In the current pop landscape, there are few acts as excitingor as remarkably consistentasMagdalena Bay.
(Seriously: Three years later, I still cant get Hysterical Us out of my head.)
Their second album,Imaginal Diskreleased tomorrowmay change all that.
Photo: Lissyelle Laricchia
Were ready for all of it to be out.
Mica Tenenbaum:Very ready.
MT:That was definitely the goal.
Photo: Lissyelle Laricchia
ML:I think the singles served their purpose.
But thats not…
MT:Thats not the world we live in.
ML:Theres also something nice about the singles and the tease and building the anticipation.
Thats fun for us.
MT:It just makes us nervous also.
Given its something of a concept album, what came first: the songs or the concept?
MT:At first, the music.
ML:The songs always come first.
MT:But I was entertaining some concepts while we wrote the songs.
Because withMercurial World,it was very much a case of songs first, concept later.
ML:I would say its like a loose concept album.
Its not like aTommysituation where the songs outline the story.
I think there are themes throughout the album, but I feel thats the same withMercurial World.
Its conceptual but I wouldnt necessarily call it a concept album.
I dont know if you agree, Mica?
MT:I think I agree.
Where did theImaginal Disktitle come from, and what does it mean to you both, exactly?
MT:I think we first came across the title because I was just really…
Wait, how did we find thestuff about the insectsin the first place?
MT:The cover came first?
Im not convinced by that.
ML:I swear!
ML:And the idea of memories surviving that process.
It was like, Okay, what would that look like for humans?
It felt like a fun question.
Those themes of transition and evolution definitely recur throughout the record.
Was there anything specific going on in your lives while making it that drew you to those questions?
MT:I had restarted therapy.
Are you the same person that you were when you were 10 years old?
What really exists and whats the through-line between your consciousness?
MT:I was just reading about that, I forget what its called.
So it led to these questions of what constitutes the selfwhat is the core of that?
Was the character of True based on yourself in any way, Mica?
MT:Shes based on me, for sure.
And then weve layered this story over it, which is also informed by the lyrics.
So its almost like another version of me.
Its the sci-fi interpretation of the personal story the lyrics tell.
Are you both big sci-fi heads?
MT:Oh yeah.
I was readingSolariswhile writing the lyrics, which definitely fed into everything.
Was there anything specific that led you down that path this time around?
ML:I think it was just a shift in what we were listening to at the time.
It definitely lends the album a very epic quality.
Did you set out when writing the record to go bigger and bolder in that sense?
MT:I dont know if it was conscious.
Its hard to pin down why.
Whereas you’re free to just see what happens.
ML:I think so.
Lets follow that train of thought there.
You must have disagreements though sometimes?
ML:Its usually more about minutia rather than large-scale creative things.
I think were pretty locked in by this point.
It almost needs to have the right balance of melodrama and a sense of humor.
If something feels too serious, its not the right thing.
We just know when its not.
Its hard to put into words.
Is it born out of a shared sense of humor between the two of you?
MT:Theyre probably pretty similar, yeah.
Why do we need that sense of humor or something in our music?
But I still think there is something there that prevents it from becoming self-serious.
I dont know what it is exactly.
MT:It might just be the specific combination of sounds or the way the chords progress.
Its very intangible, but we still know its there.
I wish I could write really funny lyrics, but I dont think I could.
How was that process for you this time around, and how did you find the right collaborators?
MT:We saw her films and we were like, Oh, were on the same wave.
ML:I think it was also the sense of humor thing we were talking about.
MT:Its literally impossible to get over that bridge if you dont share that.
Were still editing everything ourselves, so it’s been very hands-on.
We want to be involved to a degree that maybe is a lot for other artists.
ML:Were probably a little more involved than most, but hopefully it wasnt obstructive.
Are you excited to take it out on tour next month?
Its going to be cool.
