On occasion, I stray out of the Americana / folk realm when I find an artist that breaks genre boundaries. I was recently sent some new music by an artist who calls himself Alge (like the plant-like organism), and I enjoyed his genre-bending sound and emotional lyrics. What also interested me was that I read he was influenced by folk music as well as hip hop. I thought I would sit down with this creative artist and find out more about his songwriting process, his influences, and his move from NYC to LA. And if you’re in the LA area on November 14th, Alge will be performing some of his new tunes at Mid City Music Lounge where you can pick up a copy of Alge’s debut EP, Diamond Inseams, which is set to release 11/20/15.
Americana Lady: Congratulations on your upcoming debut EP! Being your first release as a solo project, what were the biggest challenges creating this new body of work? Did you carry anything over from your experiences with your previous band, Sioux Lion?
A: Thank you, I am excited to share it with people. You are always going to face challenges when you’re trying to put together an artistic project that is meant to function as a sort of personal identity statement. Especially on a debut EP, so much thought goes in to how things will be received and how you are presenting yourself and your song writing. An essential part of my process is putting myself in a place mentally where I can tune out the noise and the value judgements and just concentrate on doing something that gets me excited, makes me happy and hits all my spots. My music is something instinctual to me and when you start analyzing your work in the context of something external, you run the risk of diluting or completely ignoring that instinct, that little voice that tells you, “yes, this is it.” Learning to allow yourself to fully trust that voice is a definite challenge, but a rewarding journey.
I’ve been lucky to have the experience of playing with Sioux Lion and I definitely learned a lot and carried a lot over. A big part of Sioux Lion was the live experience, and playing awesome shows all over New York at Brooklyn Bowl, Glasslands, Webster Hall and Governor’s Island was great training in developing my live show with Alge. The most important thing I took from that project though was the pure joy of sharing in the creation of something beautiful with some amazing people. I have so much love for those kids, and they all taught me a lot and enhanced my art immeasurably, so my biggest takeaway is really just a sense of gratitude for that.
AL: I read that your influences are from hip hop and folk music. What elements of both do you incorporate in your music? Which particular acts influenced you the most?
A: While I have pulled a lot from each of those musical worlds in developing my sound, hip hop and folk music in many ways manifest themselves in my art more as a sort of ethos than as a laundry list of sonic signifiers. Both genres are unique in that they place a higher emphasis on lyricism than other popular music forms. They are genre’s informed by social movements, employing honest and direct speech as well as artful metaphors and lyrical flourishes.
A lot of the first songs I wrote as a kid were rootsy, folk-inflected acoustic guitar songs. The round, resolved nature of the chordal and melodic structures that characterize this type of americana definitely still loom large in my writing today. I love guys like Dylan and Springsteen (and their heroes Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger). This music doesn’t just hold a mirror up to our personal experiences, it shines a light on the collective human experience as well.
Hip Hop was the first genre of music that I fell in love with that really employed the amazing, transcendent, hypnotic power of repetition that characterizes all sample based music. Hearing A Tribe Called Quest for the first time stands out to me as a formative moment. I’ve always loved Biggie, the rhythmic sophistication of his flow in absurd, its a total masterclass in rhythmic construction and pocket. And Dilla’s beats have always been and will continue to remain some of the most nourishing soul food for me.
AL: How has your move from NY to LA effected your music writing?
A: The move from NY to LA has definitely been felt in my work, but more so on the side of my production than my writing. It hasn’t even really been a conscious decision, but more a result of the fact that I am very sensitive to my surroundings when it comes to my music. The sunlight is different here, the way things look and feel at noon and at dawn and dusk is different. The people are different too. The collective consciousness buzzes along at a different frequency in LA than it does in Brooklyn or Manhattan. I think my productions are sparkling a little bit more lately. “Waiting On You” is the first track I released that was fully written and produced in LA and I think you can hear the difference between something like that and something like “The Spirit of St. Louis” or “Truth or Diamonds” which were both conceived in a desolate corner of Brooklyn during February of one of the most fucked up Winters I’ve ever experienced.
AL: What can we expect from your live show?
A: The live show is something I am really looking forward to because performing is my favorite thing to do in the entire world. The live set is just me and a drummer. You are going to see me live sampling and remixing my tracks in the moment, getting super hype and dancing a lot, and playing a bunch of guitar and keys. I’ll also probably strip it down for a song or two and get intimate, so there is a wide range of stuff coming, but it is a very high energy show overall. I am making my live debut on Saturday, November 14th at the Mid City Music Lounge, and if you come out you will be able to grab either the standard or limited edition physical copies of my debut EP a week before it officially drops.
I’m trying to go to church and I’m bringing anyone who wants to go with me, so I’d say, expect to come have a cathartic, communal experience. Throw your eyes skyward and let’s ride.
AL: Lastly, why the name “Alge”?
A: The name Alge is short for Algernon. One of the first truly powerful, transformative experiences that I had on stage was as a kid acting in a tragic play (adapted from a tragic novella of the same name) called “Flowers For Algernon.” In the play, Charlie, a mentally handicapped man who undergoes an experimental medical procedure that turns him into a genius, is constantly haunted by memories of his childhood. I played the role of “Young Charlie,” acting out the painful memories in front of the audience as Charlie, sitting on his therapist’s coach, tries to recount them. The scenes were intense to perform and more than once I threw myself into the role so deeply that I became physically ill immediately upon exiting stage. I was portraying an abused child, and further, a child with no ability to express himself, his fear, or his suffering. “Young Charlie” never speaks, but he is the center of gravity in all the flashback scenes, and his ability to wordlessly communicate the extent of the confusion and pain borne of his isolation was in many ways the emotional lynchpin of the entire play. I remember looking out into the audience during an intense moment in one of the performances, and for the first time I felt what it was like to truly move a room full of people who have come together in joy and willfully suspended disbelief, a room full of people who have decided to take a journey together. I was driving that car for the first time in my life, and I was internalizing every bit of humanity in that audience, channeling it through myself, and sending it back out in this new and highly magnified form. I knew at that moment that that was the only thing I ever wanted to do for the rest of my life. The name Alge is a testament to that.
For more information: http://www.algeproductions.com/
Here’s a sample of Alge’s music – “My Daughter’s Living Room”
