Q&A: Erika de Casier On Musical Changes, Completing Songs & More
DELVING INTO NEW ARTISTIC REALMS — 2020 was a big year for Erika de Casier. Amongst other things, she took part in the Boiler Room Streaming from Isolation series, created a remix for Dua Lipa’s Physical EP, and signed to 4AD, releasing her well-received single and music video “No Butterflies, No Nothing” with them.
Since then, Erika has released her hotly anticipated second album Sensational, along with videos for singles, ‘Drama’ And ‘Polite’ and announced a European Tour for this Autumn. Coming off the back of her successful debut album ‘Essentials’ which she wrote, co-produced and self-released, we couldn’t wait to get to hear her newest release. Featuring her distinctive soft, hushed vocals over nineties and turn-of-the-millenium influenced beats, clever quickfire lyrics and a characteristically fresh take on some classic sounds, ‘Sensational’ did not disappoint.
We caught up with the Copenhagen-based producer/songwriter to find out more about the process of creating her latest album and what 2021 holds for her.
LUNA: After releasing your first album on your own label Independent Jeep Music, how did you feel about signing to 4AD? How different is it releasing via a label versus doing it yourself?
DE CASIER: It was very different. It's a whole team, and a very experienced team, which is super cool. I don’t know much about PR — it’s not my thing. It just makes the whole thing more professional and structured, which I really like because it can be hard to do that yourself. It’s a gift that more people want to help.
LUNA: I’ve been loving the highly stylized characters you play in your music videos. Do they carry over from the concept of the album? And who is Bianka (with a k)?
DE CASIER: She was born when I was making the “Drama” video. I bought a wig online, put it on, and I felt amazing. I felt different, and I just felt like I could do more stuff. I had an easier time getting into a role. I'm not an actress, but it's another part of me, I think — a persona. I think it was a beautiful coincidence that she appeared. (laughs)
For the videos, when I hear the song, I sometimes have these images or scenes that I want, and then I go from there. And sometimes I have no idea, and I just brainstorm an idea of, “Do I want to play out what I'm saying in the lyrics or I want to do something completely different? Do I just want to have a vibe?” I like it when there's a storyline, but I don't see that until I'm editing it.
LUNA: You’re going to be heading back out on the road touring later this year — how excited are you to get back to live shows? What can people expect from the experience of going to see you live?
DE CASIER: I'm very excited to go out and play all the new songs. And even the old songs from Essentials are going to be like new because I haven't played them for so long. It's probably going to be more intimate than we're used to, I'm imagining. I don't know, maybe in the autumn people will be able to stand up and dance. But I'm going to try to make it as intimate as possible. It’s not a big show with fireworks. But maybe there’ll be fireworks in the visuals, I don’t know!
LUNA: Your music seems very fresh and modern while also calling back to ’90s and 2000s pop, G-funk, and R&B. How much do you feel your influences are reflected in the music you create?
DE CASIER: I think — like any musician that listens to other people's music — it colors the stuff that you make, and it inspires you without you even knowing. I think millennium and ’90s R&B is now all of a sudden “old school” or “throwback,” but for me it's still very much the music I grew up with. It’s not so much a throwback — it never left me! I'm not going to the studio like, “I'm going to make it an R&B track,” or “I'm going to make it sound like Dark Child produced it.” It just comes naturally to me when I choose sounds. Just like, if you pick up a guitar there are some chords you naturally go to, I think that's the same with the sounds I use.
LUNA: How has your musical process changed over the course of your career? Particularly from your last album to this one?
DE CASIER: Not much! I still use the same gear, the same computer, the same MIDI keyboard, the same synths. I upgraded my interface, but other than that, that is pretty much the same. The way I write is also the same. I have the same studio that I've had for six years that I share with my friends in Copenhagen. Of course, my life has changed, but I think if Corona didn't happen, I would have been traveling so much in that time, I think my life would have changed more. I played a little bit after Essentials came out. I was playing different places but it wasn't life changing, like, “Whoa, now I have to get a fancier studio” or something like that. At some point, of course, I hope it will, not that I really [need] it, but just for the change. It's good to get out!
LUNA: Do you see production and songwriting as two separate aspects of what you do or as a part of the same whole process?
DE CASIER: They're pretty much the same, because sometimes I produce the track first and then I put the vocals on and then I go back to the production while I'm making the vocals as well. So it's very instant — it's intertwined. And the things I write are colored by the mood of the production. So for me, it's very much together. In the production, you find samples and it's almost like a puzzle you have to put together. Melodies come to me, where I'm singing them and then I try to play them. And then I put them in MIDI and then I sit and edit them. Whereas with my vocals it's like what comes out, comes out, and that’s what I use. It's a different craft but the process of making a song is going back and forth.
LUNA: Do you prefer to work alone, focused and isolated, or in collaboration with others? What do you look for in a musical collaborator?
DE CASIER: I like both — I think it's important to have both. I look for someone that I think has a nice sense of his, her, or their aesthetics. It doesn't have to be like what I do. You look for certain qualities, I guess, but also a person you can relax around. Usually, I’ve only made music with friends, so that's also a big part of it. Sitting in a studio and then you say, “Oh, that's a pretty good track.” But it’s always nice to go into something yourself because then nobody's expecting anything from you.
LUNA: How do you know to trust a musical idea enough to follow it out to completion?
DE CASIER: I think the feeling I get when I listen to it is the most important thing. If I'm not feeling anything and it's just like, “Oh, it's nice,” I usually don't go forward with it. But if I feel there's something there — I feel happy or sad or I feel provoked or something — then I usually go forward with it. Not that I necessarily go to the end, because I'm not the best at finishing things. I'm very good at starting things. So I always have like 10, 20 different sketches I'm working on at the same time. So I go from one sketch to another to another. [And as for] finishing a track, I don't think I've ever sat alone and been like, “That's it — [it’s done], I'm going to bounce it out. Send it to master.” That never happens — I need somebody to end it with me. I like to get other ears on it. But I don't know, but maybe I should try that!
LUNA: Both of your albums are quite distinct from each other — they both have a really clear sound and feel. Do you have a plan where you’re going next musically or does that just come naturally?
DE CASIER: I wish I could plan! No, I'm just going to — like I always do — make a bunch of songs and I’ll see where it takes me. Maybe I won’t make another album for a while. Maybe I'll make an EP. Maybe I'll just make songs or maybe I'll make a 10-minute track, I don’t know. But it's my favorite part of creating: the beginning of it. When you start and you have no idea what it's going to become and you kind of hate it as well, because it has no form, no soul, or identity yet. I'm looking forward to that, but I don't know what it's going to be.
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