Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Zanes.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
From a very young age I knew I wanted to be some sort of artist. Music has always been my first love, starting with the Beatles. At ages 12 to 13 I took guitar lessons on an acoustic. Going into high school I began to feel more drawn to the visual arts – film and photography, especially. I furthered my studies in visual and media arts at Emerson College, and post grad at the New England School of Photography. But I was always being pulled back into music – through records and concerts and the club and DIY scenes in both Boston and San Francisco (where I lived in the early 90’s). My musical tastes have covered it all from heavy rock and psych to punk, new wave, classical and folk. Through it all there’s also been writing (mostly in journals) and painting!
It was through a long-term relationship with an ex-boyfriend that I eventually started on my real path in music – writing, playing guitar and singing in a surf psych/ paisley underground band called The Freeways. Between 2010 to 2014 we self-released two full length albums of which I am very proud – “The Freeways (debut)” and “Dream Machine,” Both were recorded at the now famously defunct EMF Building in Cambridge, MA. It was during this time, through reviews of our music and the ramping up of social media that I began to identify as part of the larger international “psych” community.
Since 2014 I have pursued a solo career in music, mostly putting out self-recorded experimental psych folk – “Of Lovers and Tribes,” Reverb Worship (UK), 2016 and “Calico,” Infinity Vine Records/ Reverb Worship, 2017. I’m in process of recording my first full length solo album which should be out by early 2019.
I’d say that the best part of working in music has been collaborating with other creative types! In the last few years I have contributed guitar both live and on record to many interesting projects, including my current one, the experimental, electro-psych collective, Violet Nox. We put out an EP, “Nebula” on Reverb Worship (2017) and will be releasing a new EP on Sleep Fuse (UK) in the fall of 2018.
The visual arts education has not gone to waste, by the way, as I find many ways to compliment my music with images, both moving and still.
Please tell us about your art.
I like to write songs that create a space where others can insert their own experiences. Whereas a lot of my previous writing has come from veiled personal stories; in this past year I have experimented with other modes of writing – such as using title prompts or randomly throwing words together; letting the stories reveal themselves. It’s exciting to discover new ways of creating.
My voice and guitar are the main instruments I use to create an atmosphere in which to let the songs live. My voice has been described as kind of soft and floating, detached. It amplifies well with effects like delay and echo. I play both acoustic and electric guitars. I mostly play acoustic at home when I am practicing or writing. It also gets incorporated into most of my recordings. Live, I love to play electric, utilizing a delay and chorus or tremolo as well as looping and sometimes incorporating background drones. I use a Fender tube amp which helps to create a guitar sound that has often been described as “shimmering.”
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
The role of the artist is to be true to themselves. We can’t help but be affected by socioeconomic conditions surrounding us. We can either address them in our art overtly or covertly or choose to go to another reality altogether. There are no rules.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My music can be found at all the digital outlets (Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, etc.) as well as at my UK label, Reverb Worship (www.reverbworship.com)
Live, I will be playing out mostly around New England this fall. Come check out a show!
I am playing solo at the Mystra Records OozeNebulas psych folk mini-fest at The Flywheel in Easthampton, MA on Saturday, September 8th….and also at The Hearing Room in Lowell on Friday, October 12th.
I am playing with Violet Nox at Pink Noise Studios in Somerville, MA on October 19th, and at the Dorchester Arts Project on November 3rd.
Say hello to me on social media – Facebook and Instagram. I also have a YouTube channel.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://karenzanes.bandcamp.com/
- Email: karenzanes@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenzanes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karenzanesmusic/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/karenzanes
Image Credit:
Allysen Callery, Kelly Spyglass, Bob Colby
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