cloud collecting #1: Drum & Lace
pushing forward, creative mothering + the power of dried lavender
cloud collecting will include a series of 3-question interviews featuring women and gender-expansive artists discussing their creativity. The first edition is with Drum & Lace and I am honored to have her kickstart the series.
Drum & Lace, aka Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist, is an Italian artist and composer based in London. Her music has been described as being genre-fluid and having a chameleon-like nature, often melding together sampled field recordings, lush layers of synths, chamber instruments and electronic beats. Her second full-length record, a follow-up to her debut 2022 album ‘Natura’, is due out in summer 2024 on Fabrique Records, and has been anticipated with the release of singles ‘Solstice’ and ‘Sisters’. Drum & Lace also currently composes for film, television, dance, theater and other mixed media.
1. What are a few of your daily rituals?
This one will likely be the most popular amongst everyone, but I always start the day with a cup of coffee. I feel like it's in my blood, both figuratively (as an Italian) and literally. Everyday that I’m working in the studio, I try to find time to sit quietly and look out my studio window, in the hopes of seeing one of our neighborhood foxes or cats. Taking this moment of stillness really helps give me a little reset and perspective, and it's great I have a spot in my studio that can be a 'chill out zone' since I'm in here so much. And lastly, a slightly new ritual - I recently placed a big vase of dried lavender in my studio, so if I feel particularly stressed, I'll go up to it and grab a sprig to smell or hold in my hands. The smell of lavender is very powerful to me, in both a nostalgic and energizing way.
2. Do you have a recent song creation process that you hold dear and why?
I can't say that I used to but over the summer, as I was writing my second LP (which excitedly is due out this coming summer), I started approaching my workflow and how I approached writing new tracks in a different way. Whereas in the past I would start a lot of sketches, to then come back to them at a later time (or not!) I told myself that this time I was going to be more stubborn with my time and try to be more creatively focused and direct with the process. I did this by telling myself that I had to essentially keep at it with the track I started until either I finished the main structure of it, or it was getting tossed. It sounds harsh, but not giving myself the option to opt out of working on a track posed a constant challenge to push forward, even when inspiration may have not struck, and in retrospect it was great. This creation process allowed me to sort of 'keep on track' with trying to finish my record, and I feel like everything on it feels more consistent because it was all written within one big period that was back to back. If that makes sense? Nearly like this LP is a snapshot of those 9 weeks I worked on it. I do realize that this sort of approach might sound a bit too intense for some folks, but for me it was really important as I was able to sort of train myself to push thru any of the second guessing that I've had in the past. We'll see if I keep doing things this way!
3. How do you cloud collect (connect to childlike wonder) in your creativity?
The biggest way is probably through the recording of and use of field recordings in my music. So many of the sounds that I collect are timeless, so there’s a way for me to connect to these sounds in different ways and tapping into different times in my life. The way a specific sound of water may remind me of a past vacation, or the incessant cry of cicadas may trigger a vivid childhood memory is so powerful. Being a mother, as well, has helped unleash a great deal of childlike creativity in the last couple of years, either through experiencing things for the first time through my toddler’s eyes or through various toys/books/etc that are floating around the house that set free new ideas. Spending time walking silently around parks (or any natural environment) on my own is also incredibly creatively inspiring.