Heavy Metal/Interview

===Interviewhttps://ibb.co/Xsm5L9qhttps://ibb.co/L9ZcSC1https://ibb.co/L9ZcSC1===
=Grimēs=
INTERVIEW by HANNAH MEANS-SHANNON
G• A• L• L• E• R• Y
Grimes is a musician who began releasing albums in 2010, with her major break out album, Visions, arriving on the scene in 2012, and her critically acclaimed and award-winning studio album Art Angels landing in 2015. The latter debuted at Number 1 on Billboard's Alternative Albums chart, at Number 2 on their Independent Albums chart, and at Number 36 on Billboard 200. Her work defies the limitations of a single music style, but combines elements associated with electronic music, synth-pop, R&B, hip hop, and much more.
Her work has been featured on the HBO show Girls and on the Suicide Squad soundtrack album and Grimes has also been heavily involved in producing her own music videos as well as collaborating with other artists on videos. Her music releases all feature her own cover artwork, but with Art Angels, she also produced illustrations for each track of the album. Comics fans will recognize influences drawn from manga, anime, and art comics in her visual creations, and recall that she contributed a cover to Image Comics' The Wicked + The Divine in 2013.
While the style and thematic content of Grimes' work has evolved over time, concerns with the individual experience of music, and a questioning attitude toward music's place in the wider human experience, are still very much apparent. Branching into the production of visual art, Grimes also suggests a wider world of thought where visual imagery and sound meet, and she speaks with Heavy Metal Magazine below about some of her current explorations in thought, imagery, and music.
Hannah Means-Shannon: Are there themes or ideas that you feel are in the forefront of your mind or creative work right now?
Grimes: Yes. I'm immersed in technology right now, so I'm becoming obsessed with dissecting magic/ mysticism/ religi- osity from a scientific perspective. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. That's part of the reason the current project I'm working on is about "New Gods". I think "simulation theory" (the idea that our reality is just a program running on someone's computer - like the matrix) is just non-specific intelligent design. I'm trying to dissect the idea that the religious mindset is not as opposite to the logical mindset as people think. Or perhaps we are so inherently reli- gious, that the end of logic is still God. 
HMS: Do you think that there is a time in a human being's development, such as early childhood, when music and art aren't clearly separated from each other? What do you think those relationships tend to be in adulthood?
Grimes: Music and visuals aren't as separate as we think, I think. If you notice, listening to music in a car is way more fun than alone in ur room: the visual momentum adds a lot to the experience. It's almost like a weird irl music video. Most illustrators I know draw w/ music on, I def can't zone as much if I've got no music.
HMS: Do you have any theories about what makes a particular song or piece of music impactful or memorable for an audience?
Grimes: I think music needs to be 50% alien and 50% familiar. My brother calls it the "MAYA" principal: "most advanced
yet acceptable", haha. If you're too advanced or avant-garde, it loses momentum for the listener, isn't fun. But if it's
too basic, it's boring. I feel like "Old Town Road" is so successful cuz it's MAYA.
HMS: Would you say that the different ways in which people experience music might affect what they "hear" in your work? For instance, if they heard it via live performance or played in a club, versus listening to music alone on one of their devices?
Grimes: Context is everything. You can ask someone the same question and depending on their mood, get a totally different answer. All our memories are informed by our brains filling in data blanks. All our experiences r informed by context. The same sentence or line delivered with confidence vs. shyness will determine how we react. Personally, I hate live music because I. D.o.n.t. like the lack of control from a technical perspective (although I love dj sets because you don't have the same chaos that live vocals create). But I think people enjoy the chaos, unfortunately for me, haha.
HMS: Would you write or draw comics or illustrated stories if the right circumstances presented themselves in your life?
Grimes: I would write them, but I'm way too slow to draw a comic and I actually suck at anatomy and stuff. Creating a visual plot would be a struggle, hahaha. But maybe in the future I can upload an anatomy illustration class into my brain and then it would be easier.
HMS: What materials do you usually use to create images, and what kind of starting point usually inspires a drawing for you?
Grimes: I used to use ink and watercolor paper and now I'm all digital. I'd rly love to start downloading more brushes tho. I just got into Patreon and a lot of artists upload brushes and stuff. Need to get into that.Category:InterviewCategory:2019