Your new album, “Keep Your Courage”, seems like an ode to female courage, starting with the statue of Joan of Arc on the cover. What courage do women, in particular, need to have today and in front of what behavior?
Yes, I chose a photograph of a Jeanne d’Arc sculpture to be of the cover of my album, "Keep Your Courage". For me, she is a powerful symbol of courage and is easily recognized as that. Not just female courage, but courage in general. Women need strength to fight the same battles they have always had to fight…for their safety and sovereignty, primarily against men who want to take both from them.
Your new album arrived after a difficult period, between the pandemic and the spinal problem that forced you to have surgery. A very painful time. How did this pain reflect in your new songs? In a recent interview you said: “Not being able to play the piano and sing, made me want to play the piano and sing”.
The lockdown months of the pandemic were difficult because I had major spine surgery and was in recovery without the benefit of medical attention and I temporarily lost the ability to sing in my true voice. But once my voice was restored, I think the pandemic and health crisis slowed me down to a more contemplative pace and removed nearly all distractions. I was able to go deep inside my own heart and mind for several months and rediscover all the parts of songwriting that I love.
In your latest album a greater attention to the musical roots of other cultures is evident, it is perhaps the most ecumenical of your long career. Is it a symptom of research or pure creative happenstance?
Hmmmmmm… I’ve always had a great curiosity for other musical traditions and have incorporated them over the years into my music. I think "Leave Your Sleep" was far more experimental, in this regard. For that album, I collaborated with 135 different musicians in at least 20 different musical styles (klezmer, Cajun, reggae, Chinese, early European and symphonic music, old-time, Celtic, etc.). With "Keep Your Courage", I took many of the musical lessons I learned from "Leave Your Sleep" and put them into practice again. I worked with seven different cocomposer-arrangers on this album and 35 musicians. This variety of collaborators brings more variety to the work, as well.
Mythology, literature and poetry have always been references in your songwriting. What fascinates you especially about mythology? And generally, how can you manage to express these ambitious themes in a synthetic shape such as the song format?
I have always used cultural references in my songwriting. For example, I’ve mentioned popular historical figures like Jack Kerouac, Henry Darger, Andrew Jackson, and Louise Brooks, historical events, The Trail of Tears, the Vietnam War, or biblical figures like Adam and Eve, Judas, and Jezebel. Whenever I use one of these references, I bring a wealth of associations to the song (mine and the listener’s). Songs are very short, just a handful of verses and a repeating chorus. If I can use a single word or phrase that can expand the meaning of the song, I’m eager to do that.
Is it true that you are learning Italian because you are planning a project dedicated to Italian poetry? Can you tell us about it?
Yes, I have been working on a project that involves adapting the poetry of an early 20th century Jewish-Italian poet named Lina Schwarz. She primarily wrote for children, which is appropriate because my understanding of Italian is at a child’s level. The poems are beautiful celebrations of nature, childhood, love and a healthy amount of Edward Lear style nonsense poetry written just for the delight found in the sound of the words. I have been researching Lina’s life and collaborating with a band from the Milan area named Domo Emigrantes. We hope to record the poem-songs one day.
- Note: On January 28, 2024, Natalie Merchant will host a new workshop, entitled Sotto il lume delle stelle (Under the light of the stars), atFondazione Prada’s Accademia dei bambini in Milan. The workshop for children will be led by Merchant and will feature a concert performance of new songs adapted by her from poems by Italian writer and educator Lina Schwarz (1876-1947). Full details will be announced shortly at fondazioneprada.org.
We love also the 10,000 Maniacs records, especially “The Wishing Chair” and “In My Tribe”. What do you keep from that experience and what was the secret of that formula, that could melt together different musical backgrounds (folk, pop, wave, college rock) with such a great elegance?
I met the other members of 10,000 Maniacs when I was just 17 years old and we made our first album the next year, that was in the early 1980s. All my first lessons in songwriting, performing, recording, promoting, etc. came from those early experiences in the band. But I left 10,000 Maniacs thirty years ago and my career has developed considerably. I’ve learned much more in the decades since.
I think Maniacs also had a natural connection with R.E.M.. Speaking of Michael Stipe, I read a statement of yours in which you said there was something about his voice that you were really attracted to, something very primal and which made you feel connected to him”. You became friends and also toured together. What are your memories of that period?
I met Michael Stipe in 1983, my goodness, that was 40 years ago! I suppose you would call the early work of R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs was Americana, but I don’t think the term had been invented yet. We shared the same musical background, growing up in the US in the 1960s and 70s. I think I was drawn to the honesty and rawness of Michael’s voice and his charismatic stage presence. He and the band were such big supporters of ours. Those early tours were such fun, big adventures for our band since they were a big step ahead of us in terms of their popularity.
The musicians of your era, including Stipe himself, Billy Bragg, U2, Paul Weller and many others, pushed each other into activism. I know activism is an important part of your life as well. Do you still believe that musicians can affect social and political life even today?
I could not imagine being a public figure and not being willing to take sides on crucial issue of the day or to draw attention to the good work of hard-working activists. Raising money for various causes has been such an important part of my job since the very beginning. For me, activism and creativity and celebrity are all combined.
After Cat Stevens' conversion to Islam, with the colleagues from 10,000 Maniacs you decided to eliminate “Peace Train” from the reissues of the album “In My Tribe”, do you think that gesture was important and would you do it again today?
It made sense at the time, he has since disputed that he was ever a proponent of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989. I’ve never had the opportunity to discuss it with him directly.
“Keep Your Courage” is an album that talks about feelings, about love, a topic that today is reduced to a pure product to be sold and sacrificed on the altar of success. The love you express in your latest album instead has something revolutionary, authentic, as if for you love in a spiritual and universal sense represents the only escape route from the horror of modern society. Do you think love will save us?
Love and beauty are the only things, however intangible they may be, that seem to matter to me as I get older. Suppose I would add health to that!
