“Happy Child” (released in the nostalgic MC format, besides the digital downloadable one, and marked by Noumenal Loum) was one of the funniest and most playful releases that recently reached my headphones. Its bizarre and seemingly child play-like aesthetics, whose naivety doesn’t automatically imply a lack of (also technical) complexity, made me surmise it came from some Japanese sound artist. I was a bit surprised when I found out that Carmen Jaci, its author, comes from the francophone part of Canada (even if she currently resides in the Netherlands). Let’s get deeper into it by the words of its author and by our ears!
Chain D.L.K.: Hey Carmen! How are you doing?
Carmen Jaci: I’m doing well, thanks! I’m currently visiting family in my hometown of Trois-Rivières in Quebec, Canada, and the Spring weather is a delight.
Chain D.L.K.: Before focusing on your recent album “Happy Child” and your music in general, can you introduce yourself in your own words?
Carmen Jaci: I’m a female music producer making some playful nerdy electronica.
Chain D.L.K.: How did you get closer to electronic music? Is there any specific listening that hit you to the point to persuade you to get deeper into it?
Carmen Jaci: It’s going to sound cliché at this point, but back when I was a pre-teen, my older siblings introduced me to the music of Moby, Björk, and Radiohead; that is when I discovered electronic music and felt deeply connected to it.
Chain D.L.K.: I saw you offer lessons on music production in your studio in Leiden. One very brief lesson to our readers that could help them better appreciate a song of your choice in your album?
Carmen Jaci: I don’t think there is a wrong way to receive or appreciate my music. Although, it probably doesn’t work very well as a background ambiance for another activity – I would describe it as listening to music, meaning you have to somewhat focus on it while it’s playing. But I could be wrong in some scenarios!
Chain D.L.K.: One of the aspects that I found more interesting is the apparent naivety of your music. It relates to a childish world, but it’s other than something simple, as electronic music lovers will notice there’s impressive technical work behind it. Would you say it was made on purpose, or is there something in your way of making music that relates to the cognitive and relational approach of a child?
Carmen Jaci: It may sound contradictory with the level of technical work behind the composition, production, and mixing of my record, but this playful childlike world is truly what spontaneously comes to me whenever I start creating music. It is not the result of a pre-existing conceptual endeavor, and I can’t really provide a succinct explanation for why this happens to be my artistic output. I guess it has to do with who I am as a person, my genes, as well as the numerous experiences that have shaped my personality.
Chain D.L.K.: There are many moments when your music resembled to me the one by many Japanese musicians, firstly Y.M.O’s Haruomi Hasano and the entire Shibuya-kei aesthetics as well as many artists that the legendary Harry promoted and supported by his Daisyworld Discs label. Any connection to that world? Would you say that your music deeply differs from that aesthetics?
Carmen Jaci: I’m very inspired by Japanese music in general, and I do like the aesthetics of the references you mention. I think my music is similar in that it is playful and has a colorful sound palette; I would say it differs in that it is less melody-centric and more focused on sound design itself as a means to create formal interest, as well as on varying abstract configurations of these sounds in time.
Chain D.L.K.: You mentioned Igor Stravinsky, Foodman, and Grimes as possible influences! Well, interesting combo!
Carmen Jaci: Yes, my musical identity carries many contrasting music influences, of which I take certain aspects and graft them together in my own music. All three of these artists possess a certain level of humor or technical detachment in their work that I connect with. I’m also inspired by Stravinsky’s formal development in his pieces, Foodman’s electronic sound design, and Grimes’ feminine vocals and vibe.
Chain D.L.K.: So let’s focus more deeply on your awesome “Happy Child”. How much time did you need to forge and select the tracks that got included in it?
Carmen Jaci: I used to compose solely for classical ensembles until I started learning electronic music production in 2016 as well as mixing and mastering in the years that followed. The first track “Bubble Bath (intro)” dates back from the very beginning of this transition. During these years, besides composing the record’s tracks and getting them ready to be released, I spent a lot of my time developing and perfecting all sorts of technical skills. Fortunately, with the experience I have now accumulated, I believe I can release new music a lot faster.
Chain D.L.K.: I’m really curious to know if those vocals on the opening “Bubble Bath” are sampled or modified vocals of yours.
Carmen Jaci: Yes, they are sampled vocals of mine. I did not process these a whole lot in the production process, but I have altered my natural voice sound myself at the recording stage to give it higher formant frequencies (which makes it more childlike). You can hear those kinds of samples throughout the album.
Chain D.L.K.: What was the role of improvisation as a compositional approach in the making of “Happy Child”?
Carmen Jaci: Improvisation has never really been part of my compositional approach so far, but I have recently integrated it in live performances of my work, and it has inspired me to give it a place in my creative process in the future.
Chain D.L.K.: I’m quite sure the voice of “I See” is yours, but not 100%! Besides confirming that, any commentary on that amazing track, and how did you manage to create those likewise amazing effects (one of the first time I have the feeling a clap sound broke like a glass crashed by a ball slipping over a mellow melody!)?
Carmen Jaci: Yes, the vocals are mine! I created these custom percussive sounds by layering different curated samples of both melodic and percussive instruments together, before unmasking each other’s frequencies to clean up their spectral content and bring them forward in the mix. I personally have a love/hate relationship with “I See” – as you can probably guess from listening to my album “Happy Child”, I am not very comfortable with repetition in general and this track is one of the most repetitive I’ve released. I also know that I need to let go of this fear of repetition once in a while, so the listener can get carried away in their own dreamy thoughts.
Chain D.L.K.: After listening to your album, I tried to imagine your personality. I hope you don’t mind if I painted you in my head as a perfectionist who tends to get angry whenever his toy doesn’t do what she wants (and not to remove the pout until he gets the desired result!)… am I far from reality? If so, is any track of “Happy Child” that set you in this mood and made you unhappy for a while?
Carmen Jaci: I don’t usually get frustrated at the computer but have already gotten frustrated about my own abilities to achieve a certain standard, whether in a technical or artistic realm. I definitely am a perfectionist and that causes me both suffering and joy in my life – I’m hard on myself during all stages of my work, but I also get an intense satisfaction when I get to the desired result. In the end, I would not trade my critical ears and creative mind; I have learned to live with them in a functional way and harness their benefits.
Chain D.L.K.: Listening to “Danse lunaire” made me also argue you could like to play with bubble foil (and transpose such a game on synths!)… am I wrong?
Carmen Jaci: Without it being specifically inspired by playing with bubble foil, composing “Danse lunaire” came out of another act of playing: a game of swapping and mutating rhythmic patterns in Ableton Live’s sequencer. Although there was almost a mathematical quality to the variations of patterns, I have fun memories of the process!
Chain D.L.K.: ‘oh ah eh ih ah oh’… you missed ‘uh’! Why? Jokes aside, I really enjoyed that track… any word on it?
Carmen Jaci: Thanks! I usually compose in a way that could be called “linear sequencing” where we hear one event at a time – it is considered a “vertical” way of envisioning the music’s arrangement. “oh ah eh ih ah oh” is the one track where I tried to use a “horizontal” kind of arrangement, where continuous layers of sound are superimposed and where it is the addition and subtraction of these layers that create the formal interest throughout the track. It gives it a more familiar structure and is a favorite among several listeners.
Chain D.L.K.: Some reviewers referred to video games while speaking of your music. Would you say video games is a primary source of inspiration of your music, or maybe they could be a primary source of reviews for reviewers?
Carmen Jaci: It is definitely an unconscious reference, as I have played countless hours of Mario Bros World and Donkey Kong Country as a child and a teenager. Although I have since stopped playing video games, that world and those sounds have shaped my imagination in a way that is translated into the music that I make today. It has not happened in a very deliberate or intentional way, but I can see how reviewers would draw a parallel.
Chain D.L.K.: Any work in progress or projects that you want to share with us?
Carmen Jaci: I’m currently working on an audiovisual performance in collaboration with my long-term collaborator 3D artist Matthew Schoen, to be presented at Mutek in Montreal this summer. Our performance seeks to illustrate and reimagine our daily interaction with technology, as well as the emotional impact it has on us. It incorporates live electronic music and audio-reactive visual triggers. Using a large projection screen and an immersive sound system, we orchestrate a non-narrative sensory experience using a variety of MIDI instruments, controllers, and laptops. Together, they weave an account of our relationship to the various digital systems that dominate our everyday lives. Data collected from my own day-to-day life is incorporated and used as a visual element within a series of stylized, playful, and imaginary reinterpretations of mobile application interfaces. We will share some excerpts and teasers closer to the performance date – you may follow us on social media to stay updated!
Visit Carmen Jaci on the web:
https://www.carmenjacimusic.com/
https://noumenalloom.bandcamp.com/album/happy-child