Ana Sia Interview
Ana Sia is the next artist in our interview series. Her performance is 12:45a.m. to 2a.m. Friday at The Asheville Music Hall.
1) Infomoog is primarily a group of music lovers who are known to festival hop together. I have read that you have been to Burning Man for several years. Can you tell us why you keep returning?
i’ve been 7 times tho i haven’t gone for several years & don’t see myself returning. for a good long while there, it was like an involuntary response to go the Burn & make the often grueling journey to the biggest most wild playground in the world to free it up at; it was all so worth it. it used to be an emancipating week that showcased art & sub-culture & the strong communities that can be founded within some organized chaos but seeing it’s inevitable change & being saddened by the amount of police presence, violence & absurd immaturity of the multi-thousands that now go has kept me away. i feel i had a whole life cycle there & really do applaud the positive release & artistic platform it has provided for me tho. it’s just not for me anymore.
2) When you decide to write a song, what is your driving force? Do you find you write better under certain emotional conditions?
my driving force is to have enjoy the process & the generous allowance to be creative. love or fear or any emotional content in between, it’s all the same. if i can feel, i can write.
3) Do you feel like any one person sent you in the direction of loving/creating music when you were young? What instrument speaks to you the most?
i’m the youngest of 3, so i had a natural desire to want to do everything my older siblings did; make art, play music, dance. piano was my 1st instrument & greatly value my early training & continued crush on it.
4) In all of the videos, you are seen bopping behind the stage, and the crowd dancing along with you. Is there any type of dance that you imagine while creating certain tracks? (ballet,hooping,tap,jazz etc)
not 1 type, i want to see it it all! if i can make music & play tunes that an animator, ballerina, contemporary, or tap dancer can all move to then somethings right.
5) Your bio mentions several beautiful places you have had residency in. Some artists see EDM as primarily industrial, a steel and metal landscape, while other artists lend you to imagine a more tranquil scenery of nature. Is there any place you have been that inspires you the most?
anytime i can be in a place that takse me out of my head & habits are where i draw from most. a recent pilgrimage in Malaysia has been incredibly significant & i try to keep that as a daily IV Drip of inspiration even when not physically there, but you know honestly… it’s special to find myself plucking influence from odd places like airport bathrooms or news headlines or the check out line at a co-op. when those rare moments happen, they are often the most gutsy & potent.
6) When not playing at Moogfest 2012, will we finding you dancing along with the crowd? If so, who are you most looking forward to seeing/hearing?
ABSOLUTELY. i’m real fond of the lineup this year; Gza, Disclosure, Actress, Richie Hawtin, Nas are the acts i will jog back & forth across the city to see.
7) Moogfest is a relatively new festival, had you heard of it before being asked to play? Do you have any expectations of the festival or its patrons?
i certainly did! the intention behind the festival alone was reason enough to bring my attention to it. having expectations are a bit dangerous but i am thrilled to see a diverse, very music driven event be so popular & noticed a lot of festivals now rely so heavily on a smoke & mirrors, bells & whistles type experience for a show. Moogfest presents music for music lovers. this i’m grateful to see & be a part of this year.
8) What Moog products do you most covet?
Slim Phatty.
9) Were you a part of the raver scene in the 1990s? What differences and similarities do you see between artists and scene, then and now?
i was very fortunate to move to NYC in 95 & catch the few last good winds & wildness of the club scene there. raving way back was incomparable to raving now; not that any era is better or worse. in the past, you had no idea where the dj was, like they were in hidden elevated booths & played a minimum of 3hr sets. the diversity of the people was so crazy! you’d be amongst drags & candy necklace kids & Prada clad & co-eds… everyone there to lose it physically & mentally, there would be random fashion show walk offs in the middle of the dance floor, people walking around w/ fruit plates & champagne, AND you went to the club at 5am & left at 2pm the next day. now, the focus is fancy stage productions & bigger & badder toys to provide this “in your face” type experience. honestly.. i appreciate both & happy to have been along for the evolutionary rave ride.
10) Can you tell us more about Frite Nite and up and coming artists that we should look out for?
Frite Nite is a collective & an artist-run label. we’re unique in the fact we are honestly such core friends & support system that have an incredibly diverse palate in sound but have an undercurrent of familiarity & influence since we all met in 1 place. our recent releases have showcased a lot of different genres, sub genres, & sub-sub genre’s but all commonly interesting & new.
11) What track did you most recently add to your ipod/ipad?
Jimmy Edgar’s edit of Portishead’s “machine gun”.
12) When doing research for this interview Prince’s name came up over and over. If you and Prince were to collaborate on a previously released track of his, at your choosing, what would it be?
Strange Relationship.
13) A few silly questions that cause much feuding among our members. We would like to see where you come down on these important issues:
Pancakes or waffles? Pancake wrapped Waffle
Salad or soup? Salad
Prince: Lick or do not lick (This was a debated topic before we knew of your fondness for The Purple One) Do Not, you may melt by getting to close to the source
14) Do your group of friends have any meaningless debated topics?
Anejo or Resposado?
-Denette Jackson
infoasis 