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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Sea Of Bees
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 10 February 2011
Sea Of Bees is the pseudonym of Julie Ann Baenziger, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist from sunny Sacramento, California. Having left home at 23 to play one-finger bass in a band, she later went on to pursue solo interests, releasing EP ‘Bee Eee Pee’ (see what she did there?) via her own label Sea Of Bees Music in 2009.
There are similarities between her experimental style and more freakish tangents oft taken by artists like Devendra Banhart, Cat Power and Joanna Newsom, the latter of whom’s delicate, almost childlike vocal quality has been likened to Baenziger’s own. Confessional debut LP ‘Songs For The Ravens’ is out this week via Heavenly Recordings, with lead track ‘Wizbot’ out on the same day. Currently marking these occasions with an accompanying UK tour, which will stop off tonight at Birmingham’s Hare And Hounds, we approached Julie to find out more.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started when I was about six-ish years old. I was inspired by a religious hippy guru man in my mother’s church. I would watch him sing my favourite hymn, ‘Here I Am Lord’. I didn’t initially sing, or pursue my thoughts of singing, though. That happened when I met this girl who sang for the church that my cousin went to. She was beautiful, as was her voice. I wanted to impress her. So I would go to my parents shed in the back yard and play my brother’s girlfriend’s broken guitar one string at a time. I would try but it was extremely frustrating. But I kept on thinking how much I desired to do what I loved, for me, so I went onward…
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
It seems clichéd but being caged from my own happiness, experiencing things for the first time, heartache. Just growing up, really. Bad things, good things. Somehow hope would show up without me deliberately trying to involve it in the songs.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
A main instrument, either acoustic guitar or piano for this album. Then synths, percussion, drums or shakers… tambourine! Then the bass… then electrics, like the guitars, and just make up pretty melodies afterwards. Then my friend John would mix it with some random compressors – old beauties.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Many. At the time of writing the album I listened to a lot of Rilo Kiley, Bonnie Prince Billy, REM and Bon Iver.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Just do it. Keep doing it. Grow your hair and rawk!
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
I plan to move towards electrics and melodies, but still quite raw. It will be a nice surprise.
MORE>> www.seaofbees.com
