LAMP Weekly Mix #106 feat. Whitney Fierce

LAMP Weekly Mix #106 feat. Whitney Fierce

As we mentioned this year we're bringing you a host of new guests to the ‪#‎weeklymix‬ rotation and this week we had the opportunity to have Whitney Fierce produce a mix for us. We've been big fans of Fierce and her album 'Broken Car Window' on Rock It Science Labs last year was fantastic, so we can wait to hear what she has in store this year. Her range in artistic abilities and introspective approach to life are a wonderful combination that allow this producer to exist in harmony with many styles and genres while also curating her own finely crafted niche. MR PUZL had the chance to ask Fierce a few questions about her career, literary and philosophical influences, and of course the inspiration behind this amazing mixtape.MR PUZL: First of all we are so honored to have you as part of our Weekly Mix series. What have you got in store for us in this mix? Whitney Fierce: Well first of all, thank you so much for having me! I'm not unexcited about this mix, that's for sure. I've definitely been inspired by my travels in the music that I've been playing. I am (clearly) hand drum-obsessed, and I think it really shines through in this mix. Culturally-specific drums and rhythms (from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, to mention a few) have an amazing way of making the body move, even if it's not conscious. Basically, I'm taking y'all on a world tour, with some techy vibes in there too.MP: You were once heavily focused on fashion, designed your own line and moved to New York to pursue a career in that industry. You've gone on to accomplish a plethora of other artistic endeavors since then. Are these all extensions of a larger creative identity or do you see these all as individual chapters in your life up to this point?WF: I think if I'm to over simplify it, Whitney Fierce is a brand and a book (while we ride the chapter metaphor). I've always made things, I always will, I was brought up in a very creative environment. I loved fashion, I still do, and I'll likely reintegrate it into my repertoire in the coming years. Everything I do works as a chapter, but they're all part of a larger novel. The story keeps me on my toes, and that's important to me. I want to keep challenging myself, and often that manifests itself in the form of new endeavors. Music will always be my first love, and I'll always curating and creating the soundtrack to the book. Shit, we might have to make this a movie. MP: A chance opportunity to DJ your own event ignited your passion for the art of performance and eventually led to music production. Did you have any previous experience in music before that point?WF: I am a classically trained pianist, I begged my mom to enroll me in piano lessons when I was about 6. I grew up with a beautiful player piano in my house and wanted to learn how to make those sounds on my own. Soon after, I started singing lessons, first learning to sing in Italian. I've been in dance lessons since I was 2. My mom would argue that I am a born performer, I'm inclined to agree with her. I've secretly produced music since I was about 15 when I got my first laptop -- GarageBand represent! That's actually where for my love of music production started. I was lucky enough to be sent to my mom's friend's studio in Minneapolis when I was about 19 to learn more about production. He was an amazing human named O'dell Brown. He wrote and produced such songs as Sexual Healing. No bigs. I basically spent the next couple years trying to unlearn my classical training, and find my own style, the serendipitous fall into DJing coincided beautifully.MP: The vocal samples in DJ Iran Moreno's 'Nelson Mandela Never Dies' are from his President Inauguration and along with the title imply that what we as humans are capable of transcends our own individual existence. Does this outlook have any baring on your approach creating art?WF: Transcendence is such a big part of music -- I doubt if I've consciously sat and thought that my own personal art will transcend time, space, or barriers -- maybe because self-deprecation is what I'm best at, perhaps that thought is that one step to self-involved (which is saying a lot for me, haha.). However, that same transcendence through DJing, being able to move peoples bodies and spirits, that has definitely impacted the way I perform. But now that you've inspired this thought process, yeah, making anything -- especially such an emotional art -- transcendence does play a part in it. It's like the poem "The Author to her Book" by Anne Bradstreet. Once you make something and put it out into the world, it is no longer yours. Perhaps what I like best about making anything, and especially music, the actual product is decided by perception rather than what you've actually made. Art is what it makes people feel. Now I'm going to pull myself out of this existential rabbit hole and try to answer another question.MP: You did an interview back in 2008 for Lookbook where you discussed your style and influences within the context of fashion but also more broadly as an artist and creator. How have you seen yourself evolve over that period of time? Specifically, you mentioned your style then to be 'a result of a lack of influences'; does that still hold true today?WF: I do like the idea that my style is still a lack of influences, and rather a polyamorous marriage of experiences. This holds true for style of all sorts - musically and otherwise.MP: As an artist, it's important to consume and acquire knowledge from a vast collection of sources. You are a fan of profound philosophical writers such Jean Baudrillard, E. E. Cummings, and Georges Bataille. How do these figures and other non-musical influences permeate into your productions and performances?WF: Non-musical influences are maybe my favorite. e e cummings taught me not only how to write about love, but how to feel it more. Baudrillard lets me see the world though different eyes than if I hadn't read his work. Bataille's Base Materialism "defies strict definition and remains in the realm of experience rather than rationalization" -- if that doesn't resonate with pretty much everything else I've said over this interview, I'm not sure what would. I'd say literature and art history inform my music more than music does. Oh and real life. That is what I try to imbue my work with most.MP: Baudrillard observed that human culture has become over saturated by simulacra and we have lost all sense of reality. Do you feel that this is perpetuated by the human condition to simplify ideas for sake of efficiency or more as a bi product of mass consumption and production? How do you see this applied to the music industry and specifically to the rise in popular electronic music?WF: THE SIMULACRUM IS REAL (read that sentence a couple times, it's one of my favorite things that I've said in a long time). I love that we're live in a post-reality world. Simplification is a matter of science, all matter will try to take the path of least resistance. HOWEVER, that makes for shit music. Pop music can be written just as well by algorithms as it can by people. If you're not pushing boundaries, then you're blowing it. Art and music should come from the heart (big ideas here) and if it isn't, it's bullshit.MP: Philip Glass once said '“If you don't know what to do, there's actually a chance of doing something new." As an artist it's sometimes difficult to completely open yourself up to the unknown and the idea of failure can stifle creativity. Do you have an approach to your creativity? Are there things in your life that provide catalysts for you music?WF: I love that I have no idea what I'm doing. Honestly. I've learned bits over the years, but I still have a long path ahead of me. I think understanding that and not being afraid of failure actually breeds brilliant work. Like outsider art, or a limited palette, working within constraints and knowing that failure is a real and not bad -- it's pretty freeing. My approach is emotional and mystical and inexplicable. Catalysts for my work are everything from everyday life, relationships, even a scent on the breeze. It's inspiration, and it's around every corner. -- like my song "The Night Air" -- I really just smelled the flowers out of my broken car window.MP: Your work with RISLabs is awesome and we loved 'Broken Car Window'. Can you reveal any upcoming projects and releases for this year? WF: I'm really excited about my next release -- you can expect it Feb 24th on RIS Labs. If I may say so myself, it's kind of awesome.MP: You're currently in Tulum for BPM. Is this your first time there? What has the experience been like so far?Where can people catch you performing next?WF: I am. It's awesome. It's not my first time, and it's far from my last. I've been here for five days, I haven't really slept yet -- there is amazing music and amazing people and amazing food and amazing views surrounding you at all times. Like Steven Tyler would say "I don't wanna miss a thing." Seriously, I've had a couple naps, but clearly not enough if I'm quoting Aerosmith, but I'll sleep when I'm dead. MP: Finally, if you could design a piece of clothing for Brian Lichtenberg what would it be?WF: I wouldn't. I'd design a piece for myself, and it'd be a massive black square.

Tracklist

1. Disco Violence - Teo Brothers2. Funky Jungle - Alessio Caforio3. La Picardia (Original Mix) - Joan Garcia, Peter Vila4. Maasai Mara - Alex Ricardo5. Nelson Mandela Never Dies- DJ Iran Moreno6. Yo Soy Cubano (Mark Ferrer Remix) - Toris Badic7. Much Better Feat. Mattia Malerba - Barbur8. El Flautero - Yas Capeda9. Feel It - Afro-Tek10. Funky Business (Tribal Mix) - Alfredo Christian11. Ituri -Louie CorralesEnjoy,LAMP