' Healing Through Music with Marcy Angeles '

Tell us about yourself and your music

My Name is Marcy Angeles, I am a Two Spirit Chiricahua/Mimbreno Apache from Southern New Mexico. I am a Writer, Painter & Solo Musician. My main music projects are Western Obsidian, The Virgin Wash, Allophane & HERosion Decay. I have also recorded under the names iiVLD, Fleurish, Bruised Moth & Naki. My sound is a juxtapose of genres that often incorporates Trip Hop, Noise Rock & Shoegaze but I’ve also been no stranger to creating Industrial/Experimental Sounds. I originally started making music for iiVLD (formerly TVOD) as sound art. The original Concept behind iiVLD was to give C-PTSD a sound, I have been not been so shy as I have openly discussed being a trauma survivor & much of my work has a lot to do with coping/healing/overcoming. Even some of my angsty tunes have had much to do with speaking truths about what it is like to be Transgender in a world that so often treats us like a punching bag. We all truly just want the same thing in this world, that is to have a chance to live a good quality of life. Honoring my Native American Culture, I do prefer to use the Term Two Spirit. The term Two Spirit is a blanket term for our LGBTQ2S. In our culture we have long played vital roles as healers & medicine people. I am but just one more Two Spirit working to restore our Sacred Place by the fire & teaching Non-Native folks about our roles in our communities & oral history. I currently have an exhibit of my Artwork at the Branigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. This has been my second exhibit at this particular Museum since October. My paintings have been exhibited throughout the Borderland. My writing has also been featured in Two Spirits Are Sacred Zine, Rest For Resistance Magazine, Parallax Magazine, an Essay in an Upcoming Anthropology book about LGBTQ2s POC’s Experience with Spirituality, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board Blog, I have done freelance Artwork for ReWire & News & have also Designed a shirt for Crushing Colonialism.

Talk to us more about your latest release

On January 6th, 2020 I released the second album from my HERosion Decay project titled ‘ Mauve Electric ‘. HERosion Decay is very much so inspired by 80s Minimal Wave, Dark Wave & Industrial with a tad bit of influence from much more ” Modern Music “. HERosion Decay for me is a lot less about vocalizing issues that require solutions but more so concentrating on creating a feel good groove. HERosion Decay is primarily a Cyber Punk, Minimal Wave, Acid Punk & Industrial Outfit but the newer album has a few splashes of Industrial Techno, Dub Techno & House. ‘ Mauve Electric ‘ is a 10 track Album that I challenged myself to write within Two Weeks just like the first HERosion Decay album.

https://westernobsidian.bandcamp.com/album/mauve-electric

What inspired you to write this release?

Music is Medicine but Music is also Time Travel. Much of my music has often addressed issues like surviving, lgbtq2s issues & so on. HERosion Decay is not so much boxed in by those issues, even if there is a mentioning here & there. Sometimes it’s even an escape for myself from my own problems, that’s what my other Music Projects are for. It is essential as an Artist to save a part of your Art for enjoyment & not just seeking solutions. That’s what HERosion Decay is for me, it is fun & it is an ode to the sounds that have so often been a part of that escape for me. All of those 80s Cyber Punk, Minimal Wave & Experimental Bands that just didn’t get the attention they deserve. Learning to make music as if we were still in the 80s, or just remember that feeling of when you first heard some of your favorite bands from then, that is time travel. HERosion Decay was never intended to be a project that I see going anywhere other than a few headphones but if it does, well that certainly wouldn’t be an issue. That era truly did have a great influence on many Artists so many of us listen to today. Before I am a Musician, I am a Music Junkie & making music just gives us all a chance to chase that feeling.

Describe the writing and recording process

Messy & unorganized. I am Messy & Unorganized. This requires cleaning & rearranging after each session or every few days. I have a bedroom studio. I love working at home & prefer to work in the privacy of our bedroom. The Recording process for me is usually feeling like I have something I need to get out. I get out an instrument or two & find a sound or key that expresses how I feel at the moment. It’s the same as those days when you can’t exactly put words to how you feel, so you point to a shade of color because the color resonates with how you feel subconsciously. It’s putting a name on something, giving a meaning. I usually make a giant mess on my bed with chords, my guitar & whatever gadgets I’m working with. I like having different Music Projects because I don’t always want to say what I have to say in the same way or always say the same thing, it keeps things fresh. As for coming up with the concept for a new album, it kind of just happens.

Any plans to hit the road?

I have yet to tour or perform in concert but if you’re looking to see an exhibit of my paintings. My Paintings are on Exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico from the Months of November 2019 till February 2020.

As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?

I would rather just let my Art speak for itself. When I was younger, I wasted too much time worrying about isolating my identity from everyone else. I’m just a Two-Spirit Native – some things I do some people find strange & some things I do others find completely normal. I do not speak for my Tribe or even every LGBTQ2S Person, I just speak for those who feel like I said what they needed to say. I also speak for myself. My work is not just for LGBTQ2s folks. It is for Disabled People, Marginalized People, Human Beings of any Racial Background, People who have been Bullied & anyone who never felt like they fit in. I want them to see the resilience of people like us & how important it is for us to keep going. I create because I need to but all Artists feel that way. Maybe I’m saying some things that other people are uncomfortable hearing or saying, I’m not sure. I think everyone is an Artist in their own way, the way they love, the way they make others laugh, the way they never give up. I’m learning to love myself in a world that doesn’t want people like me to love ourselves, only I hope that in turn, even those who are bigoted can learn to love themselves too.

Who have you been listening to lately?

Nico, Buffy Saint-Marie, Pastel Blue, Jonine Standish, Body/Head, Nine Inch Nails, The Breeders, The Cure, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood

Who are your biggest influences?

Luke Sutherland from the band’s Long Fin Killie, Bows, Music AM & Rev Magnetic. I’ve been a huge fan of his since I was a teenager. His music truly calms me whenever I have anxiety, pretty much the best musician ever in my opinion. Other than that I really love Ruby Throat, This Mortal Coil, Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions, Cindytalk,  Loveliescrushing, Love & Rockets, Cocteau Twins, The Velvet Underground

& anything Kim Gordon is working on.

Tell us about your passions

I’m just very passionate about people who have been through stuff seeing that we can still learn to live life to the best we can. Not everyone has the same circumstances in life & so we can’t have all the same expectations for each other. You tried today & if it didn’t go so well, I just hope people try tomorrow too.

What else is happening next in your world?

I am looking forward to reading the Anthropology book about LGBTQ2S POC’s experience with Spirituality that I wrote an essay for. I am always writing & hoping to eventually get my first book of Poetry Published. Hopefully, after that day comes, I can sustain myself as a writer, artist & musician. I am a disabled person, so to be honest – what follows this will be some more closed doors & hopefully some open ones too. Living with Chronic PTSD & Bipolar can be tricky/unpredictable. Creating is a healthy habit to help get by, it is good to express yourself. I am planning on going with the flow & hoping that the Universe can help me continue to create. I am hoping that at the very least, I can make enough to sustain myself & determine my own trajectory. Also, I’ll be praying & like everyone else just learning to be a better spirit.

 

 

Thanks for an awesome interview, HERosion Decay, Western Obsidian, Fleurish

 

 

Connect with HERosion Decay, Western Obsidian, Fleurish

Website: https://luftsangfm.tumblr.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fleurish-514740725354693/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWyE8W9FvXvo_V1lxJvJItw?view_as=subscriberSoundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tvodmff

Genres: Experimental

Source: ArtistPR Indie Artist Interview