Q&A: Exploring the Complexity of Emotions Within Her Life, Work Wife Talks “Plastic Windows” & More
AUTHENTICALLY WRITTEN AND ARTISTICALLY INTRICATE — Work Wife’s music captures vulnerability beautifully. The Brooklyn-based indie artist doesn’t shy away from expressing the complexity of experiences and emotions relevant to her life. Her music is filled with metaphors conveying personal messages, such as correlating an unseen ocean with the intensity of her panic disorder in her second release, “Plastic Windows.”
Artistically gifted in many mediums, Work Wife is a multi-instrumentalist producer and songwriter. Her music reflects her creative control, as she desires her lyrics to be meaningful and range in topics that push boundaries, allowing listeners to relate their own experiences with the music.
In “Plastic Windows,” the lyrics convey her experiences with the sensations she experiences during a panic attack, yet sonically, the lo-fi indie track is upbeat. She hopes to continue making such music while also giving herself creative freedom and exploring other avenues pertaining to sounds throughout her career.
Stay tuned for Work Wife’s release “Plastic Windows” and read the interview down below to learn more about her music experiences, processes, and plans for the future!
LUNA: Congrats on your second release, “Plastic Windows''! The lyrics of the track are very poetic. What inspired these lyrics? Was it based around a personal experience that you dealt with?
WORK WIFE: Thank you! The lyrics are pretty personal. During the pandemic, I developed a panic disorder. The way a panic disorder works is you have a fear of getting a panic attack. It constantly feels like you are pushing through something. I’ve been dealing with my panic disorder for over a year. I cope with this by trying to find good words and metaphors in my songwriting, which is seen in “Plastic Windows.” I passed a house under construction that had plastic coverings over the windows. The wind was blowing against the window and making it bend over. I like to use metaphors to convey intense feelings. I used them throughout “Plastic Windows,” such as the metaphor I used about being in a beach town. It’s like a part of town where you don’t see the ocean, but you can feel it. The air is dense.
LUNA: When looking at your music and future projects, do you see themes with your lyrics? Are there general messages or feelings that you want your music to convey?
WORK WIFE: I’m trying to move away from just writing love songs. I will always write love songs but I’m trying to explore other topics as well. In this phase in my life, I want to be defined by other aspects of life aside from romantic relationships. I’m working with Mary Hood and we are trying to get out of the box of writing about relationships, such as writing about my womanhood and activism.
LUNA: What would you say is your writing process? Do you focus on the lyrics or message first, and then the sound, or vice versa?
WORK WIFE: I’m a sound first person. For me, it has to happen over a period of days. I’m not one of those people that just sits down and writes a song. I come up with ideas, like chord progressions or synth sounds, and then go back and listen to it. When you listen to a song a few days later, it's like showing a song to a different person. I will freestyle and try to do 10 or 50 takes. I’m a big syllable person.
LUNA: You are also a producer and produced “Plastic Windows.” What were your inspirations for the production of this track?
WORK WIFE: I do a lot of self production, but I also do a lot of producing with my bandmate, Digo Best. For inspirations, there's a Mac Demarco thing going on. The original drum beat came from a sample by Elise Trouw. I’m also a multi-instrumentalist. We added these horns near the end of “Plastic Windows” and we were trying to do this Phoebe Bridgers thing.
LUNA: Do you hope to continue making lo-fi indie tracks or would you want to delve into other genres as well?
WORK WIFE: I really like the lo-fi indie scene and the attitudes of the artists in the indie scene where no one is taking themselves too seriously, but still writing honest music. You can be a single artist and explore different aspects of your genres — you don’t have to pick a lane. Even the Olivia Rodrigo album showed that with pop-punk and slower tracks. The first track is purely indie pop and “Plastic Windows” is lo-fi pop and the next one is stripped down.
LUNA: A fun one: If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be and why?
WORK WIFE: I would be a sea animal, like a blue whale. Living in a big city, a sea animal represents being able to get away from it all.
LUNA: What would you say are your next main steps in regards to music? What do you hope to do in the rest of 2021 and 2022?
WORK WIFE: “Plastic Windows” is coming out in less than a month and “Crease” is coming out Nov. 1. “Crease” is more produced and then I'm going to put out a more stripped version. I have a music video for that, too. I’m also putting out a collab EP with other female musicians in Brooklyn with four of five songs. I’m excited to be collaborating with others and work on production.
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