Molly Pease is an eclectic vocal artist and composer who sings rock, folk, jazz, neo-soul, classical, opera, experimental, contemporary, and improvisational music. As a composer-performer, she merges music, movement, and visuals in solo projects and interdisciplinary collaborations. In 2018, her experimental rock album ACKLAND was called ‘not of this world’ (Emerging Indie Bands). In 2019, Molly composed the soundtrack for a two-month installation by sculptor Jimena Sarno at the 18th Street Arts Center in Los Angeles.
Her latest album, Inner Astronomy (released August 2020) is a multi-disciplinary project inspired by her father’s poetry and drawings, incorporating original music, collage, fashion design, and video. Currently she’s working with librettist Divya Maus on the opera Hysteria that explores myths and truths about women.
YOUR CANTATA INNER ASTRONOMY IS BASED ON EIGHT POEMS YOUR FATHER WROTE WHILE SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION. COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS AND ABOUT YOUR SELECTIONS?
My father’s journey was pretty complicated, but here’s the short version: When I was in high school, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer and went through chemo, radiation, and surgery, and was given opioids to deal with the pain. He recovered from cancer, but his suffering continued and he became addicted to the meds, eventually mixing them with drinking, as well.
My Dad’s addiction led to a lot of problems for him and for our family. He eventually got sober after rehab and getting involved in AA, but succumbed to severe depression and bipolar disorder. His brain was very damaged by the whole experience. He attempted suicide more than once, but thankfully wasn’t successful. His body was also very broken because of everything he’d endured. He was in and out of the hospital over many years.
He began to lose his memory, and his early-onset dementia led to his passing. It’s all very intense… I went through a lot of phases throughout this long period. I was angry at him for a long time because I felt that his poor choices had led to his misery. But before the end, I accepted him as he was and just tried to be there for him the best I could. What helped me get to this place was focusing on all the incredible life-gifts he had given me, from creative cultivation to a profound connection to nature, and of course his steadfast, pure love for friends and family.
In 2016, he sent me some 90 poems, asking me to make a book out of them and set some of them to music. I was a bit overwhelmed because there were so many, but he agreed I could choose my favorites. I read each poem until I landed on one that felt musical to me. Then I used only those sections that spoke to me. It was a fun process.
Inner Astronomy came from a title of one of the poems that I didn’t end up setting to music, but that I thought beautifully summed up the very personal yet universal world he was investigating. The title poem can be found in the book of drawings and poems, though, which is now available for pre-order.
My father was not involved in the compositional process. He did, however, get to hear a few of the pieces some months before he passed away, watching them via video of my CalArts Graduation Recital. Unfortunately, he had trouble focusing on the performance, let alone remembering it much afterward. I wasn’t there to see his reaction, but my brother told me he teared up at one point, so I know it resonated with him at least a little bit.
Molly Pease–Photo by Pete Agraan
YOU SET THE POEMS FOR FOUR VOICES AND FIVE STRINGS. PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMPOSITIONAL PROCESS.
I knew from the beginning that I wanted to write for all women’s voices, because my Dad’s writing has such a feminine vibe to it. I thought women’s voices would provide the hopeful warmth the poems needed, but I also knew that the singers would be able to get gritty, as well. I really love writing for strings because of the incredible array of textures they can create, but also because I think they sound so good with voices.
As mentioned earlier, I started by reading the poems. I read each of them over in my head or out loud, looking for rhythmic moments or natural melodies. After I had a basic melody and chord structure figured out, I tried imagining what textures were needed to support it, as well as moments where the strings could take center stage versus the voices.
There are quite a few moments in the cantata for improvisation and chance. In “Recovery Family,” almost all of the string parts are just guidelines for different textures to go under the vocal line, and they are up for interpretation and aleatoric. There are improvised solos in “Higher Power” (both the violin and my vocal solo at the end), and the vocal trio improvisation in “Tree’s Me.”
The phrasing between the two soloists at the beginning of “my son my one” is also improvised, as well as the phrasing for the vocal and bass soloists in “From I to We.” These moments were all very important in adding individualism to the songs. I love designing pieces to be interpreted differently in each performance.
THE CD BOOKLET IS DECORATED WITH BEAUTIFUL ARTWORK AND YOUR WEBSITE ALSO CITES A RELATION TO FASHION DESIGN. HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO YOUR MUSIC?
The artwork on the album cover is composed of crayon drawings my Dad made. When he initially sent me everything, these were included, and he asked me to use them in the poetry book I was going to make for him. Laura Sofía Pérez is the graphic designer for the project—she designed the CD cover and booklet, as well as the poetry book, using my Dad’s drawings throughout and cutting them up and collaging them a bit. There will also be a music video coming out for “Higher Power” that will feature these drawings! I’m really excited about it.
As far as fashion design goes, I worked with the amazing designer Camilla Carper (who I actually grew up with in Sacramento). Camilla made garments for the music video for “Recovery Family” as well as for the virtual performances of “my son my one” and “deer proud of our climbs” in the online launch event I put on in December.
Eventually, I’d like to do in-person performances of the entire cantata, and they’ll design garments for that performance as well—we’ll re-use some we already have and add some for additional performers. Camilla also lost their Dad in recent years; he suffered from depression, too. Camilla used their personal experience, my music, and my Dad’s poetry and drawings as inspiration for the garments they made.
YOU OFTEN WORK CROSS-DISCIPLINARILY. WHY THIS PREDILECTION?
I have always been very passionate about visual art, as both an appreciator and a hobbyist. (I grew up doing a lot of painting and collaging, and still use it as a practice to calm my mind and express myself.) At CalArts, I was surrounded by amazing artists from all different disciplines, and I was incredibly inspired by the idea of combining my music with their art. I began imagining these collaborations in my head as I was composing, and it is now a huge part of my work. My most recent collaboration was with sculptor Jimena Sarno on the project Score for the Near Future.
CURRENTLY YOU’RE WORKING ON HYSTERIA TOGETHER WITH LIBRETTIST DIVYA MAUS. COULD YOU TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THIS?
Hysteria is an opera project that stemmed from an idea I have been thinking about for a few years. I’ve always wanted to write a theatrical work and have it focus on the stories of women dealing with real issues. Divya and I chose to explore the concept of “Hysteria,” a medical diagnosis used for women that dates back to the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., by using five real, fictional, and mythological heroines.
The opera explores the real distress these women experienced and the interpretation of their feelings as irrational madness by those around them. Divya and I were accepted as one of three creative teams to “Original Vision,” a development workshop through opera and musical theatre production company Overtone Industries.
The workshop will culminate in a showcase of one of the scenes premiering online May 29. A full premiere of the opera has yet to be scheduled. We’re hoping to apply for grants and get some support in producing it fully in the future.
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