Q&A: Dizzy Ponders the Worth of Home in New Single “Knock the Wind” Off Their Self-Titled LP
☆ BY Kristian Gonzales ☆
CAUGHT IN A WHIRLWIND OF DIFFERENT MOODS — Katie Munshaw, lead vocalist of Ontario-based ensemble Dizzy, yearns for a drastic change of scenery in their latest single, “Knock the Wind.” Fueled by her recent consideration of moving eastward in Canada, she channels a sense of rosy melancholy while pondering the thought of fully settling down somewhere, both physically and spiritually.
“I’ve always been really drawn to the sea, and whales in particular,” she shares on the ethos of the single. “My childhood bedroom was covered in ocean wallpaper, my bedsheets patterned to look like water. ‘Knock the Wind’ is a rumination on how you can live somewhere your whole life and never really feel at home.”
Following up on the success of their respectively Juno nominated and award-winning debut and sophomore albums Baby Teeth and The Sun and Her Scorch, Dizzy continues to build on their musical adventures through the tribulations of growing older, past young adulthood and into their self-titled album.
Conceived as a “patchwork quilt” of sorts, with each song representing a different situation of Munshaw’s life, DIZZY is a meditative stream of consciousness that evokes the roller-coaster feeling that is life itself. From the manipulative darkness of “Starlings” to selfless affection in “My Girl,” Dizzy powers through the best and worst of times.
In a chat with Luna, Dizzy takes us into their insight of the philosophy behind the single and the larger narrative within the album. Read the interview below.
LUNA: I heard that your newest single, “Knock The Wind,” was inspired by your contemplation toward moving east in your home country of Canada, and how the sense of feeling at home might not really be present for you. How does that feel, if it can also relate to your own personal/cultural identity or a sense of belonging?
DIZZY: Yeah, I had a phase last year where I was like, “If I just lived in close proximity to one single whale, several of my life’s problems would be solved.” I’ve always been drawn to the water, the ocean in particular, and I think that was just my body’s way of being like, “You need therapy, and to chill the hell out.”
LUNA: Does this sentiment come to mind more often when you get the chance to travel and experience life in other places?
DIZZY: Maybe. I think as I’m getting older I’m realizing home is inside of a person. If I’m feeling restless at home there’s a good chance I’m in a bad frame of mind in my emotional life. I think touring has taught me how little my geographic surroundings impact my happiness and how much the people around me do.
LUNA: Where did you get the initial inspiration for the concept of the album as a “patchwork quilt” of your life?
DIZZY: Wish this answer was more eloquent, but I was just stoked on quilts for a while there. Still am. I thrifted a bunch and was admiring them one afternoon when I was like, “Huh, these are all just little scruffy slivers of a previous, now dead bigger sum, sewn together by someone who gave enough of a shit to do so.” Kind of like my album. So I said, “Put that in your press release and smoke it!” And so they did.
LUNA: How did DIZZY come together in contrast to where you were with your first two albums?
DIZZY: I think there’s a tendency when you’re new to music to feel like the people who have been doing it longer than you are all-knowing or whatever. I’m really grateful for the opportunities we’ve had in our career thus far, but we definitely felt those pressures on our first two albums and made a lot of choices that didn’t feel genuine to us. With DIZZY, I just wasn’t willing to compromise anymore. We decided before we even started recording to be selfish and demanding of ourselves to make the right decisions for the band. And honestly, it was easier for everyone that way.
LUNA: What were the biggest creative obstacles in continuing your personal story with this project?
DIZZY: I can’t think of many. Maybe getting out of my own way? Like I said, I think in the past I had a tendency to worry about what other people think is cool. I held back a lot of ideas that I was too shy to share and I still think about them to this day. With DIZZY, I wasn’t willing to leave those decisions up to other people anymore.
LUNA: Are there any particular albums that helped influence the atmosphere of DIZZY?
DIZZY: So many. Sixpence None the Richer, Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto, Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend, Alt-J’s The Dream.
LUNA: In your previous single, “Open Up Wide,” it seems like you’re speaking on the pressures of living as an artist in the industry. Knowing that you have fans who connect so strongly to your words as a musician, are there times when you feel the pressure of giving them what they think they want, instead of music that represents how you truly feel in the moment?
DIZZY: Lyrically, no. Sonically, yes. There were a lot of discussions with this record where we were like, “Are we pushing things too pop here with the production? Does this chord sound too jazzy for a Dizzy song?” In the end we concluded we feel comfortable being experimental with our sonics as long as the bones of the song (i.e. the lyrics and vocals) are structurally sound.
LUNA: The track “Close” hits pretty hard. It strikes a chord when I think about a phrase about people coming and going just like seasons in a year. What is it about having that one friend by your side after many years that keeps you going strong through changes in your life?
DIZZY: That song is about a lot of things, but of course the friendship I have with my bandmates. I’m not really sure. We’re bound by this band in a way I’ve never been bound to anything else. It’s remained a priority to all of us for so long, and I think that’s a testament to the respect we have for each other. It’s my safe space, my home. The most constant thing about me. Like the freckle on my forearm that has just always been there.
LUNA: In the tale within “Barking Dog,” in regard to your empathy toward a dog who suffered pain and abuse, what is the important lesson you want to impart from this track to listeners for self-reflection?
DIZZY: I think the lesson is literally the first line of the song: “It is not your fault you wield a dullish sort of knife.” I’ve said this before, but we’re all doomed in various ways that none of us asked for. It’s the human condition. The lesson is this: Give yourself a break.
LUNA: In your opinion, what are a couple other songs aside from the singles that best represent the dualities of the roller-coaster that is life?
DIZZY: Probably “Jaws.” It’s the only song I really allowed myself to freak out about life on. Oh wait, I think I did that on “My Girl” too… And “Cell Division”… “Salmon Season,” too. Whoops. What was I saying about needing to chill the hell out?
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