I finally got a chance to interview this versatile artist, Louise Fraser. What’s amazing about her career is that she has collaborated with different artists and genres. Her latest offering is captivating in itself.
Banshee is a complex and atmospheric album on the cinematic scale, to say the least. Frasier has finally found the right spot in her career regarding her vocal abilities. In the past, she has recorded remarkable and well-crafted pop songs. Still, this latest offering will capture the attention of people like you and me, who are attuned to this quieter spectrum of music. I am glad to have her with me as she answers a few questions about how this album came to be and her inspiration.

What inspired you to record Celtic Banshee which is a dramatic departure from your previous sound?

 

It’s always been in the back of my mind as something I wanted to do. But I think it’s when my father died that I really dug in. I had moved to Los Angles at that point, but was spending a lot of time in Brora with Dad. And when he passed, I wrote the funeral lament, ‘Hush’, for him. The process of writing with Celtic scales was like a switch, it felt like my heart was home, and then the rest started to come out.

 

– How was the recording process like?

 

It was a pretty varied process as there were several collaborators involved and they each had their own process and timeframe. And the fully orchestrated tracks took some time due to the complexities of production and mixing. As usual, I recorded all of the vocals in my own studio which is my preferred way of working – I can access deeper parts of myself and go full crazy that way. Then I was fortunate enough to work with some absolutely amazing musicians to bring the songs to life. Martin Tichy (Vienna Symphonic Library), who lives in Austria right now, added some of the most gut wrenching live strings I’ve ever heard, and some beautifully complex orchestration. Then Joey Peters came highly recommended for the percussion – he was the drummer for Grant Lee Buffalo and Cracker, but more relevant for this project was that he was known for creating a niche tribal sound that had graced trailers including Terminator Salvation, Planet of the Apes, Apocalypto,… the list is long. Joey nailed the percussion, from more intimate Bodhrans to epic war drums. And he was instrumental in getting a handle on the mixes – there were literally hundreds of tracks for some of the songs and he really knew how to tame the beast. I also wanted to include my great friend and long time collaborator, Bernhard Penzias, so I recorded a version of ‘Dream Angus’ which he added some Bodhrans and pipes to.

 

– I noticed you also stylized your vocals to suit the genre. Previously it’s more of a chill pop suited for a John Barry soundtrack. 

 

When I first started recording music, way back when, it was a very acoustic singer songwriter vibe. Live instruments and zero autotune. And then yes I did experiment with some pop – generally more of a dark electronic vibe like my Muricidae Project with the legendary John Fryer who produced Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Cocteau Twins, etc. I guess when you are creating something you look for the right sound for that particular project.  ‘Banshee’ required quite the range. I sang Hush in a soft, heartbroken style, not unlike some of my earlier acoustic stuff. And on the other end of the spectrum, I had to scream and break my voice for some of the chorus lines in Pay the Ferryman. I’m happy that the project has a massive dynamic range. I need that in musical collections to keep my interested. It’s a journey, I’m definitely not just hanging out in the same space for an hour. I went to a concert recently, I won’t name the artist, and I’m a big fan, but all of the songs were in the same key, same BPM, same time signature. I almost died of brain boredom. Then I went to see Jacob Collier at the Greek, wow, now HE is dynamic and my brain was unbelievably stimulated the entire time.

 

– What are your plans for the Celtic Banshee in terms of performance and promotion?

 

While I used to play live pretty much weekly, since Spotify singlehandedly destroyed an artist’s ability to sell CDs/ track downloads, and hence the music industry IMHO, I now focus more on recording than touring as my income stream is more from sync placements in TV and movies. I’ve been lucky enough to have tracks feature on the CW, Lifetime, MTV, NBC, various movies (Sony Pictures ‘Goosebumps’, Jada Pinket Smith’s ‘Hala’, Rob Stewart’s “Sharwater’, etc). Some of the tracks are already signed to one of my publishers, the rest I’ll get round to pitching shortly. And once it’s out I’ll do some Social Media promo, which I’ve been terrible at in the past but I can’t ignore how necessary that is any longer.

 

– Who are your musical heroes?

 

Liz Fraser & Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, many of the jazz greats (Ella, Billie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans etc etc) are my heroes. And there is just an unmanageable amount of new talent out there. Right now I’m listening to Kate Young, I’m endlessly impressed with Maria Franz and Aurora, and while I’m not a huge fan of funk, Jacob Collier blows me away. I could list a hundred more.

Bio:

Previously living in the Highlands of Scotland, and London, Louise is now an LA based musician whose work has been featured on the CW, NBC, MTV, Lifetime, and various movies (Sony Pictures ‘Goosebumps’, Jada Pinkett Smith’s ‘Hala’, ‘Sharkwater’, etc.). Collaborators include John Fryer (Cocteau Twins, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, etc), Don Smith (Rolling Stones, U2, Tom Petty, Ry Cooder, etc), film composer Jeff Rona (Phantom, Traffic, Black Hawk Down, Thin Red Line, etc), and members of the Counting Crows and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. 

https://louisefraser.com/celtic-banshee-project