1- Where did you grow up?
Mostly just outside of Chicago, but spent some years as a kid in Trenton, NJ and also Duluth, Minnesota. I’ve been in Upstate NY for most of my adult life. It’s notable that I was a teenager in Chicago just as house music was emerging there in the 80’s.
2- What is one of the first songs you remember liking as a kid?
My mom bought the Donna Summer /Giorgio Morodor “I Feel Love” 45 when I was little and I remember dancing deliriously to it, utterly overwhelmed with ecstatic joy.
3- What influenced you to get into music?
I’ve always sung, written songs and poetry, and also had a particular love for dance music, all things that seemed complicated to meld for many years… I tried to play guitar but couldn’t successfully make the music I envisioned with just guitar and voice. I also had a long career as a house music dj, but everything came together when I met Paul (Coleman) and he and I started music projects together. He encouraged me to produce my own electronic music, explore synthesizers, and bring all that together with my singing.
4- At what age did you start playing/singing?
I began to take singing seriously in high school. I was in all the choruses and took private voice lessons. I had a lead role in the musical “Anything Goes.”
5- If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to yourself after finishing school?
I would absolutely have studied music production either instead of or along with art. I’m a bitter art school grad, I feel like it was an entirely useless degree acquired via years of mostly arbitrary educational content. I do work as a fine artist but I feel like the schooling didn’t get me here. I recognize what a technical art and craft music production is and wish I had spent my time and money learning about that instead. I’m humbled by the nuance and technique that is required.
6- What are some of your favorite songs at the moment?
Newer songs: Feed by Spike Hellis, Blind by Komrads, Hidden Things by Bootblacks, The Darkness - Cindy Cane, In Your Bedroom - Lacey Spacecake (who we’re playing with in Brooklyn next month,) Heavenly Outlines - VH x RR. I keep an ongoing Spotify playlist called “Architrave Visionboard” of songs we love that inform our sound.
Check it out at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4eNfEedrCmq5z0Au3877xQ
7- Do you listen to your own music?
I spent decades in complete frustration about my desire to make the music that I hear in my head. Songs often come to me fully formed in my mind and now that I have the means to make them exist almost exactly as I hear them and want them to be, hell yes I will listen to them again and again. It’s heaven.
8- Which musician would you like to collaborate with next?
I really enjoyed making a remix for VH x RR this year (“The Fray”) and am generally excited about remixing other artists’ work … Also always happy to provide guest vocals, as I’ve done for a few people in recent years such as on the Cat Temper album "More Than a Feline." It would be amazing to get to do a track singing with Rob Rowe! An artist I’ve listened to a lot this year is Czarina and she certainly doesn’t need my voice, but I’d love to remix for her.
9- What is one of your favorite memories so far in your music career?
Our favorite live music series by our fantastic local promoter crew Super Dark Collective had us play at their “post-pandemic” (such as it is) re-launch show and it was just the most joyful, cathartic night.
10- What advice would you give to someone that is just starting to get into music?
I would credit Paul with being the best possible example in this regard — he has a very broad, free attitude about music and art — anything is fair game and available to anyone. No gatekeeping allowed — just pick something up and try things and let “mistakes” take you in new directions. Partnering creatively with someone who has this mindset has transformed my way of working and living life.
Architrave just released a new album today (11-12-2021) called "Future Ruins." Check out their profile page by clicking below.
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