemed like a much needed break after several years of relentless touring. They found themselves with a collection impeccably produced and finely worked, a good record with the headphones full of subtle sounds, a subtle accompaniment and richly recorded instrumentation. "At each recording, I think our sound is more articulate," says Lenker.
Lenker is often a deliberately opaque paroliere. Her songs convey deep intimacy and often refer to pain and trauma, even if they do not always bring details to the surface. Extras like "Mythological Beauty" and "From" (the latter appeared for the first time on abysskiss) rely on the tension revealed / hidden by a writer to draw their stories. The same is true in a conversation, where Lenker prefers to let his music speak for itself.
"It's a bit intense to have already written songs, but also to talk about them," she says, after patiently missing out on 40 minutes of questions asking her to do just that. "You say what you want to say and you reveal to the extent that you want to reveal in the song. This is the best way to say it. So, trying to fumble around talking about it, it's as if you're diminishing something. "
The more Lenker thinks about her own composition, the more she realizes how much she has spent the last few years in creative thinking. "I really wanted a period of information and learning," she says. "I really want to get into other forms of art, visual arts because I think it would be cool to have another language with which to search." Several members of Lenker's family paint, and recently she turned to less narrative forms. of expression: chopping spoons, pottery, drawing. Over the past year, she says, she has barely even been able to listen to music with lyrics, but rather to rely almost exclusively on avant-garde instrumental artists like Pauline Oliveros. and Sarah Davachi.
Deny lyrics-based music, immerse yourself in the visual arts, take time: it's all part of Lenker and Big Thief's larger creative project of rejecting mitote surrounding the group as they become more successful. "There is this anxiety in which, once you have reached a certain level, you must continue to produce and grind, otherwise you will lose your momentum," Lenker said. "I would like to avoid that."
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