An Interview with MICHELLE
MICHELLE - Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard by Sophia Wilson
Six-piece New York-based collective, MICHELLE - whose friendships have miraculously upgraded from group-texts to world tours - are ready for a summer like no other. Having recently supported Mitski on her tour earlier this year, and revelling in the middle of their sophomore album era, the band is anticipating feelings of friendship, excitement, and more ahead of their headlining The Lavender Tour starting August 28 in Los Angeles.
Stream ADWTD: The Side Dishes
When Sofia D'Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard fuse their six separate life experiences, individual identities, and unique perspectives together, you get the sound of MICHELLE - a perfect cross between alt R&B and bluesy pop with both the sting and vibrancy of the reality of being young artists in 2022. Releasing their two-track single, AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS: THE SIDE DISHES, as a follow-up to their second full-length album released in February, MICHELLE continue to create an almost experimental yet still relatable atmosphere with their music.
Featuring the tracks “FOOL 4 U” and “SEA SHANTY,” the band’s latest release is a continued invitation to listeners to join MICHELLE on their journey inward, through the world, and with each other. Just like the album title, each song invites its audience into the minds of MICHELLE as an entity while simultaneously feeling so connected to their song stories that it’s as if you were having meals with them at the dinner table.
From self-discovery to dreaming to relationships, MICHELLE isn’t the type of band to never address both the real and the imaginary in their songwriting. While “FOOL 4 U” echoes the inescapability of a relationship and offers an inside look into the bittersweetness of dying love, “SEA SHANTY” is a song that reflects a dream-like state of mind more than any singular experience. “Maybe a daydream, or a nightmare,” the band explains of the track. “The song soundtracks the calm before the storm – the moment before a journey, the moment after a sobering realization.”
More than what most artists do when it comes to building a community with their audience, MICHELLE prioritizes connection, safe spaces, and creating meaningful environments for others who love art. Today until July 31, you can find MICHELLE taking over Chinatown Soup in New York City at their “ADWTD: the Gallery Experience.” The exhibit features hand-made artwork and merchandise designed by the band, and allows MICHELLE one last celebration in NYC before heading off to tour this fall.
In an exclusive interview with Amplify Her Voice, MICHELLE opened up about their two newest singles, how their friendships affect their creativity as a band, and what fans can expect when seeing them live on their upcoming tour.
Hey MICHELLE! How do you feel “FOOL 4 U” and “SEA SHANTY” add to the narrative and overall theme you’ve created on your latest album AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS?
Emma Lee: Both of these songs are pretty frozen in time to the making of the album - their instrumentals and vocals are taken right from the demo. I think they offer a sensitivity and slight seriousness that adds to the rest of the body of work in a neat way. It’s a reminder to us of where we were in the making and hopefully gives listeners something very clear and real to connect to.
“FOOL 4 U” is a track that gets honest about the difficulty of leaving someone you’re attached to even if you want to. Can you talk about the inspiration to write this song?
Sofia D'Angelo: I had gone through a breakup I hadn’t yet processed, and wanted to explore in the writing room. Sometimes when you go through something, you get so deep in it that it can be hard to have perspective, hard to write lyrics that make your experience feel shared. That’s the beauty of collaborating, as Emma and Julian were able to better articulate a lot of my feelings more clearly than I felt I could.
“SEA SHANTY” has a bit of a more open-ended interpretation of a song. You describe it as “the calm before the storm, a sober realization.” What is the inspiration behind that?
Layla Ku: “SEA SHANTY” was born of a more whimsical session. I feel like a Layla + Emma + Julian collaboration typically makes for more illustrative writing. It’s great to be able to produce something like “SEA SHANTY” together - songs that paint fanciful, curious portraits that don’t necessarily cater to a very “real world” narrative. “SEA SHANTY” is an ominous, nautical dreamscape to me. It speaks to a feeling rather than one particular point or experience.
MICHELLE by Aysia Marotta
What is something new about yourselves that you’ve discovered during the making of your album?
Julian Kaufman: I definitely discovered that the hardest part about making an album was choosing the right songs to be on the album. That choice ended up being harder than any production or writing session. Tracklisting is about reputation and futureproofing, and I’m not sure I realized that.
Charlie Kilgore: Discovering that an album is kind of a time capsule of yourself, your musical preferences, your taste, what you’re reaching for, and what you’re trying to distance yourself from at exactly the time that you deem it done.
Sofia D'Angelo: I discovered how much recording vocals is like being an athlete in a solo sport. I love trying to out-best myself in every take.
We’re so excited that you’re playing at This Ain’t No Picnic! What is your favorite part about playing music festivals?
Emma Lee: It feels a lot more like you have one chance to “prove” yourself or give a crowd who may not know you all you have. I like that it feels lighter/more liberating but also way more intense and saturated because the environment is very go go go.
Charlie Kilgore: Festivals are so much fun because you get to play a short little set to an audience who are already warmed up and ready to have a good time, there’s no part of your set that needs to be dedicated to winning people over!
What has been your favorite memory about your most recent trip to Europe?
Jamee Lockard: Our last day of tour was very special. We played our final show in Amsterdam the night before, and we spent the whole day gallivanting around Amsterdam as a band! We ate great food and journeyed around multiple parks in the city. It was nice having so much free time and freedom since touring usually involves a pretty demanding schedule.
Sofia D'Angelo: The Paris show. I was so emotional, overtired after four shows in a row, and felt so out of place since it was the first show in a non-English speaking country. Seeing everyone dance and sing along really cracked something open within me; it was beautiful.
As a predominantly queer, POC, women-fronted group, have you ever come across any instances of discrimination in the music industry? If so, how do you lean on each other for support to keep pushing through and keep creating art, if at all?
Emma Lee: There is always shit going on. Scary wild world and the industry absorbs that. I think all of us are grateful that we don’t have to face it alone. If something happens to one of us, we have five other people to work that out with. Five other people who we know have our backs and who we trust. An audience interacts with us largely as this MICHELLE entity, but we are six different people making sense of it all. It can be a lot and if you need a break or some guidance you can turn to another member and know that at least within this group you will be heard.
Has there been anything special, new, or memorable that you’ve learned from touring with Mitski that you’ll be taking with you on The Lavender Tour?
Jamee Lockard: I loved watching Mitski’s set, and I especially loved how she interacted with her audience. She clearly cared a lot about her fans and wanted to make sure that she was creating a safe concert environment. I hope that MICHELLE can connect with our audience similarly on our upcoming tour. Our goal is to make our shows inclusive and safe for everyone!
What can fans expect when they come to see you on your upcoming headline tour?
Julian Kaufman: Hopefully a lot of fun! We try as hard as we can to make sure our shows are fun and danceable. Maybe even some lavender scents and lights too!
Sofia D'Angelo: We want our shows to be like the best party ever that everyone’s invited to.
AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS features songs about love and relationships, but it also highlights your platonic love for each other. How much does your friendship with each other inform how you operate as a band?
Emma Lee: A whole lot. We’ve come to understand one another a lot better in the last four years and that means we know what kinds of songs we can and want to write with each member - we know how to split in half when we need to comfortably; we know who is going out, who is staying in on tour; we can read who is hungry, who is sleepy, who is caffeinated the moment we all get together. It means work can happen over lunch or dinner, all scattered across the couch and floor of one of our homes.
Sofia D'Angelo: I always tell people MICHELLE is family before we’re friends. We spend so much time together that we get to understand how we each need to be energetically, physically, to make sure the group functions at its best as a whole.
You’re throwing a dinner party. What dish are you serving, and what song are you adding to your dinner party playlist?
Jamee Lockard: Kimchi Bokkeumbap and “Smooth Operator” by Sade.
Emma Lee: Roasted veggies or an attempt at dessert, playing “Secondary Handstand” by Ernest Rareberrg.
Layla Ku: A whole roast chicken. “Jardim dos Deuses” by Joyce/Naná Vasconcelos/Mauricio Maestro.
Sofia D'Angelo: Rigatoni Bolognese, and I’d play “O Trem Azul” by Lô Borges. Honestly, the whole Clube Da Esquina album would be playing.