Connecting NT Musicians
No fear: An interview with Alice Springs diva, Mei Lai Swan
Music NT Forum member Mei Lai Swan is one of those iconoclasts the Northern Territory is famous for: she marches to the beat of her own drum, isn’t afraid to break the rules and likes taking risks....
Only Mei Lai may not end up on a tourist tea towel, nor have a Hollywood starlet playing her in her a feature film about her life; she doesn’t wrestle crocodiles, compete in Darwin Stubbie-drinking marathons or bust crazy moves in the Finke Desert Race.... Mei Lai is a musician who makes it her business to push boundaries in her songwriting, sound and performance. The first thing that hits you squarely in the ears when you listen to this Alice Springs performer is her voice - a big VOICE with plenty of elasticity and emotion. Then big fat instrumentation - melodic cello and brass mixed with brazen drum loops, distortion and chunky percussion - and space, lots of space...
After 4 years living, working and performing in Alice Springs, Mei Lai now splits her time pretty evenly between the Red Heart and Melbourne, where she moved earlier this year. She also performs around Australia regularly, playing music and arts festivals and diving headlong into progressive musical collaborations whenever she can. With her distinct voice she’s come to the notice of triple j who like to program her tracks from time to time, no doubt drawn to Mei Lai’s operatic vocals, delicate composition and singluar vision. Make no mistake: Mel Lai writes pop songs, they just don’t sound like everyone else’s…
Mei Lai has been playing away from Alice lately – Brisbane and Melbourne in particular – and has embarked on a project with fellow Alice performer Steph Harrison. (They’ve just formed a “ghetto cabaret” union, Bullet Electra). She’s also rehearsing shows for the upcoming Alice Desert Festival – part of NT Music Month – in September with Sydney shows on the horizon. No rest for the wicked; Mei Lai might be the first to agree...
Mei Lai Swan is fearless and possessed with optimism, confidence and talent. (And the proud owner of a fabulous pink disco wig!) Clearly she’s an artist for whom the sky’s the limit. Music NT caught up with Mei Lai Swan fresh back from Melbourne.
MuNT: How did you come to be in the Territory – and make your way to Alice Springs?
Mei Lai Swan: I moved to Alice Springs early in 2006, planning to stay for about 4 months to teach violin, do some social work and to generally see what life was like in the desert. I was hooked within about a week and decided to stay. I still can’t quite tear myself away!
MuNT: Do you find it inspiring in Alice – particularly when it comes to making music? What freedoms does it afford you artistically somewhere else may not?
MLS: If it wasn’t true it would sound completely clichéd, but it’s the space, the colours, the country, the stars… It creates a freedom somewhere in the soul that’s unameable, and that’s good not just for music and art but on a fundamental level. Then there are other things about Alice that make for good creativity – a rich, vibrant, supportive creative and social community that sometimes gets a little close for comfort, leaves you gasping for air, and as a consequence makes you push through personal and artistic boundaries you might not elsewhere… How can you not love that about a place?
MuNT: How would you describe the music you make?
MLS: With difficulty! Neat classification has never been one of my strong points. I think I started from somewhere left of jazz-folk-pop, built on cello and vocals, but moved in the direction of electro/acoustic avant-pop. In plainer English, I write songs on cello, keys, guitar and programming. I’m also blessed to have an outrageously talented band with drums, double bass, trumpet and backing vocals.
MuNT: How did you come to be a musician?
MLS: Making up songs in the bath when I was three. Playing in a recorder ensemble when I was five. Seeing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra when I was six and hassling my Mum for a violin for two years (I got one when I was eight). People often ask me if I come from a musical family. Not really. I think I’ve just always been in love with music and I can’t seem to be happy without it. The conscious part of being a performer didn’t come until my 20s when I got enough courage to start playing in bands, writing my own songs and dedicating lots of time and energy to it. Coming from a social justice background it took a lot of internal self-persuasion to accept that playing and writing music wasn’t just self-indulgent, but a great vehicle for bringing the community together… Expressing ideas and transforming emotions. And it’s also a whole lot of fun!
MuNT: You’re an artist who is not afraid to experiment with sound, vocals and performance… Can you tell us a little bit about your approach to making music and what your priorities are as an artist?
MLS: I’m a bit of a changeling which seems to be reflected in my music. I grew up playing classical violin, moved to gypsy/Irish and contemporary folk, with a short foray into hip hop and Mcing… Since I started songwriting proper, it’s all been detours from there. Music for me is about creative expression and exploration and I’m always wanting to try out new things. So I just tend to go wherever it takes me. I apologise to anyone who gets confused. I guarantee - so do I.
MuNT: Do you often collaborate with other musicians in the region?
MLS: I haven’t done a whole lot of collaborating with other musicians in Alice Springs. Unfortunately I’ve been so focused on getting my solo project off the ground alongside full-time work, that there hasn’t been much time for collaborating. But I have had a bunch of talented locals play with me, particularly Tashka Urban, who’s come on tour with me as keyboard player and plays with me quite regularly. I’ve also found some more time for jamming recently, which has been really satisfying. And like all good relationships that tend to fall out of the sky when you least expect them (especially after years of searching), I recently met a fellow co-creator in Alice Springs, Steph Harrison, and we’ve accidently given birth to a new project, Bullet Electra (pictured below).
MLS: I moved back to Melbourne earlier this year, but then found that Alice has its hooks into me pretty deep, so I’m now based about 50-50 between both places. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road over the last 12 months. Between August last year and February I wasn’t in one place for more than two weeks at a time on tour and doing different projects, practicing the fine art of living out of a suitcase or two… Life on the move has its charms and its drawbacks – lots of different people and scenery, chasing good weather if I’m lucky, and festivals are always inspiring. It can get pretty exhausting and a little disorienting at times, but it’s something I’ve decided I just need to build up resilience to because I don’t see it changing in the near future. I’m scheming some plans for Europe, Japan and Africa next year…
MuNT: What do you like about being a Territory/Alice Springs artist? And what’s difficult about being based in Alice?
MLS: I love living in the desert and for some inexplicable reason I love the Territory. Ya, sucker!! I think it has definitely shaped me as an artist and helped me to get established. But I’ve found being based in Alice can be hard in terms of distance and expense for interstate gigs – building up a broader audience isn’t easy. I’ve also found it hard to put a dedicated band together here… Hence my recent decision to split my time between Melbourne and Alice.
MuNT: What have been some of the best gigs you’ve played in Alice – and what have been some of the best Alice gigs you’ve seen?
MLS: My EP launch in 2007 was pretty epic – over 200 people squeezed into the tiny space, rooftop at The Lane. It was great to have that kind of support in such a small town.
Hmm, best Alice gigs I’ve seen… Wide Open Spaces festival – incredible mix of interstate and local talent out at the beautiful Ross River campground. It was all there… Gush… hats off to the awesome Alice crew who organized it!
MuNT: You’ve also just started an “electro-trash project” with fellow Alice artist Steph Harrison (now living in Brisbane). What’s that all about?
MLS: A whole lot of silly fun! I’ve been working on some daggy 90s electro-trash tracks lately just to keep myself amused. Steph and I decided to get up and perform them in ghetto-style get-up at a warehouse party in Alice last month for a laugh. Everybody loved it, it was a scream, and… ‘Bullet Electra’ was born. It seems to be taking on a life of its own as ghetto-cabaret electro-trash with singing, MCing, beatboxing, live instruments (trumpet, flute, violin, cello), synchro dance moves and a little bit of whip crackin’ just to keep the crowds entertained…
MuNT: Are there differences between Alice-based musicians and bands compared with elsewhere in the NT eg Darwin, Tennant, Katherine? What do you think characterises an Alice artist?
MuNT: I haven’t spent much time elsewhere in the NT to know some of the other musos and bands out there… but I can say that there are some impressively talented musos and bands in Alice, especially for such a small community. Steph and I recently co-produced a pop album ‘Popportunity’ for CAAMA with a group of seven kids in Alice Springs ranging from 12-24, as well as some crew from Yuendumu who worked with Micka and Fraser from Melbourne band Symbiosis. We’ve all been blown away by the musical talent and the songs they’ve come up with for the album.
MuNT: You’re a working musician – do you also have a ‘day job’? And what are your ambitions as a professional musician?
MLS: Until last year I was working full-time in a community development job – my other passion. But it was really too much on top of music and lots of touring. Now I’m fortunate enough to do short-term contract work with kids on communities and in Alice Springs producing music, which I absolutely love. Then my time in Melbourne is free for writing music, playing gigs, rehearsing, some session work, dancing and other creative projects. I also do a bit of volunteer work with a small humanitarian NGO. And then a bit of touring… Yeah, I like to keep busy.
As far as being a professional musician… I’ve gotten to a great place where what I care most about is enjoying writing and playing, learning new skills, being creative, collaborating, recording, performing, touring. I’m not relying on making a living out of it which creates a lot of freedom. That said, I love working hard and pushing my boundaries. If something comes out of it, great. If it doesn’t (and it’s a very fickle industry!) that’s fine too because I’m doing something I love and putting it out there.
Other musical ambitions… I’ve got my sights set on being a hot drummer in a dancehall/reggae band - hopefully not too far away! Though I better get practicing.
MuNT: Do you have any new recordings on the way?
MLS: Yes, I’m working on an album at the moment which is very exciting. I’ve been experimenting with
some new sounds and I’m currently hunting down a couple of different producers to work with. My plans are to have it out late April next year, a small tour in Australia and then over to Europe! Bullet Electra tracks are on the way too!
Mei Lai Swan is one of those artists who thankfully is fastidious at updating her My Space! So it’s easy to keep up to date with her news and upcoming gigs – next up: Alice Desert Festival, Saturday September 19 (Festival Club) and Sunday 20th (Bush Foods Gala), and Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane after that. You can also hear her on triple j Unearthed.
Only Mei Lai may not end up on a tourist tea towel, nor have a Hollywood starlet playing her in her a feature film about her life; she doesn’t wrestle crocodiles, compete in Darwin Stubbie-drinking marathons or bust crazy moves in the Finke Desert Race.... Mei Lai is a musician who makes it her business to push boundaries in her songwriting, sound and performance. The first thing that hits you squarely in the ears when you listen to this Alice Springs performer is her voice - a big VOICE with plenty of elasticity and emotion. Then big fat instrumentation - melodic cello and brass mixed with brazen drum loops, distortion and chunky percussion - and space, lots of space...
After 4 years living, working and performing in Alice Springs, Mei Lai now splits her time pretty evenly between the Red Heart and Melbourne, where she moved earlier this year. She also performs around Australia regularly, playing music and arts festivals and diving headlong into progressive musical collaborations whenever she can. With her distinct voice she’s come to the notice of triple j who like to program her tracks from time to time, no doubt drawn to Mei Lai’s operatic vocals, delicate composition and singluar vision. Make no mistake: Mel Lai writes pop songs, they just don’t sound like everyone else’s…
Mei Lai has been playing away from Alice lately – Brisbane and Melbourne in particular – and has embarked on a project with fellow Alice performer Steph Harrison. (They’ve just formed a “ghetto cabaret” union, Bullet Electra). She’s also rehearsing shows for the upcoming Alice Desert Festival – part of NT Music Month – in September with Sydney shows on the horizon. No rest for the wicked; Mei Lai might be the first to agree...Mei Lai Swan is fearless and possessed with optimism, confidence and talent. (And the proud owner of a fabulous pink disco wig!) Clearly she’s an artist for whom the sky’s the limit. Music NT caught up with Mei Lai Swan fresh back from Melbourne.
MuNT: How did you come to be in the Territory – and make your way to Alice Springs?
Mei Lai Swan: I moved to Alice Springs early in 2006, planning to stay for about 4 months to teach violin, do some social work and to generally see what life was like in the desert. I was hooked within about a week and decided to stay. I still can’t quite tear myself away!
MuNT: Do you find it inspiring in Alice – particularly when it comes to making music? What freedoms does it afford you artistically somewhere else may not?MLS: If it wasn’t true it would sound completely clichéd, but it’s the space, the colours, the country, the stars… It creates a freedom somewhere in the soul that’s unameable, and that’s good not just for music and art but on a fundamental level. Then there are other things about Alice that make for good creativity – a rich, vibrant, supportive creative and social community that sometimes gets a little close for comfort, leaves you gasping for air, and as a consequence makes you push through personal and artistic boundaries you might not elsewhere… How can you not love that about a place?
MuNT: How would you describe the music you make?
MLS: With difficulty! Neat classification has never been one of my strong points. I think I started from somewhere left of jazz-folk-pop, built on cello and vocals, but moved in the direction of electro/acoustic avant-pop. In plainer English, I write songs on cello, keys, guitar and programming. I’m also blessed to have an outrageously talented band with drums, double bass, trumpet and backing vocals.
MuNT: How did you come to be a musician?
MLS: Making up songs in the bath when I was three. Playing in a recorder ensemble when I was five. Seeing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra when I was six and hassling my Mum for a violin for two years (I got one when I was eight). People often ask me if I come from a musical family. Not really. I think I’ve just always been in love with music and I can’t seem to be happy without it. The conscious part of being a performer didn’t come until my 20s when I got enough courage to start playing in bands, writing my own songs and dedicating lots of time and energy to it. Coming from a social justice background it took a lot of internal self-persuasion to accept that playing and writing music wasn’t just self-indulgent, but a great vehicle for bringing the community together… Expressing ideas and transforming emotions. And it’s also a whole lot of fun!
MuNT: You’re an artist who is not afraid to experiment with sound, vocals and performance… Can you tell us a little bit about your approach to making music and what your priorities are as an artist?MLS: I’m a bit of a changeling which seems to be reflected in my music. I grew up playing classical violin, moved to gypsy/Irish and contemporary folk, with a short foray into hip hop and Mcing… Since I started songwriting proper, it’s all been detours from there. Music for me is about creative expression and exploration and I’m always wanting to try out new things. So I just tend to go wherever it takes me. I apologise to anyone who gets confused. I guarantee - so do I.
MuNT: Do you often collaborate with other musicians in the region?
MLS: I haven’t done a whole lot of collaborating with other musicians in Alice Springs. Unfortunately I’ve been so focused on getting my solo project off the ground alongside full-time work, that there hasn’t been much time for collaborating. But I have had a bunch of talented locals play with me, particularly Tashka Urban, who’s come on tour with me as keyboard player and plays with me quite regularly. I’ve also found some more time for jamming recently, which has been really satisfying. And like all good relationships that tend to fall out of the sky when you least expect them (especially after years of searching), I recently met a fellow co-creator in Alice Springs, Steph Harrison, and we’ve accidently given birth to a new project, Bullet Electra (pictured below).
MLS: I moved back to Melbourne earlier this year, but then found that Alice has its hooks into me pretty deep, so I’m now based about 50-50 between both places. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road over the last 12 months. Between August last year and February I wasn’t in one place for more than two weeks at a time on tour and doing different projects, practicing the fine art of living out of a suitcase or two… Life on the move has its charms and its drawbacks – lots of different people and scenery, chasing good weather if I’m lucky, and festivals are always inspiring. It can get pretty exhausting and a little disorienting at times, but it’s something I’ve decided I just need to build up resilience to because I don’t see it changing in the near future. I’m scheming some plans for Europe, Japan and Africa next year…
MuNT: What do you like about being a Territory/Alice Springs artist? And what’s difficult about being based in Alice?
MLS: I love living in the desert and for some inexplicable reason I love the Territory. Ya, sucker!! I think it has definitely shaped me as an artist and helped me to get established. But I’ve found being based in Alice can be hard in terms of distance and expense for interstate gigs – building up a broader audience isn’t easy. I’ve also found it hard to put a dedicated band together here… Hence my recent decision to split my time between Melbourne and Alice.
MuNT: What have been some of the best gigs you’ve played in Alice – and what have been some of the best Alice gigs you’ve seen?
MLS: My EP launch in 2007 was pretty epic – over 200 people squeezed into the tiny space, rooftop at The Lane. It was great to have that kind of support in such a small town.
Hmm, best Alice gigs I’ve seen… Wide Open Spaces festival – incredible mix of interstate and local talent out at the beautiful Ross River campground. It was all there… Gush… hats off to the awesome Alice crew who organized it!
MuNT: You’ve also just started an “electro-trash project” with fellow Alice artist Steph Harrison (now living in Brisbane). What’s that all about?
MLS: A whole lot of silly fun! I’ve been working on some daggy 90s electro-trash tracks lately just to keep myself amused. Steph and I decided to get up and perform them in ghetto-style get-up at a warehouse party in Alice last month for a laugh. Everybody loved it, it was a scream, and… ‘Bullet Electra’ was born. It seems to be taking on a life of its own as ghetto-cabaret electro-trash with singing, MCing, beatboxing, live instruments (trumpet, flute, violin, cello), synchro dance moves and a little bit of whip crackin’ just to keep the crowds entertained…
MuNT: Are there differences between Alice-based musicians and bands compared with elsewhere in the NT eg Darwin, Tennant, Katherine? What do you think characterises an Alice artist?
MuNT: I haven’t spent much time elsewhere in the NT to know some of the other musos and bands out there… but I can say that there are some impressively talented musos and bands in Alice, especially for such a small community. Steph and I recently co-produced a pop album ‘Popportunity’ for CAAMA with a group of seven kids in Alice Springs ranging from 12-24, as well as some crew from Yuendumu who worked with Micka and Fraser from Melbourne band Symbiosis. We’ve all been blown away by the musical talent and the songs they’ve come up with for the album.
MuNT: You’re a working musician – do you also have a ‘day job’? And what are your ambitions as a professional musician?
MLS: Until last year I was working full-time in a community development job – my other passion. But it was really too much on top of music and lots of touring. Now I’m fortunate enough to do short-term contract work with kids on communities and in Alice Springs producing music, which I absolutely love. Then my time in Melbourne is free for writing music, playing gigs, rehearsing, some session work, dancing and other creative projects. I also do a bit of volunteer work with a small humanitarian NGO. And then a bit of touring… Yeah, I like to keep busy.
As far as being a professional musician… I’ve gotten to a great place where what I care most about is enjoying writing and playing, learning new skills, being creative, collaborating, recording, performing, touring. I’m not relying on making a living out of it which creates a lot of freedom. That said, I love working hard and pushing my boundaries. If something comes out of it, great. If it doesn’t (and it’s a very fickle industry!) that’s fine too because I’m doing something I love and putting it out there.Other musical ambitions… I’ve got my sights set on being a hot drummer in a dancehall/reggae band - hopefully not too far away! Though I better get practicing.
MuNT: Do you have any new recordings on the way?
MLS: Yes, I’m working on an album at the moment which is very exciting. I’ve been experimenting with
some new sounds and I’m currently hunting down a couple of different producers to work with. My plans are to have it out late April next year, a small tour in Australia and then over to Europe! Bullet Electra tracks are on the way too!Mei Lai Swan is one of those artists who thankfully is fastidious at updating her My Space! So it’s easy to keep up to date with her news and upcoming gigs – next up: Alice Desert Festival, Saturday September 19 (Festival Club) and Sunday 20th (Bush Foods Gala), and Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane after that. You can also hear her on triple j Unearthed.
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