Interview with Marcie

Hello Marcie, you are a known name on Trance Hub now. We welcome you whole heartedly for this interview.
Thank you so much! It's really exciting to have met you guys and to have a direct link to India's growing trance scene.

How has the year 2007 been for you?
This year has been full of momentum! I've had releases across all genres, and I've been meeting people who enjoy, (and don't enjoy), all different kinds of music. The variety has kept my writing fresh, and my mind open, and I feel like there's so much possibility for the future. I've gotten to write about a wide variety of topics, and also use a range of vocal styles to convey ideas. I have felt like I've taken some big risks this year, and put myself out there. My writing has been very personal at times, and it means a lot to me that people have been open to hearing me. Overall, I'm happy with my progress this year, but that doesn't mean it has been an easy year for me as an Artist. Even though a lot of my tunes have had solid success this year, I'm always driven to grow and create new pieces, and that process of growth can be difficult, and uncomfortable. Releases are often significantly delayed from the time of production, and so there's always a bit of a discrepancy between what is out for the public, and how I am feeling in the moment about my Art. Sometimes one song might be doing well out in the public eye, but I'm sitting in the studio banging my head against a wall fighting with the next tune. So, 2007 has been exciting in a lot of ways, and also hard, because there have been some times when I've been down on myself and scared of how things are or might end up.
I'm very grateful for some of the Artist and label contacts I've made this year who have helped me gain confidence as an Artist, and explored new ideas with me. They have also simply been good friends to me when I've needed friendship and inspiration more than anything. I have a nice network of people to bounce ideas off of, whose work I admire, and who I trust to give me honest feedback, and that is so rare and special!

Your radio show 'Behind The Lyric' is doing great? How did the idea of starting a lyric based radio show originate and how far do you want to take it?
I had the idea knocked into me by a large slab of pavement! I was walking home from work, and I was humming a new lyric idea to myself. I did not have a way to record it while I walked, so I was trying to keep it in my head until I could get home and lay it down. I was totally spacey, and I tripped and fell on the curb and banged my head. It really hurt! When I dragged myself home, I still remembered the lyric. I thought it was kind of funny that the lyric survived. The following morning, at 6 am, I woke up suddenly with the idea for the radio show. I jumped up out of bed, and put the idea in motion because I realized how overdue it was. I had always been curious about the stories behind my favorite tunes, and I had been frustrated with what I saw as a lack of recognition for lyricists and the art of lyric writing in EDM. I think I had to literally hit my head to knock myself into realizing I could do something to bring lyrics out to the public in a new forum. I had never considered hosting a radio show, but suddenly it was exactly what I wanted to do. I don't recommend people go around hitting themselves on the head, but I think there is something to be said for shaking ourselves up a bit in order to find ways outside of whatever mental box we might be in.
I'm so excited about how the show is doing. The artist participation has been phenomenal, with each bringing unique insight into the lyric writing process. I'm happy that the artists have been willing to reveal so much about themselves both in their music and in their spoken segments. I do think music speaks for itself, but I also think this is a nice additional feature for listeners and artists. It is a new way to combine music and life, and to connect artists with fans. I plan to continue to make new episodes and I hope people will keep tuning in!! I'm introducing some new features like 'DJ Spotlight', and the 'Lyric Lover Segment', where DJ's talk about what lyrics they like for their sets, and fans talk about their favorite lyrics. The show focuses on lyrics, but is meant to unify lots of facets of the scene.

Your singing is for assorted genres like rock, pop and electronic. Which genre do you intend to concentrate in the future?
All of them! I can't pin myself down to any one genre. Sometimes I'm in a Trance mood, and sometimes I wanna rock out, and often I want to fuse things together. Structure is good to a point, but I hate being trapped.

Do you tour with DJs? Which places have you been to date and what kind of response did you get?
I've done some live performances of electronica with DJs in various cities in the U.S. It has been a lot of fun. Often the set up for these performances puts me on the floor with the club-goers. I sing into a wireless mic, and dance around with everyone. It feels like I'm part of the party, and I feed off the crowd energy. People are always excited and happy, which makes me grateful. I feel like they are listening and feeling.

There is a poem and then you make it a song, trailed by memories and ready to form new ones... what components do you put in to write the lyrics?
It's different for every song, but you are right that it often starts with a feeling that is abstracted a bit in order to be conveyed poetically. Sometimes the poetry makes the feeling more clear, and the melody that goes along with it elevates the feeling to a whole new level to cleanse my soul. Lyric writing can be therapeutic, when it deals with a personal emotion, and it can be fun when I'm being a bit silly or tongue in cheek. I love word play, I like to say more than one thing at once, I like to write about nature and how it reflects the human experience. I like to write about things I don't understand, my longings, my discoveries, passion, and everything and anything.

Lyrics are associated with emotional deepness, any lyric you can't seem to forget?
Some of my most recent emotional lyrics have not yet been released. I have a new tune with Eddie Sender that features lyrics that mean more to me than anything I've yet written, and I look forward to its Spring release. As for tunes that have been released, the lyrics that stick with me are:
"Would I know you in the daylight?" from "Yamin feat. Marcie - Know You"
This lyric signifies changing perceptions and desires, impulsivity, and self awareness.
"I could use a smiling face" from "Yamin feat. Marcie - So Tired"
This lyric comes to me when I'm feeling sad, but it also reminds me that other people around me might benefit from a smiling face in their life, and inspires me to look out for people and be kind. You never know how you might be impacting those around you, so you must be careful.

You have been asking all the singers and songwriters the stories behind their lyrical aspirations, today we ask you the story behind 'Neon Stereo vs. Marcie - F*ck Me Baby'!
Haha! Very sneaky! That song was inspired by sex and fantasy. I wanted to write a lyric that was uncensored and true to the heat of the moment. It's a bit cheeky and fun, and I'm playing a role to a certain extent. It is meant to be hot, in your face, and cathartic. Sometimes I just want to say what I want, and if I can do so in a fun lyrical way, then that's even better. I don't think those lyrics would be as hot as they are without Neon Stereo's production work. He really made my voice come through and helped structure the tune to give it the feeling of foreplay building toward a climax! His beats are as sexy as the lyrics, and the combination of elements works magic.

We are curious to know whether you are teaming up with any Trance producer in 2008. Everybody must be waiting for another big hit from Marcie!
There are a lot of great collaborations in the works! I mentioned the tune with Eddie Sender coming out on Insatiable this spring. I poured my heart out in that tune, and Eddie's production makes me cry, it's so beautiful.
I have 3 new releases coming with my long standing partner, Ben Bording. We are continuing to explore new sounds, and I'm happy to report this collaboration is still going strong.
Other projects of note: I just last week completed a tune with Mr. Pit. Robert Vadney has remixed my upcoming release on Emalodic with System K. I have a series of songs coming out with rising producer, D:FOLT. I'm very excited about these tunes because they are all lush, melodic beauties. I have a lovely tune on Santerna's upcoming Artist album. There's a tune with Haris C coming out on Deepblue next month that is inspired by his love for his new baby girl! There's quite a bit happenning! I am very excited!!

You are a singer/songwriter and a dancer. How does your dancing part become viable when you are concentrating on singing?
Dance is a way that I feel what I am hearing. I have a vocabulary of movement that interprets a song, and a rhythm. If I can feel something in my body, and if I'm inspired to move by it, then I will sing it better. Dancing is just another language I use to communicate musically. Dancing is also incredibly fun, and a great way to loosen up on stage, or when I'm working on tunes. When I free up my body, my mind is freed up as well.

So the lyrics conjure up unintentionally in ones mind, out of bed, from the nature or innate happiness? How unintentional it should be to be perfect?
That is probably different for every person and every song. Sometimes lyrics seem to come out of nowhere, and sometimes I really do have to work at them. Either way, they are coming from me, and so it's impossible for me to know which method is better. I think anything I do inspires anything that happens! I write well when I'm happy. I write well when I'm miserable. I don't write well when I'm happy. I don't write well when I'm miserable. :) Art is fickle. My method is to write every day, even if I don't feel like it, because I feel that writing is a practice, and I never know what I might come up with if I just sit down for a few minutes a day and put a pen to paper. That works best for me, but I'm sure some people feel that forcing themselves to write every day would be a form of inhibition.

What is the best compliment you ever got?
Anytime someone tells me my music affected them, or made them feel something, I am happy. It is also nice to hear that people enjoy a live performance, and can tell I am loving what I do.

Can you name some of your favourite singers and songwriters?
There are so many!! I love all the Singers and Writers that have been on Behind The Lyric thus far. I'm also a fan of many other EDM artists like Jes Brieden, Nadia Ali, Kirsty Hawkshaw, and Jennifer Rene. They each have their own style, and are extraordinarily talented. Outside of EDM, I am a huge fan of Ani Difranco, Ben Folds, John Mayer, Neil Diamond, The Beatles, Kurt Cobain......too many to name!

We talk about morphed and cut out vocals in Trance tracks which really surface emotions in the listener, how strong of a musical aspect do you see voice morphing in Trance tracks?
Voice morphing is a bridge between human and non-human in Trance tracks. It takes a human sound and helps it achieve something a human could not do, and I think that's why it brings out new emotions. It taps into something primal in the gut of the listener, that can only be achieved through computer manipulation. I guess maybe it represents the interesting relationship people have with computers nowadays.
Voice morphing also plays with language, and reduces it down to universal non specific sounds that mean what the listener wants them to mean. I imagine people who speak different languages would interpret the vocal choppings differently because the sounds might represent different word origins to them. I think it's fascinating!
The only time it makes me sad to hear vocal chopping is if I feel the full lyric would have been more effective.

Do you agree with the fact that lyrics are misinterpreted by the listeners? What barriers do you face while penning down lyrics?
Sometimes lyrics are misinterpreted, but interpretation is subjective. It is meant to be subjective. I write with a certain intention, but I cannot blame a listener for not agreeing with my interpretation of my own lyric. Once a lyric is out there, I am no longer in charge of it. It is nice when a listener hears what I intended, but sometimes I learn new things about myself and the world by hearing what a listener understands my lyric to be about.
The barriers I face are usually ones of censorship. Sometimes labels and radio do not want to hear anything too depressing or too vulgar. When that happens, and if I feel it is worth it, I will find creative ways to say what I want to say. Sometimes this makes for a better song because it pushes me to find a new language. That's where double meanings come into play. There is also the impossible to pin down definition of what is 'cheesy'. Everyone has a different idea of what is cheesy, and that can hold up production. I think delivery of a lyric is as important as the lyric itself, and it can be really tricky to find the most powerful delivery style. I never want to sing a tune in a way that dulls the lyric or diminishes the message.

Finally you sing what you write, a very strong experience, ready to move a thousand souls and melt countless hearts. How do you make sure you put your 100 percent into your singing?
I try to sing with intention. I try to tell a story as honestly as I can. I sing every day, and never take my voice for granted. I also listen to music as much as I can, as that inspires me to put my heart into my own performance.

What message would you leave for your worldwide listeners?
Thank you for the continued support. I'm so fortunate to be meeting all of you and I hope you will take time to write me your thoughts about the interview and music in general. The music industry is not always the gentlest place, but we have to remember that music itself is a unifying force, and we need as many unifiers as we can get in today's world. I hope to tour India sometime, and it's really great to be connecting with fans there via Trancehub.

Thanks once again for teaming up with Trance Hub. We hope to find your voice dwelling forever in Trance! Have a great new year Marcie!

For more info related to Marcie check out the following links:
www.webmarcie.com
www.myspace.com/webmarcie
www.twitter.com/MarcieJoy
www.facebook.com/marciejoy

Written by: Apoorv
Compiled by: Priyank

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