Robin Bacior - Canzoni a pelo d'acqua

To break the ice: let's pretend you run into an old friend, you tell them you're a musician, and they ask you to play them a song. Which one would you choose?

Well, I've been playing for a long time, pretty much since I was a young girl. I started writing songs at eighteen, so if it were an old friend, they'd remember my songs as very light folk pieces on guitar. To show them what I do now, I'd probably play "If It Does" or "Water Dreams".

You recently released “Water Dreams”, your second album. We found the overall concept and its execution incredibly beautiful and moving. Through your music, I could really feel how memories are experienced, as if they were suspended in water. Can you tell us a bit about the conception of the album – what personal events, perhaps, or what period of your life inspired you?

I wrote this album during my first year living in Portland. It was the first time I'd written songs as part of something cohesive, rather than a collection of separate ideas. They all fall under the idea of being upended by change, and in this case the catalyst for that change was leaving New York. Coincidentally, around that time I was having “water dreams” almost every night, and all these songs started developing around aquatic metaphors. When it came time to work out the arrangements, I worked with Dan Bindschedler (and later with drummer Ji Tanzer and producer Rian Lewis) to find that sense of different bodies of water. I wanted the whole album to feel like a single session, with each song flowing fluidly into the next.

I think your voice has grown with every release, and on “Water Dreams” you show an undeniable quiet power that comes through in every note – a bit like Joni Mitchell, who is your personal musical heroine, or so I understand. On “Water Dreams”, though, your performances sound less direct and, on the other hand, more evocative, to the point of merging with the surrounding soundscape. Is that where your musical paths diverge?

That song specifically came together very differently from the others. Typically I write a piece pretty coherently from the start, then maybe tinker with a few details for several months, but “Water Dreams” was almost like a meditation that I would sit down with and play between rehearsing full songs. It wasn't something I really processed as an actual song until I played it, improvising it as it came, during the encore of a show in California. After that, it became clear it had to be the centerpiece of the record. I feel like it comes from a very honest place, and I like to think that comes through in my performance and in the overall feel of the piece.

We also feel that your rapport with Dan has grown even stronger, so much so that his cello is basically the second voice on "Water Dreams". Would you agree, and how does that shape the way you write and record songs?

Dan and I have been playing together for five years, and he's always been a huge presence in my songs. I wrote "Water Dreams" with him in mind, making sure there was room left for him to breathe and that we didn't step on each other within these chaotic, ethereal melodies. Since all the instruments fall into the same mid-range register, we spent a lot of time learning how to weave all the tones together to create one cohesive sound.

How did you two meet, by the way?

We met through a mutual friend. Dan came to my very first show ever in New York. Our friendship started with driving around Manhattan and getting breakfast in the middle of the night.

You moved to Portland from New York in 2012. Two very different music scenes, it seems to us. What differences did you notice in your personal experience? How did this move affect you?

It really is like night and day. New York is a vibrant force that comes at you all at once, while Portland is a quiet, reserved small town in the body of a city. New York taught me to stand up for myself, but Portland taught me to sit down and take up my own space, which had a strong impact on "Water Dreams". There's a lot more room in the songs for a listener to catch up or feel immersed in the music.

Is there a particular record that influenced you while recording "Water Dreams"?

I listen to jazz at home almost every day. I think Dave Brubeck's and Bill Evans's piano styles had an enormous influence on "Water Dreams". They both have such emotional phrasing, as if the piano had its own language. That level of control is something I aim for, and something I thought about a lot during these recordings. How to push without being superficial.

You're mostly self-releasing your records. Have you had any contact with labels? Would you consider signing with one?

It's a very gray industry, so it's hard to say. There aren't equity deals or all-powerful labels, but there are plenty of labels working with artists I really admire, so if the right thing came along, I'd obviously consider it.

Part of the proceeds from "Water Dreams" will go to the Sacramento River Preservation Trust. Can you tell us about this project?

I grew up in Northern California, which is literally shriveling up more and more every year because of the drought. I told myself I had to do something to help, and this was the first real step I felt I could take. The Sacramento River Preservation Trust is a small NGO that works with volunteers to maintain a river that's hugely important to California.

You've said you admire Joni Mitchell for her constant musical growth. Where do you see yourself on your next record?

I hope to keep shifting my sound. Every record gives me a better idea of what I want to try next. I have a hard time putting into words what I'm working on, especially in the early writing stages. All I can say is that I'm working with brighter, more defined colors.

You're also a music journalist. What's been on Robin Bacior's player lately? Anything we might have missed?

As I said before, I listen to a lot of jazz, so at home you'll mostly hear classic jazz, plenty of War On Drugs and Bill Callahan, and the new one from Father John Misty. I've also been listening to Phox's self-titled album, it sounds so intense and subtly full.

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