Last month Shireen M. released her mind-bending record, 'My Sweet Encodable'. We caught up with her to find out about musical inspirations, how the latest record came about, and goals for the future.
I must have been like 4 or 5 when I got my first CD. I think it was Britney Spears' debut album or something. I was also lucky enough to be in the same house with a piano and a family who helped me get lessons pretty early on. Eventually, I wanted to try out different things, like guitar, and making music on a computer, which I made repeated attempts at for a long time until I gave up and got a sampler. That was about 3 years ago. And what I've done recently kinda starts there.
Who are some of your musical heroes or inspirations? Anyone who’s had a direct influence?
Robert Wyatt, Takako Minekawa, John Maus, Cluster, D'Angelo, Theo Parrish, Tadd Mullinix (and all of his aliases), drexciya (and related projects), safety scissors, Woo.. These are just a few!
Do you have any non-musical inspirations that have informed your work?
I try not to let much of anything have a direct effect on what I make, and try to let it happen without interference. It's not like I don't take in inspirations all the time, I just don't know which ones are informing what I'm doing. If that makes sense.
How did your new album come together? Is there a story behind it?
I was going through it at the time I wrote a lot of those songs. They were all experiments after many failed experiments.
How did you choose the title for the album?
I came across a couple of academic art journals from the 60s, and I found that phrase on one of the pages. Seemed like a good way to frame everything.
I noticed in the liner notes of the album on Bandcamp you shouted out your brother. Has he been a helpful resource? How has he made an impact?
My brother has been helpful my whole life, especially when it comes to music. I grew up watching him make tracks on fruity loops and going to 90s/early 2000s Detroit raves (he went, not me sadly). He's always been really supportive, and he's also a wizard when it comes to mixing and recording. Which is why I asked for his help. And I'm ever grateful to him.
How would you describe your music?
I don't really know. People have told me my music is atmospheric, claustrophobic, has it's own world. etc. I think I'm going for a glitchy dream pop thing, but not so genre specific. I care a lot about the texture of the sounds and the overall feel of a track.
Detroit seems to have a bubbling avant-garde/experimental scene. What do you think the musical and artistic community around you?
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on any of the music scenes around here. I would mostly like to see more (free and open to the public) larger events and spaces striving to bring experimental artists together. Local artists alongside non-local, and prominent artists alongside those just starting out. Those gatherings seem sporadic at the moment. But it does feel to me like the abstract is appealing to more people, and has been for awhile now. And I think Detroit's scene has been a great vehicle for it.
What does DIY mean to you?
Make something happen using the resources around you. Learn things by doing them. Get your own thing going.
What are your goals in regards to music?
More shows, collabs, new projects, and probably a new EP soon.