Events of the past few months have been a catalyst for deep reflection. The global pandemic and the further uncovering of systemic racism still present in our country today weighs heavily on our minds. As such, we find ourselves actively pursuing how we can be more than a place for all to enjoy. We have a responsibility to actively make sure this is a space for BIPOC to have time and space to reflect, reset, and create (such as our residence program for Black artists at The JTH in Tucson this summer—more information here.)
This summer’s New Moon Playlist is no exception, and intentionally includes many of our favorite BIPOC musicians. With that, we are thrilled to feature Oakland-based cellist and clinical psychologist, Mia Pixley. We discovered Mia’s music at an intimate live performance in San Francisco last summer and were immediately struck by the expanse she creates with just the instrument and her voice. Visit her website to learn more about her music.
Featured Artist: Mia Pixley
Q1: “Where You Stood”, is a stunning composition, confidently building and navigating from movement to movement. Being a classically trained cellist, does your songwriting follow a consistent process? Does it start with the instrument, or with a vocal melody?
Thank you for your kind words about the tune. I usually start songwriting with rhythm actually, which is strange because I can’t say I even have great rhythm. But that pulse is where a lot of my songs start from. “Where You Stood” in particular started with just rhythmic gibberish lyrics that I walked around with in my head. Then over time, a vocal melody sprouted. The arrangement came last. I had to sit down and play out lines I was hearing. Sometimes this is the most fun or the most daunting part. BUT other times the process is flipped on its head and it is like, bam! There is a chord progression/arrangement in my head with not much else!
Q2: Your husband Kevin Shaw, is the talented artist behind the paintings that grace your album covers and website. How does that creative collaboration work? Does the music come before the art? Do they influence each other?
For this particular project (Spar Suite), we took turns leading. For “Where You Stood”, the song came first and Kevin responded. But two of the four tracks on that record Kevin leads with a painting and I responded with a song. That’s basically how we roll.
Q3: Do you find yourself currently processing and creating work that reflects this historical moment in time, or has this year encouraged you to slow down and reset?
I’ve responded to the events of this year in ways I wouldn’t have anticipated. Probably many feel this way. Gah! I’m usually go go “let’s process and understand and move through this hard time by making stuff!” But the magnitude and transformation in this immense time has caused me to hunker down, take stock of what’s important and what I have energy for and only focus on those things. For now, my main artistic focus is my current full length collaborative album/performance-as-practice research study, called “Margaret in the Wild”. I’m doing all the recording of this album with Bay Area chamber jazz trio, RDL+. I’m very excited about it.
Q4: Does music play a part in your psychology practice? It’s such a visceral, emotional means of expression and there seems to be a lot of overlap between the two fields.
Completely! The mindful and extremely visceral (to use your word) voice and cello practice and music making definitely inform my clinical practice. For both practices, I big time draw upon my intuition and felt sense. I think this is also why I find both so fulfilling and interesting! In my psychotherapy practice, I listen with my whole body. Some things register in my gut, some things in my chest or throat. Other messages give me chills or a weighted feeling. This tuned in-ness to my body is what is called the “body ego” in psychodynamic theory and I’m practicing the same tuned in-ness when I play and sing with my cello.
Q5: What music have you been listening to recently? How do you go about finding new music, and how do you usually consume your music? Is it a background element in your daily life, or do you make time to intentionally listen to music as a focused activity?
I like to listen to music while moving. This is mostly because I have a hard time being completely still. But that doesn’t mean the music sits in the background. Actually, moving around probably helps me focus on the music. I listen to music via either Bandcamp or, sadly, Spotify. I say sadly because I (like other artists) get less than a half a cent per stream for a song like “Where You Stood” and that is just the pits. Yet I still use the product while knowing how little artists get. On the flip side, I usually buy my friends‘ music and albums from Bandcamp. Plus, if there is a Spotify project I’ve been listening to a lot, I’ll look for it in Bandcamp and if it is there, I’ll buy it. I dunno, maybe selfishly this helps with my guilt.
This leads me to answer your question about what I’m listening to. Besides all the music my friends are putting out during quarantine or giving me sneak-peak listens (Astu, Samantha Margret, Nahuel Bronzini, Aaron Gibson, Aaron Kruziki, Kol, RDL+, Negative Press Project, Illy Bogart, Yoko OK…I can go on. But I’ll stop), my main enjoyments right now are: Britney Howard, Abdul Wadud, and Laura Mvula. These three folks have been so inspiring.
About the New Moon Playlist
On the New Moon, the earth, moon, and sun align making us unaware of the moon’s presence in the sky. Without the visual presence and glow of the moon, other celestial bodies typically hidden now shine brighter. Our chances of seeing the sky clearly are heightened on this day, making it a day of clarity and new beginnings. Creatively it’s the perfect time to set intentions for a new cycle of dreams and goals, and ways of manifesting them.
To honor this monthly opportunity for fresh starts and creative beginnings, we’ve asked our friend and musician we admire, Chase McBride, to curate a seasonal New Moon Spotify playlist.
Follow The Joshua Tree House on Spotify and be the first to hear new playlists. Last season’s New Moon Spotify Playlist featured artist Kacy & Clayton.
