Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.04.2019, Blaðsíða 38

Music
MSEA: do we pronounce it M-sea, or M-say-ah? We just don't know
Odes To Escapism: The
Sound Universe Of MSEA
Her EP, 'Hiding Under Things,' mesmerises and unsettles
Words: Andie Fontaine Photo: Art Bicnick
Album and concert
'Hiding Under Things' will be
available for sale on April 18th, and
you can pre-order it on Bandcamp.
She will also be performing on this
day at Iðnó, with KRÍA and Oyama,
along with an art installation
Maria-Carmela Raso, better known
as MSEA, is a soft-spoken, self-dep-
recating musician originally from
Canada. But her EP, 'Hiding Under
Things,' belies a whole other side to
the artist. Her lush, atmospheric
compositions are deceptive. Just as
the wash of keyboards and her ethe-
real voice draw you in, you begin to
feel a gently unsettling undercur-
rent to the harmonies. At times, it
feels as though the slightest vibra-
tion could shatter the whole thing
into a million pieces, but MSEA
maintains the delicate tension of
her pieces from start to finish.
"Making music started as a way
to comfort myself as a child, which
the EP title is kind of about,” she tells
us. “It's an ode to escapism. I'd write
lyrics in my bed and sing myself to
sleep when I was about 11 or 12 years
old."
A reflective moment
The past is a major theme of the
EP, as MSEA attests. “The sound
universe of the EP is related to the
past,” she says. “I tried to distance
myself a lot from home when I first
moved away. I've been away for 11
years now. I needed to distance my-
self for a long time, and now the
more I'm away, the more I look back
thinking about things. This EP is the
sound universe of my youth. I think
that's why there's this beauty, but
also these uncomfortable moments."
While she has only been living
in Iceland for two years now, the
EP features some
remarkable local
talent, including
Albert Finnbógas-
son of JFDR and Só-
ley fame. In many
ways, necessity dic-
tated the form this
music took.
"W hen I f irst
moved here, I was
used to play ing
with a band like I did in Toronto. I
was writing score styles. But then I
moved here and didn't know any mu-
sicians, so I switched to electronic."
She made friends in the Reykjavík
music scene along the way, and her
songs have become a blend of her
production and the input of others,
including Albert, who added other
instruments. "It's been a really nice
collaborative process."
How composing is like
going to the gym
"It gets so lonesome to perform
alone on stage,” she says. “It'd be
nice to play with a band. You don't
feel the same energy alone that you
do with a band with you. But I like
switching it up."
The creative process is often a
matter of sheer willpower for her,
especially as she
must find time to
compose, record
and produce around
her already busy day
job schedule. As in-
tense a process as
making music can
be, the payoffs are
enormous.
"I th in k I go
through waves of an
intense need for creativity, where all
I want to do is be at home with my
computer and keyboard,” she says.
“I guess it's kind of like going to the
gym. You can think about it for a
long time and then once you start
doing it, you're like, 'Oh, this isn't
so bad!'"
“Experimental,
independent
artists are a
strong and
highly welcome
presence.”
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Suðurgata 41, 101 Reykjavík
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