Blog Elements - Casey O'Brien

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PaviElle

February 16, 2015/in blog, Interviews/by Casey

Fear Not, presents the captivating work of innovative, potent and dynamic neo-soul singer PaviElle French, and represents her much anticipated return to performing after a five year hiatus. In the past, PaviElle has taken the stage professionally as a vocalist, singer songwriter and spoken word artist, working with Khalil Queen, Everyday People, and as an […]

Moon and Pollution

January 13, 2015/in blog, Interviews/by Casey

Moon and Pollution is the new electronic pop duo combining singer Molly Dean’s haunting, operatic vocals with producer Graham O’Brien’s (No Bird Sing) hard-hitting beats and rich, melodic textures. M&P debuted at the Bayfront Festival where Slug of Atmosphere asked them to play after hearing an unreleased track. Shortly thereafter, their song Alter Eagle was […]

PaviElle

February 16, 2015/in blog, Interviews/by Casey

Moon and Pollution

January 13, 2015/in blog, Interviews/by Casey

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PaviElle

February 16, 2015/in blog, Interviews/by Casey

PaviElle • Fear Not

Fear Not, presents the captivating work of innovative, potent and dynamic neo-soul singer PaviElle French, and represents her much anticipated return to performing after a five year hiatus.

In the past, PaviElle has taken the stage professionally as a vocalist, singer songwriter and spoken word artist, working with Khalil Queen, Everyday People, and as an early member of EduPoetic Enterbrainment, a group integrating spoken word, R&B, jazz, reggae and hip-hop. Her new endeavor is a musical collaboration with bassist, producer and composer Casey O’Brien and presents ten years of her songwriting, all of it deeply personal and autobiographical.

“It’s like you’re opening up and reading my diary,” PaviElle says. “’These songs are my life, the ups and downs of it all.”

In the new recording PaviElle says she’s committed to “honoring the black aesthetic in soul music,” something she fears her generation (she’s 29) has abandoned.

“With the millennials, that black soul music appreciation seems to be gone,” PaviElle says. “And that bothers me. I grew up wanting to be Chaka Khan. That’s the sound and style I loved. I want to hold up that lineage that she carried, and that Aretha carried and also groups like Parliament.”

Indeed, PaviElle’s sound often has the faint flavor of Sly and the Family Stone, or seems to draw on the influences of little Jose James, and Rufus—with the soulful feel of Bill Withers occasionally evident in the groove.

“It definitely has the 70′s R&B feel,” says O’Brien. “It’s a close album, it draws you in and keeps you in that space. You’re taken into the room. There’s no excess baggage. You’re hearing real musicians actually playing together.”

PaviElle hails from St Paul’s Rondo neighborhood, growing up in a family steeped in music. As a devoted music connoisseur, her father introduced her to a wide variety of sounds, her uncle, George Young, played saxophone for Purple Haze, her mother played saxophone as well and her actor/playwright brother Ahanti Young is an accomplished percussionist and performs with her on the new record.

For Fear Not, she strayed only a couple miles from her old neighborhood, recording at St Paul’s Bellows studio with O’Brien on bass and guitar, Ted Godbout on keys, Nick Dodd on drums, Bryan Highhill on trumpet and Tony Beaderstadt on trombone.

While the sound the group captured was vintage, PaviElle brings her own personal style and passionate energy to her singing, making for a fresh sound that’s uniquely her own. She says she always has a way she wants her songs to “swing,” and it’s this free-style emotion, in the scatting and vocalizing, that brings a millennial’s heart-born, contemporary vision to a classic soul music sound.

I had the great pleasure of producing, playing bass and guitar on this album and got a chance to sit down and talk with PaviElle about her process:

What is your songwriting process?

I don’t really have a songwriting process. A melody or a bass line usually comes to me out of nowhere and then I just go from there. I create the: Bass line, beat, lyrics, chords. In that order.

Who would you consider a major influence?

I have several major influences but only three come to mind: Chaka Khan, Ella Fitzgerald, Parliament/Funkadelic.

How has the success of the band and the recent play affected you?

The success of the band and my one-woman show has affected me in a huge way. I am overwhelmed…with joy, and also with sadness because I wish I could share this with the people that raised me. But, overall I am motivated to continue pushing and, I am highly inspired to create more art.

What is coming up next (album, tour, play, ect…)

What’s coming up next? Not quite sure. I have a lot of ideas, one being that I plan to remount the show, “Runnin’.” I feel that more people need to see art that provokes them to think as if there were no box. And, I would like to write and produce another album…maybe for a 2016 release. I work with kids and, would like to see my junior class graduated next year so, I would like to keep playing venues and creating a following until I feel its time to get up out of here in the next year or so.

What are you listening to right now?

Prhyme, J. Cole and, Kandace Springs. (and of course all things old school).

PaviElle will be playing @ Icehouse on Saturday, February 21st @ 11pm.
Tickets available here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1220263

<a href="http://pavielle.bandcamp.com/album/fear-not">Fear Not by PaviElle</a>

Fear Not

01. Runnin’ (P.French/C.O’Brien)
02. I Miss You (P.French/C.O’Brien)
03. Logic and Reason (C.O’Brien/T.Godbout/N.Dodd)
04. Disbelief (P.French/C.O’Brien)
05. Strange Plane (C.O’Brien/T.Godbout/N.Dodd)
06. Sometimes You Wanna Be (P.French/C.O’Brien)
07. Dreams (S.Nicks)
08. Aftertheafter (C.O’Brien/T.Godbout/N.Dodd)
09. Be Right There (P.French/C.O’Brien)
10. The Breakup Song (P.French)

PaviElle – Vocals
Ted Godbout – Keys
Nick Dodd – Drums
Ahanti Young – Percusion
Bryan Highhill – Trumpet
Tony Beaderstadt – Trombone
Casey O’Brien – Bass and Guitar

Produced By Casey O’Brien
Recorded and Mixed by Adam Krinsky & Graham O’Brien @ Bellows. St. Paul, MN.
Mastered by Huntley Miller @ HM Mastering.

Disbelief
(P.French/C.O’Brien)

PaviElle – Vocals
Ted Godbout – Keys
Nick Dodd – Drums
Ahanti Young – Percusion
Bryan Highhill – Trumpet
Tony Beaderstadt – Trombone
Cole Pulice – Saxophone
Casey O’Brien – Bass and Guitar

Produced By Casey O’Brien
Recorded by Alex Proctor @ Icehouse. Minneapolis, MN.
Mixed and Mastered by Adam Krinsky & Graham O’Brien @ Bellows. St. Paul, MN.

Video by PCP

Moon and Pollution

January 13, 2015/in blog, Interviews/by Casey

Moon & Pollution • The Box Borealis

I had the great pleasure of playing on a couple of these songs and got a chance to sit down and talk with Graham and Molly about the process:

What is your songwriting process?

GOB: I send Molly some in-progress musical pieces that I create using synths and samplers, and she picks out the ones that interest her. Then we experiment in the studio at length, trying different vocal approaches and bringing in a slew of musicians to augment the ideas. It’s a very studio-based process- the songwriting and production/recording process merge.

MD: I’ll listen through the tracks that Graham sends me and go with what initially jumps out at me. I know if it jumps because I’ll begin writing right away, random descriptive words that the music sounds & feels like to me. These usually become the basis for the lyrical body down the road. This process can take some time, with absorbing the textures and sounds and sort of massaging my way into the song with vocals sounds or words. Some tracks call for a lot of sparsity with the vocals as the tracks themselves are so beautiful and composed already. Graham and I will then schedule a session and record vocals, try out new effects and sounds and work on the overall structure. Then Graham goes into a creative cave for weeks at a time to work his production magic. When he re-emerges, we meet up for another session to talk about the direction of where things are going, who could be brought in to play additional instrumental parts, etc.. Then we have a song. Or ten songs.

Who would you consider a major influence?

GOB: Portishead producer Geoff Barrow may be the biggest influence for me on this project. Portishead records feel like soundtrack music. I wanted that same effect with this record, like an accompaniment for the movie in your head.

MD: LAMB (electronic duo from London), Lou Rhodes as a singer and songwriter (for LAMB), Portishead, Goldfrapp and Massive Attack would all be influential artists for me in the M&P project. Listening to these artists (and many others) brought forth a new interest in exploring the creation of this sort of haunting soundscape in music, and configuring it into live performance.

Has music placement (MTV’s Teen Wolf) helped create tangible momentum for the group?

GOB: Definitely. The TV placements have been exciting and encouraging. There are a lot of different audiences and niches for bands now, but they can be hard to find. Getting a few TV placements reminded us that we’re onto something that’s resonating with people.

What is the next step for you? Tours, another album…

GOB: Right now, just focused on getting the live show ready and getting this record into as many people’s ears as possible. I’d really like to do another record down the road.

What are you listening to right now?

GOB: Rainforest (Clams Casino)

MD: The Mission (Ennio Morricone)

Overgrown (James Blake)

My Brightest Diamond

Moon and Pollution will be playing an album release show at Icehouse MPLS on January 31st with special guests Damage Controller (Jeremy Ylvisaker / dosh / Mike Lewis) + Joe Horton
$8 Advance / $10 Door / 21+ / 11pm

More Press:
http://inyourspeakers.com/content/news/292-introducing-moon-pollution-01082015

Album available here:
https://moonandpollution.bandcamp.com/

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PaviElle

Moon and Pollution

PaviElle

Moon and Pollution

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PaviElle

Moon and Pollution

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