Fielded
Courtesy
Fayetteville may not be ready for Lindsay Powell’s project called Fielded. While others have described it as goblin-pop and goth-electronica, the important thing to know is that it’s catchy and downright creepy. It’s a project borne out of vocal experimentation where the voice is the main instrument. And it’s a graceful acrobatic voice that soars and then crashes down into dungeon-esque murmuring. On recordings her voice is tracked multiple times until it’s a haunting lo-fi chorus that chants and writhes along with hissy analog beats, and her live shows have been described more as ceremony than performance.
Powell is currently touring to support her new album Ninety-Thirty-Thirty, which is a follow-up to 2010’s Terrageist.
Her Fayetteville show is this Thursday, Sept. 20 at Nightbird Books with new local band Moon Magnet (members of Voyageurs and Messy Sparkles). The show is all ages, starts at 9 p.m. and has a $3 cover.
We asked Powell a few questions and here are her answers:
Courtesy
Fielded is your solo project. Can you tell us a little about the other bands and projects you’re in?
I am also in a heavy psych band with the boys from Jeff the Brotherhood called Skyblazer. Think Hawkwind. Festival is a band I have with my sister. We’re currently on hiatus due to our coastal split and her grad school adventures. And Ga’an is a band I was in while I lived in Chicago. Experimental Prog. Heavy Magma influence.
Your show in Fayetteville is in the breezeway behind Nightbird Books. Not that weird, but what are some favorite unconventional venues you’ve played?
I’ve played a couple of barns which is always pretty enchanting. I love hearing cicadas while I play. A squat in Copenhagen with my sister that gave me chills. This one particulary gnarly basement in Boston where I can sort of hang from the pipes. My dream is to play in the middle of an empty swimming pool that’s full of a bunch of thrashin’ teenagers tearin’ it up.
Your ‘White Death‘ video is pretty great. Can you tell us about the making of that video?
Thanks, glad you like it. My sister is a filmmaker (Hearsay & Hyperbole is her music/video project). We got snowed in at my parents’ house in New Jersey and decided to make a short video with my dog Dodger (R.I.P.).
How old were you when you wrote your first song and what was the subject matter? Do you remember any of the lyrics still?
I was 15, it was on guitar and it was about some goof who broke my heart. I’ve long since forgotten him, but I remember the tune of the song. Not so much the lyrics. I only played it for my sister.
As a musician with several projects, do you intuitively know if a song or lyrics you’ve written will become a Fielded song or a Ga’an song or a Festival song? Are there certain topics or themes you write about more with Fielded?
Songs with bands start with different instruments, I think. I really only write Festival songs with my sister or on guitar. Ga’an almost always starts with a riff one of us has been working on. Fielded is usually vocals followed by instrumentation. It’s all pretty separate. When I am in a band I am really inspired by the people I am spending time with. Something like osmosis.
