Name: Karen Vogt
Nationality: Australian
Occupation: Vocalist, songwriter, producer
Current release: Karen Vogt's new remix album as part of her GALÁN / VOGT duo with Spanish ambient experimental composer Pepo Galán is out in November. A new set of reworkings by Alpha (Corin Dingley) and Madeleine Cocolas will preceed it on September 22nd 2023. Pre-order here.

[Read our Madeleine Cocolas interview]

Recommendations: I have two recent music recommendations. An album by German composer Mary Yalex called Fantasy Zone that was just released through the beautifully curated label A Strangely Isolated Place. I have been following Mary’s work for only a couple of years and I am really impressed with her sound on this album and the universe she has created. I am also a fan of this label because it’s such a high quality of music, artwork and physical items. ASIP is an excellent example of devotion to a creative vision that developed organically when the label started out as a music blog.

The second recommendation I have is a woozy, downtempo release by an artist called Geneva Drive. He just released an album called Soft Like Fire through UK label Wayside & Woodland. I am guilty of having had the title track on repeat a few times, but I love the ride and the romance of falling in love with music because of the way it makes you feel. Wanting to play a song over and over because you want to continue that mood. And there is so much mood and atmosphere in this album!

If you enjoyed this Karen Vogt interview and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, and twitter. For an interview with another of her remixers, read our Markus Guentner interview.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you’re listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

When I listen to music, I feel it in my body first. There will be a physical sensation in the heart, the stomach, the throat, or the head. When talking about music I tend to use words like “I can’t connect with it”, “I felt something” or “it moved me”.

For me, the reaction is usually felt immediately. Time and repeated listens will tell me if  it is sustainable, or just an initial response. Eyes closed is preferable, but it’s always fun to play with visuals and music, too.

Listening to music while looking out a train window is my favourite combination.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

Going from being in that intimate space of making music at home and then making music with others in a band was one of my first steps where I would learn mostly everything I know. Being in a band and working together in a physical space, playing shows, writing and  recording albums together and touring is like an intense on the job training on every level. You learn through the experience and you just do it and figure it out as you go along.
 
I don’t do well in any traditional learning environment that involves a clasroom, a curriculum or theory. I am self-taught with everything I do.

There is still so much I don’t know, but experience is what really matters to me the most. I highly rate l learning through doing and you can just be an artist simply by having a creative outlet with which to express yourself and devoting yourself to that practice.
 
According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

At that age music meant freedom from conformity, escape from small town mentality and self-expression that seemed infinite. Listening to a song became like jumping through a portal to another world. It was total escape from the growing pains of changing from a girl to a woman. It was a time of discovery where you start to be aware of a world outside mainstream music and commercial radio.

I wouldn’t start to write songs until I was 19, but as a listener music really symbolised an opening up to new ways of thinking about the world - the world outside school and potential worlds that lay ahead in your future. Music still holds that power for me to escape and to shift my mood instantly. It still feels transportative and magical in that way.

What has changed is that you can feel a bit disillusioned by peoples motives for making music. But mostly, realising that there are so many incredible artists who you’ll never hear of unless you actively go out there and look for, instead of waiting for the world to bring them to you.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

The most important thing for me is to find my own way, my own voice and just keep focused on my creative path without letting trends influence me. Improvisation has become something that I work with more and more. My desire to create is fuelled by the simple idea of individuality and our unique expression of our experience. There is only one of me, and only one of you. I don’t want to sound like anyone else except me.

Also, another thing that motivates me to create is devotion to an idea or project. Letting it grow over time and being there through the ups and downs and not abandoning it. Maybe it’s not cool or not popular, but you want to let it live and grow to see where it ends up.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

To be the one who has discovered an idea makes the most sense to me. Especially when there are so many universal themes and symbols that pop up often in many artists work. I feel more comfortable with this idea as I am creating because it does feel like ideas are floating around in the air.

This is why I like improvisation because you can just catch them and play with them immediately and not analyse them. I feel like I haven’t had time to even think about it the idea - it’s just come to me. But there are also the ones that brew away and eventually bubble up to the surface after much thought and contemplation.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What’s your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

The way I perceive my music constantly changes. I feel like I can never quite grasp it, but I know that ambiguity, emotions and space are all a big part of my music. But I think I am listening for the overall feeling, or more specifically - the mood.

I am really hopeless and often at a loss for words when describing my music. Descriptions can change depending on what day you ask me too. So I think moody is really the one constant in my music. Maybe.

See, now I want to change my mind!

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you’ve had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The ocean is a beautiful sound, and especially listening to sets of waves wash up on the shore as a constant background noise. But my constant background noise in my apartment on the outskirts of Paris is the ceaseless flow of traffic from the busy highway below me. I don’t hear natural noises very often except for my cats meowing and a few birds when I go for a walk.

Oh, and rain, I do love the sound of rain and thunder. But the traffic has a rhythm and a movement to it that my mind wants to believe is maybe similar to the ocean.

Earlier this year I released an album called Le Mans. I used some car samples I recorded on my phone at the Le Mans 24 hour race. It was my first time there, last year, and I was utterly fascinated by the sounds of the cars. The massive sounds and the roar of the engines were all consuming and inescapable. It really got inside my head. I heard the engines as these beings almost speaking another language.



We often assign human qualities to unfamiliar sounds, and I was totally doing that in this scenario. It moved me so much because you just think of how intense it must be to drive that car so fast and be inside the source of that massive sound. It was musical, alive and raw as the car sped up and then slowed down whilst winding it’s way around the race track.

I was really happy with how the album finally turned out because I managed to make music from it.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I like playing with time and either using tiny slices of samples of my vocals that are layered, or long held notes that change and shift over time. I prefer simple ideas with minimal equipment so that there is lots of space to create an atmosphere. Moving in and out of pitch and sliding from one note to the next gives really interesting results too.

When I sing or do vocals, I like to sing quietly and slide around between low and high ranges. Higher sung notes can have an airy, wispy texture the low vibrations of the voice are also really interesting.

I tend to make music that is slow and simple so that you can go a bit deeper into the song and the response is often a pensive and reflective one.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that’s particularly dear to you, please?

“I’ve Been Waiting for the Longest Time” was a guitar only, improvised drone-based piece. I just set up my guitar, some pedals and effects, a looper and pressed record. I do this often with just vocals or vocals and guitar.



In this piece I can hear myself trying to figure out where I am going as little melodies and layers are introduced. It has this feeling of being in a trance and feels very sweeping and big and it was such a joy to make that piece and feel it come through.

I shortened the original 22 minute improvisation to just over 7 minutes for it’s release on Italian label Superpang last year. But I just released the original 22 minute piece on my Bandcamp. The reason this is dear to me is that I would never have dared to do this 7 or 8 years ago because it was more a songwriting style and rehearsing things many times before recording them in the band context.



But I am at a point now where I am more interested in getting on with creating a body of work and realising that all these twists and turns are part of it. I am curious to hear how it all sounds and confident enough to know that if I keep going I will eventually produce something that I like.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you’re making music?

I am coming from a place of feeling and intuition when I make music. But happy accidents are a big part of how I experiment. So many things have happened because I pressed the wrong button or wired things weirdly. Although, I did recently blow up a pre-amp accidentally which was a costly accident that I deeply regret!

I think it’s important to break your own rules and push yourself a bit more. You can have a bunch of rules for one project and play with that for a while and then do the opposite in another project to give some relief and bring in a different energy.

I don’t want to feel restricted or compare myself to others and how they work.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

The way I make music reflects a mixture of things that express how I perceive both the world and my place in it. There is a sense of searching and exploration in my work to do with emotions, and so many things that I am not yet even aware of. I am working with my sub-conscious when I do the improvisations and going deeper into self-expression through that entry point.

I think we can learn life lessons through music, but mostly to re-inforce experiences that we have had or to realise or focus in on certain aspects. Music can help to process experiences and make sense of all the bits and pieces and stages of emotions that wash over us.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn’t or wouldn’t in more mundane tasks?

It totally depends on the coffee and the music. It could be incredibly bad coffee that was made in a hurry, or it could be the most exquisite coffee that is presented to you in a way that is full of love, care and consideration. But there are similarities in that it is a moment to create something for someone to experience. There is a creator and there is an audience.

But music is very particular because it is just audio - sound and vibrations. There is so much you can express and so many places you can take people using this medium alone.

Unlike a cup of coffee, you can replay the recorded music to repeat the experience and (hopefully) go more deeply into it.
 
Every time I listen to Albedo by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can’t explain?

I do, but I think it’s nice to keep some things to yourself and not to reveal everything about ourselves to the world. Algorithms already know so much about us. We don’t have to share things that are precious and sacred to us.

I think lots of instrumental music, or music with indiscernabe lyrics, can be incredibly powerful and valuable. We suddenly have space to interpret and just feel it without being told what it is about.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I would dearly love to see music be valued more in our world, and not always being about money or popularity as the measure of success, or the thing to aspire to. Music has become a real product that is delivered through a certain supply chain.

For musicians, I think that if you are truly devoted to making music as a way of life, then you will find your own way to be able to keep making it. Many independent musicians like myself struggle to value their work, let alone make money from music.

So I wish that our attitudes would shift a bit more towards valuing creativity and the lifetime commitment that many artists make to it.