Name: Hello Mary
Members: Helena Straight (vocals, guitar), Mikaela Oppenheimer (bass) Stella Wave (drums, vocals)
Nationality: American
Current release: Hello Mary's new album Emita Ox is slated for release on September 13th via Frenchkiss.
Recommendations: Distant star by Roberto Bolaño; Painting: “Tableau Vivant” by Dorothea Tanning

If you enjoyed this Hello Mary interview and would like to know more about the band, visit their official website. They are also on Instagram, twitter, and Facebook.



For a while, it seemed as though the model of the bedroom producer would replace bands altogether. Why do you like playing in a band rather than making music on your own?

Most of what we do is collaborative and that’s part of what makes it work! We all come to the writing process with different inspos which influences our sound.

It’s cool that this album specifically is a reflection of all our different interests.

What, to you, are some of the greatest bands, and what makes them great?

MO: A band I’m really into right now is Tortoise, really liking that album A Lazarus Taxon. It’s so hypnotic and I can listen to it on repeat!



HS: My top three right now and for the past few years are probably Radiohead, Big Thief and Air. They’re all unique. And their albums are always exploring something new, they don’t seem like they ever get trapped in one style.

[Read our Jean-Benoît Dunckel of AIR interview]

SW: I would agree on Radiohead and Big Thief. There are more I love but I’m blanking at the moment.



Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?

MO: Before we started making music together, I don’t think we exchanged any plans or strategies. The first time I (Mikaela) met Stella was the day of our first show. It was only after that show that Stella told us she wanted to be part of Hello Mary which was perfect cuz we didn’t have a drummer!

I think we try to come up with strategies that are business-minded but that is very boring and it’s usually not super inspiring to think about.

There are many potential models for creativity, from live performances and jamming/producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why? 

HS: We occasionally either send little ideas to our group chat and then play them together in our practice space, but most of the time we show each other things in person and build them on the spot together.

I love coming up with production ideas and trying out everybody else’s ideas in the studio. Little flourishes that are birthed in the studio can make a song extremely satisfying.

SW: Yeah, when I am bringing in a song, I’d say I prefer writing it on my own first, getting basic guitar/ vocal parts and lyrics and then bringing it to the band. Which inevitably transforms it and makes it better.

Sometimes I’ll make a demo at home and share with the band, or I’ll just show them in person and then we all build on it from there.


Hello Mary Interview Image by Cooper Winterson

How do your different characters add up to the band's sound and in which way is the end result – including live performances – different from the sum of its pieces?

It’s nice being in a three-piece because it feels like everyone really has to pull their own weight to make a really big sound that we want.

Is there a group consciousness, do you feel? How does it express itself?

SW: We can definitely have a hive mind at times, touring requires that a lot. And from spending so much time together, we have grown to adopt each other's mannerisms and such.

Tell me about a piece or album which shows the different aspects you each contribute to the process particularly clearly, please.

Something we realized earlier, about our new single “Three,” is that Helena wrote the piano part at home, Stella plays it on the album, and Mikaela plays it live!



This is not always the order of things but oftentimes we all contribute to bits of songs in interesting ways.

What tend to be the best songs in your opinion – those where you had a lot in common as a band or those where you had more differences? What happens when another musician takes you outside of your comfort zone?
 
We’re proud of all the songs on the new record. There was definitely some debate about a select few of them, which forced us all to be critical and honest with each other and put our minds together to create the best possible outcome.

It seems that the songs that were developed primarily by one person have a different energy than the ones that develop as a group - but both of them are cool.


Hello Mary Interview Image by Cooper Winterson

How has the interaction within the group changed over the years? How do you keep things surprising, playful and inspiring?

We’ve definitely grown closer as a trio. Our friendships and musical relationships have expanded.

We also just have personal lives and relationships apart from one another that we talk to each other about. We spend a lot of time analyzing interactions and we have identical humor so that helps.

Have you worked with outside contributors - from session musicians via producers to other songwriters? How did this change, improve or challenge the established dynamic and how do you look back on that?

We have not.

Most bands eventually break up. What makes you stay together? What are the essentials for a successful band?

We’ve been together for 5 years which doesn’t feel like a long time, relative to most bands.

It would also be helpful for us to know the essentials for a successful band! We don’t think we will ever break up but who knows.