A CONVERSATION WITH VASHTI BUNYAN
Bunyan talks about her new book, animal collective and her favorite trees
NOTE: I had been speaking to Vashti for 10 minutes before I realized that the recording wasn’t on. Thank god I caught it when I did or it could have been worse. Most of this first 10 minutes were exchanges about the weather and talking to Vashti about her memoir which came out in the spring of last year and is set to be published in the US this year. The recording starts at a moment where the conversation has shifted to focusing on her music.
Eli: Im curious about how you feel with your records coming back into popularity so long after their release. Do you think it was meant to be that way and if so do you believe in fate?
Vashti: I feel very lucky. it points out to me how things have changed and how younger people are just much more open to change. To difference. To different kinds of people. The fact that it didn't work back then but that I worked out now makes me feel very hopeful about young people. And I hope I'm right. And as far as fate goes. I couldn’t say. I'm just very glad that I had the life I had and that I was able to come back to those earlier days later in my life.
E; It seems like you're right about young people, especially with all the younger people you've worked with in the last couple of years. Especially the Prospect Hummer Ep with animal collective. I'm really curious about how that record came about and what the process was like making it.
V: It was a long chain of people. There was a band called piano magic that asked me to come sing on their new album in 2002. I was asked to a very short set in the festival hall in London by Stephen Malkmus of Pavement and I was so shocked and the person who gonna help me do it couldn’t but he knew a couple of musicians who would come and help me. One of them was Kieran Hebden of Four Tet who was in Edinburgh playing and he had animal collective supporting him. No one knew who they were, he has just seen their record cover at a record store wall and thought it was good and had them supporting him on tour in the UK. And Kieran said “you know all these guys have your album” meaning just another diamond day and I said “ugh lie” and it came out so rude, I just couldn’t think that anyone in America had heard of it. but they liked and they were going to ask if I would sing on three of those songs but they were too shy to ask me that night especially when I had been so rude. But I learned later that they wanted to record these songs in London during a gap in the tour. I went down to London and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it or not. I thought I'd just be doing some backing vocals. But they pushed me forward and had me do an awful lot of the singing. And it was the most wonderful experience. The way they worked was so good and so positive and so happy. And I think it comes across a bit in the songs. My daughter said that she can hear me laugh during one of the
songs. Because it was coming out on fat cat records they introduced me to fat cat and that's how I started making more records. But those actual animal collective days were so memorable because they made me remember I could sing.
E; by that time were you already working on LookAftering by this point or did you really start that after the animal collective sessions?
V: I had written about half of what became Lookaftering and I sent those to fat cat because they asked to hear them. They introduced me to Max Richter, the producer, and arranger, he lived in Edinburgh at the time. I had no idea that I was going to be able to make another record but with fat cat’s help, max’s help, and animal collective’s help I started to realize that I was a possibility.
E: I always like asking people this question case I think it tells a lot about people but I like asking do you have any heroes?
V: Sure... that's a hard one. I have many many heroes. You know my biggest heroes are my children. I think the kind of adults that they’ve turned into has been heroic. And of course my partner. Total hero. And with high-profile people...I think of anyone in particular to give you a name...I think it's up to you to put that
E: I think that's okay. I think the best heroes are the ones in our lives that are always pushing us forwards. More so than any huge celebrity.
V: Yeah. My brother. My father. My mother. My sister. All of them. Well my sister particularly, are all heroes to me. All of them, as you are saying much more than any celebrity I could pick out of the air for you.
E: with celebrities, it's so much of placing your own dreams and ambitions on another person but with people you truly know and who truly know you that's more of a hero than anything.
V: Your right.
E; Speaking of your family I really love the covers for your last two records that your daughter did was that something you had in mind from the start of the recording process or not til it was finished?
V: I think the way Whyn’s paintings go and the way my songs go we often found we were following the same path. And they often have paintings that often by accident intersect what I was writing and when It came to deciding what to put on the cover of lookaftering I think I sent a few ideas to fat cat. And it was Whyn who painted that hare and I sent that to David at Fat cat saying look at this wonderful painting that Whyn not thinking and he said: “that's it that's the one”. The guy who did all the artwork is just this really wonderful sensitive guy who got it just right. Even the font which was hand-painted. As far as the next album HeartLeap, I had that
painting up on my desktop for a long time as I was writing the album. And it just occurred to me one day the idea of a beautiful leaping heart and with the painting there I just started writing very quacking. And I asked Whyn if I could use her beautiful painting for my next album and of course, she very generously said yes. But I think they speak those paintings.
E: I think they communicate the magic of your songs very well.
V: thank you. I'm sure she'd love to hear that.
E: Do write most of your songs in the studio or where do they mostly come to you wherever.
V: one of the songs on the last record came to me in the supermarket and I had to run to write it down. Sometimes in the middle of the night, they just arrive fully formed. And yet others, oh others they take me ages and ages. You have to fool around and craft them to make them fully right. I think the other day I was ill. for the first time in 5 years and a song popped into my head. I don't know if ill do anything with it but it was so random. Im, not somebody who gets up and goes to a studio to work. It happens when it happens. In that way, I'm a bit lazy. I mean if it hadn’t been for quarantine I probably wouldn’t have written the book. I'm too lazy and too haphazard in my life. I would love to be more efficient but I'm not.
E; but you can't force the artistic process like that sometimes. It's different for everyone. V: yeah if a song isn't ready it's not going to come. That's my excuse.
E: what in your life makes you happy?
V; I think being outside in the hills makes me happy. The ocean makes me happiest of all. But recently a new little grandson who lives in London, so I've only seen in briefly but seeing photographs of him makes me laugh cause he’s just such a smiler. He makes me happy. All my projects make me happy. I appreciate it so much that I'm still here. I try not to be angry all the time. Because in your country and mine, it's pretty dire. You were talking earlier about having faith and I think that the faith I have is that we'll figure it out sometime. Maybe not in my lifetime but hopefully in yours.
E: there is so much to figure out in this world but I guess all you can have is hope. V: Oh my I forgot trees! Trees make me happy. Wow. Trees make me happy
E: especially when they dance in the wind.
V: And I love the way they are with each other. How they respond to each other. And when you have a lot of trees together they almost touch but not quite. I think it's called the shyness of their crown. Where they all know where each other are so as not to crowd one another. Where they
grow themselves because they have this huge underground communication. The more I read about trees the more im absolutely blown away by them.
E: I don't think until recently I had thought much about how trees are this connector between the sky and the earth with the branches and roots reflecting themselves but I find it really beautiful. But on another note, I wanted to ask if you have any plans for this upcoming year?
V: what I would really love to do is promote the book in the USA if I can. I just made a plan with a publicist who helped me tour the US in 2006-07 and he just agreed to help me promote the book. So hopefully ill be doing something in that. I have a few festivals lined up where ill read from the book and answer questions and I love that. Touring with a guitar is hard work. And touring with a book is great. So I'm happy to do more of that.
E; well if you guys need any help finding places to do events in Chicago just let me know and I can help.
V: Can I give your name and email to someone to help? Hell gets in touch with you. But I do hope to come over. My sister lives in New York and I haven’t seen them since lockdown so hopefully this year ill get to see more of them.
E: that sounds like a good plan for the year. I have one more question from a friend who was curious about what is your favorite color that the sky turns?
V: Oh...right. But when the sun is going down and the sky is kinda yellow and then I look up and the sky is blue above me. And yellow and blue should turn into green but actually, there is no green in-between the two, and that has always fascinated me. I love that little time in the evening. It's not when a great big sunset but when the sky just goes a little yellow at the horizon. I love that kind of sky. I like it even when the sky is pink but those few moments with the yellow of it going.