Song writing in New York

1 Aug 2014

Bob Dylan did it, Patti Smith did it, Grant McLennan did it and so did Seja Vogel……

As the winner of last year’s Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship, I was lucky enough to travel to New York in April this year for 7 weeks to write songs for my third solo album. My plan was to draw inspiration from the musical history and current happenings of the city and hopefully work on some collaborations I had planned from Australia. I spent the first 3 weeks living in the thick of it in Nolita (North of Little Italy) in Manhattan, taking in the hustle and bustle of the big smoke and all it had to offer. I then moved to Williamsburg in Brooklyn for the rest of my time there which was a little less hectic, but harbouring loads of artistic and interesting areas to explore.

For me, it is hard to find a 7 week period of concentrated writing time, and having this opportunity somewhere as exciting as New York City was a rare treat. I feel like this not only made an impact on the content of my writing, but also in the way I do things.

I have always been one to write here and there, in between work, other projects, tours and my other business of sewing tiny felt replicas of vintage instruments, but in New York I had the opportunity to finally take my time, sit in different areas around the city to write; including parks, venues, and cafes. I found this to be very conducive to learning new methods of writing and focussing on small details I had never been able to examine.

I began using new computer programs, and attended exciting events such as a modular synth workshop for women, held at the iconic Chelsea venue The Kitchen, which is famous for housing innovative Avant-Garde artists such as Laurie Anderson and Vito Acconci.

I was lucky enough to take part in some pretty special collaborative projects too, including a live score to six short films with Hisham Bharoocha (Soft Circle, Boredoms), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeah’s) Ryan Sawyer (Lonewolf) and Ben Vida (Soft Circle). I also spent some time in the studio with Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), Johnny Mackay (Children Collide) and Elliot Heller (DJ Equal) to create some original new music. These two experiences in particular gave me some confidence and insight into my creative practice and allowed me to gain a larger understanding of the way I perform and write songs.

I also looked beyond just the musical realm and explored creative industry events and the spirit of creative entrepreneurship that exists in New York. I met up with some interesting people who work in film (Wendy Cohen from Production Resources), and Daniel Stedman (curator of Northside Festival and publisher of BK Magazine and The L Magazine) which was very rewarding as Wendy offered me my first New York art show for my textile work. I have since sewed a tiny felt version of The Who’s 1964 live stage set-up which will be displayed at the One Mile Gallery in August.

I strongly encourage every eligible musician in Queensland to apply for this fantastic grant. I truly believe that the inspiration and education I’ve taken from this amazing opportunity has led to exciting new work and networks for me and I fully intend on fostering these experiences and connections as I move forward in my creative endeavours.

Seja Vogel

The spell of the synthesiser befell Seja in a Brisbane garage in 1998 upon forming a mystical connection with a Korg Delta owned by her brother’s friend.  Soon enough, Seja found herself behind the keys of one of Brisbane’s best loved candy-apple popo bands Sekiden.  As part of the trio, Seja wrote, sang and recorded, as well as did her fair share of humming, buzzing and popping fur audiences around Australia, North America and Japan.  In 2007 Seja was invited to join the lineup behind her claviature of choice for iconic genre-mashers Regurgitator, as well as contribute her own synthesised produce to their album Love and Paranoia.  Enthused with the idea of experimenting with a solo project, Seja consulted the soundsmiths of her past bands and mapped out a musical direction. The collective hive-mind of Seja Vogel, her brother and Sekiden bandmate Mirko, Regurgitator’s Quan Yeomans, Sydney’s SPOD and the voice of Microflora Saul Jarvie spawned 13 tracks that would become We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares.  In April 2013 Seja created All Our Wires released through Rice is Nice featuring songs with guest vocals by Robert Forster and an arrangement by Walter de Backer.

Feature image courtesy of author, author image by Stephen Booth.