Voice of a saint
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St Vincent. Photo: Annabel Mehran.
Annie Erin Clark, better known as St Vincent, is in Wellington this week to promote her latest album, Actor, which saw the multi-instrumentalist and member of the Polyphonic Spree open for bands such as Grizzly Bear, The National and Arcade fire.
“The album was inspired by Disney,” she says. “At the time of writing I’d just moved to New York and I couldn’t make much noise in my apartment. For inspiration I sat down with a whole lot of my favourite movies, such as Snow White, The Wizard of Oz and Sleeping Beauty and re-scored the most interesting scenes. I put them on mute and imagined how I would make the visuals sound.”
The result is mystical echoes and melodic pop overrun with distorted guitar, enigmatic poetry and at times, terrifying lyrics. You can also hear her haunting voice on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack (Roslyn, with Bon Ivor).
Clark says her moniker, St Vincent, is an honour to family.
“It was the middle name of my grandmother. In a way, it’s a dedication to all the women in my family.”
Wikipedia says the name was dedicated to the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who spent his last hours in a hospital called Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centre.
Clark is then quoted saying: “It’s the place where poetry comes to die. That’s me.”
When asked about this, Clark laughs. “Ah, I was joking when I said that. My music is not a place where music comes to die!”
Combining her love of film and music, Clark has also teamed up with directors to produce music videos.
“A directing duo called Terri Timely came up with the idea for Jesus Saves” she says. “They had this idea that I’d be a scout teacher, showing kids how to do magic tricks, spells and telling them stories… stories you probably wouldn’t want your children to hear.”
For another, titled Actor, Clark is a casting agent for a crying role.
“The result is amazing, but the process was very draining.” She spent 12 hours sitting in front of a group of people, who literally just had to weep.
“It’s difficult and emotional to watch people cry, because the thing about crying is that there’s no way to fake it. You have to actually cry. It’s a very devastating and visceral process.”
After her show at the New Zealand International Arts Festival Clark will start work on her third album, however she says with a sigh of relief, “I’ll be taking some time out in New Zealand. I’ve heard it’s the most beautiful place.”
Lucy Von Sturmer
St Vincent, Pacific Blue Festival Club, 7.30pm, March 18.
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