had something to worry about. So we were learning some new (homemade) instruments, so we were trying to be good at getting our bit right. They (only) had cells of information to work with. I think for that reason, they had something that was on the edge security wise. Everyone was just shitting themselves, I think! That’s how I felt anyway.” This balance of nerves seems to bring an uncomfortable tension to a piece already fraught with discordance and unconventional musicality.
A CUT ABOVE…
Micachu’s challenging avant-garde orchestral performances and dizzy eclecticism casts a refreshing glow over a jaded UK music scene…but it isn’t all plain sailing. BRAD BARRETT steps aboard.
Levi’s extensive musical education and background, the notion that her latest LP, Chopped & Screwed is a live classical project probably wouldn’t come as a surprise but the 25 year old insists that the performance - recorded with the London Sinfonietta at King’s Place, London in May 2010 – was as much a challenge for her and her band The Shapes as it is for potential listeners. “I don’t know how we did it really,” she says with a trace of a shudder, “The whole thing was so stressful. You know how you have to remove certain memories? It just felt like we weren’t ready to do something that was quite scary to do,” says Mica, taking off her oversized glasses and rubbing her eyes in agitation.
M
The story goes that the composition was written partially on the road while in America and thanks to that pesky Icelandic menace, Eyjafjallajökull, the band was left stranded as time ticked away before the date of the London performance. With virtually no time to rehearse, let alone iron out any structural problems, Mica bravely attempts to salvage some positive memories of the event despite her visible reluctance to reminisce about it. “It was great. They’re really great players and really experienced, they can basically do anything,” she says, wide-eyed. “With the lack of our scoring and organisation, it was kind of quite good in the end because it meant everyone
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icachu’s arty experimental pop constantly shifts and blurs like an amorphous psychedelic blob, just when you think you’ve locked onto it, the sound abruptly shifts a gear, blurs or sometimes just stops altogether! If you’re aware of the breadth of Mica
The acerbic, slithering wind instruments, the warped phasing reminiscent of Steve Reich versus In Utero-era Nirvana, the descending discordant chaos of Stravinsky, the minimal spaciousness of Sibelius – these are not usual Playmusic references. Nevertheless, shot through with Mica’s inventive melodic ideas (as on Everything, which contains the revealing lyrics “I don’t agree with anything/I dispute everything”), it’s the kind of piece that would doubtless cause empathetic chin stroking from the likes of Sonic Youth or even newer Avant garde bands like Colourmusic, Abe Vigoda or HEALTH. But Mica typically claims that her latest work is already discarded. “When you make something you love, it’s great, but then that’s over,” she insists. “When you find a song that you like; the amount of times you listen to it, it gets even more rinsed and boring. Also, there are a lot of different types of music that I love so if you’re not in the mood for what you generally do, you just think its lame.” So the inventive instrumentals and pop-leaning melodies of 2009’s Jewellery have been put out to pasture then? “Yeah I guess so. Yeah. I think it’s pretty healthy to move on or away or whatever. I feel lucky to have put out a record but I haven’t listened to it since we did it, apart from playing it every night on the road for like two years which is totally insane,” she says gazing distantly. Of course live they would interpret the songs differently, further making Micachu’s astounding – though modestly presented – live shows something never to miss. Coming from most bands, the promise of changing their sound is usually hollow. Micachu though has followed up her debut with a live orchestral performance and accompanied grime mix tape. The indication is that Mica is someone who moves onto new ideas as fast as possible. Mica currently seems excited by NOT doing music, filling in the gap between projects with normal stuff like sports and hanging out with friends. For such a mercurial talent, a healthy dose of normality is probably essential to give her fervent imagination a chance to rest and recover. Clearly a sensitive and intelligent young woman, Mica Levi is also driven by an insatiable urge to create. You can bet that whatever she does next will be worth the wait, volcanic eruptions, permitting, of course! PM
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