TRACK PREMIERE: Drum & Lace "Snakeskin"

I’m thrilled to have you guys premiering the new track, thank you! From the very beginning of Drum & Lace, when I was just composing and not performing yet, it’s always been important for me to have a very strong aesthetic that reflected me and my work. We’re so overwhelmed and overstimulated nowadays, that having my personality come through visually as well as sonically seemed like a very integral part of me as a composer and eventually as performer. Once I started performing as Drum & Lace (more or less exactly a year ago), that coupling of visual and sonic cemented itself even further as now I had a live platform and more visibility to play with. So I’d say it’s definitely been progressing a bit over time, but now it’s really fun to have this Drum & Lace world to create!

This is a really good question. I was inclined to immediately say sounds, but I’m so visually inspired that there’s always some scene or theme in my mind that I draw from. That’s partially the reason why film scoring and scoring for visual media has always been so appealing to me. When working on new music of my own, there’s always an experience, a photograph or color palette that will inform the mood. I’d say the visuals and sounds go hand in hand, but it’s a toss up.

Yes, always! My mother and grandmother always had such great style, which when I was younger I didn’t necessarily appreciate, and growing up in Italy brought out the appreciation of well made, unique yet timeless pieces that I still carry with me now. I love supporting small designers as so many are creating such inspiring collections that then the mass fashion companies tend to ‘borrow’ from (sigh). Fashion and clothes, especially also vintage, really help in creating and being part of the whole aesthetic that I was just talking about. The photos in this piece are all for the most part emerging awesome designers such as Nikki Chasin, Maria Dora, The Palatines, Staud, Intentionally Blank and Highlow Jewelry.

 It truly is a dream! To get to write music for these documentaries that tell stories about people that I’ve grown up knowing about and admiring is so fulfilling and incredible to me. On the flip side, it’s also such a challenge because of my deep love for fashion. There’s so much pressure on myself to ‘do right’ by the story and these characters, but I’m thrilled by how The First Monday in May turned out, which I co-scored with Ian Hultquist, and The Gospel According to Andre will be out in theaters in April!

I’ve never really considered myself a songwriter to be honest. Songwriting as I see it is such an art in itself that I respect so deeply, but my strong suit really lies in composing for picture. I’ve written pieces that aren’t for movies, dance or an installation but I really thrive off of that extra bit. Something like The Echo Society, that I had the honor of being part of this past October, is really the ideal type of performance and composing situation as I had to write a piece based on a theme and then had a room in a mansion to decorate and make alive as I wanted. That said, I love performing too, especially if it’s a special event that incorporates some sort of artistic collaboration with other mediums!

Hah you juggle it, honestly, by staying really really organized. These first few weeks of 2018 have already been a wild ride as I composed for 3 short projects, went to Sundance with a project, am writing a piece for a dancer to perform to and have had a handful of shows already. Organization, taking care of yourself especially when your body tells you it’s exhausted, and having a really great group of friends is really what gets me through it all, and I’m so very thankful. I’m also SO excited for Girlschool tonight (and this whole weekend) and to play in Brooklyn in a few days.