Name: Penelope Antena
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: French-Belgian
Current release: Penelope Antena's James & June is out via Youngbloods & Parapente Music.

If you enjoyed these thoughts by Penelope Antena and would like to stay up to date with her music and projects, visit her on Instagram, and Soundcloud. We also have an in-depth 15 Questions Penelope Antena interview.
 


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I never really think about what I’m going to write about, I never plan ahead. The music is what inspires the “theme” of the song. It is always related to something I’m going through or something I’m feeling though. I can’t make stories up.

But it’s always some sort of automatic writing where I sit down at a piano find a chord change that draws my attention and words will start flowing, and it’s often it either flows out almost in one go, or it never does. I rarely go back to old ideas.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I like change, change is a very important component of my work. Change of scenery, change of instrument, change of heart :)  

That’s why I liked writing in the middle of the woods or by the sea. There are no two mornings alike. It’s always so inspiring.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

There’s nothing to me, like early early mornings. Some musicians like to write late at night, I feel the dawn works wonders for me. Pour myself a cup of coffee, go to the studio, light some sandal wood and turn on the gear.

I even wrote a song called “If it’s not morning” on my last record which illudes to my creative rituals.



What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

There’s always that element of surprise I’m looking for. I like when the hairs on my arms stand up and I get goosebumps.

It can be hard and tedious finding that Ah Ha! Moment but that’s always what I’m looking for when starting a song.

I guess that’s why so much of my music sounds “experimental” I’m looking for originality.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

I’ve never written a song without music yet. It’s always music (or interesting sound even) first, then the lyrics.  

Most of the time they’ll come from my experience. My love life or something I’ve felt at some point. To me it’d be too hard to write first. I feel like words and notes are too intertwined.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

A good lyric provides closure and healing to the writer. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to make sense. I feel like you take things out of you when you write, to make space for the new. It’s therapeutic.

Like when I wrote my song “Enough,” I needed to ask questions about my relationship, but I didn’t really need any answer, so to put it out that way helped put the questions and doubts behind me and move on.



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?

It used to be I discover ideas by sampling and tweaking the sounds til something interesting comes up. Nowadays I like to write proper songs on the piano, like my song “Bloom.” Create with intent as oppose to make something by accident.



I’m sure I’ll go back and forth between those two ways of approaching music production but for now, having something precise to say and see a vision through is really nice.
 
Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

I’ve been writing a lot of club music lately. I don’t know what I’ll do with these tracks yet, but I know trying something completely different with no expectations is freeing.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

There’s definitely a mystic element of music making, I’m a spiritual person. Being in nature is part of my creative process, being surrounded by trees, by wildlife, will help ideas flow naturally.

The ocean too. I live by the ocean now, I’ll go have a swim in the morning, then go into the studio. Faced with such beauty you ought to be spiritual .

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice?

It really depends on the song. Sometimes a song will flow in one day and that’s it, even the flaws are part of what you wanted to say and it’s important to not tweak it too much.

Like when I wrote my song “June ’87” after finding an old cassette recorder that belonged to my grandfather.



I used one of his recordings (he used to record himself noodling on his Wurlitzer) and I made it a mission to write around his playing. You can hear him stop at times, but I kept it as is.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

Nowadays, mixing has become an intrinsic part of the producing process. With DAWS and bedroom production, being able to mix as you go became increasingly essential.

Mastering I feel is the one thing artists shouldn’t do themselves. It requires a certain amount of hindsight and craftsmanship  only master engineers have.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I have been writing songs non stop for the last 7 years, releasing one album every 2 years! So that sense of emptiness hasn’t really hit yet.

I’m in a very productive chapter of my life and I feel like the only thing that’d keep me from writing as much would be to have a baby and  that’s such a beautiful and fulfilling thing to do, I’d be glad to trade one for the other.

Although I’m pretty sure I’ll still be writing songs between naps :)

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing 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’s undoubtedly a more solemn undertaking than making coffee.

Like we said there’s something spiritual about creating a piece. It requires calm, focus, and extreme sensibility.

I guess I could sometimes apply this amount of dedication to other, more common, tasks in my life …