{"id":4638,"date":"2022-06-29T23:34:13","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T04:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=4638"},"modified":"2022-06-30T22:19:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T03:19:24","slug":"activities-anna-butterss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/activities-anna-butterss\/","title":{"rendered":"Outside the Comfort Zone: A Conversation with Anna Butterss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a debut album, many artists play it a little \u201csafe.\u201d Show your capability but save your boundary-pushing for a follow-up. Anna Butterss did not seem to get the memo. Activities<\/em> (Colorfield, 2022) finds her expanding her scope well beyond not only the music for which her current fans may know her but also her usual instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is not to say that those familiar with Butterss\u2019 work to date would not find something to draw them into the album. Butterss is probably best known in some circles for her role in supporting singer-songwriters, including Phoebe Bridgers, Aimee Mann, and Christian Lee Hutson. The beautiful musical simplicity from such experiences echoes on tracks like \u201cLimitations and Dogma,\u201d where sparse keyboards and skittering drums gradually build into a mid-tempo shuffle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others are possibly more accustomed to Butterss\u2019 bass work on Makaya McCraven\u2019s Universal Beings<\/em> (International Anthem, 2018) or Josh Johnson\u2019s Freedom Exercise<\/em> (Northern Spy, 2020)<\/a>. On both, studio mastery created new sounds by manipulating a combination of improvisational creativity. This aesthetic is also present on Activities. <\/em>With the opener, \u201cEntrance,\u201d a steady bass groove and a repeated faint harp-like synthesizer give way for a mysterious-sounding flute, further obfuscated by additional synthesizers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While connections to Butterss\u2019 previous works are present on the record, Activities<\/em> largely stands out on its own. Part of this comes from the unique environment in which it was born. The recording itself was never intended for release. What started as an opportunity for Butterss to go into the studio and \u201cmess around\u201d for a day somehow turned into Butterss recording on several instruments. Including all of the parts mentioned above. Of the dozen tools at her disposal, most she had never played before. Others, specifically the flute, she long abandoned. Interestingly, you can neither tell from the sound itself that she lacks significant experience with several of the instruments. Or even that it is one person playing most of the parts. This is perhaps most evident in the album\u2019s use of synthesizers. Butterss\u2019 adds their colors carefully, as if a painter seeking the perfect stroke. On a song like \u201cSuper Lucrative,\u201d the synths are all-encompassing and have an imposing presence. By contrast, with \u201cDo Not Disturb,\u201d the synths subtly, almost imperceptibly, weave along a frenetic upright bass line. At other times there is a very heavy 80s synth-pop vibe to the album, but it never seems dated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat down with Butterss to discuss her bold debut and some of the instruments in her arsenal. We also cover her time in her home city of Adelaide, Australia, and her adopted home of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: Let\u2019s go back to the beginning. When did you start playing bass, and what got you into the instrument?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Butterss: Oh, man. I started playing bass when I was 15. I started on the upright. Funnily enough, at the time, I was going to a music high school, and my primary instrument was the flute. But I was starting to get a little bored with the flute and felt like I was a little disconnected from it. My music teacher suggested that maybe I consider playing another instrument.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: And that led to the bass?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AB: Well, at first, I started to panic a little bit. I knew I wanted something different from the flute but was unsure what instrument would speak to me. Around that time, I also started listening to jazz. Before that, I had not listened to much jazz music. I liked how improvisation, being such a huge part of jazz music, gave the artist more creative freedom. My high school had a great jazz program and I wanted to be a part of it. So, I decided to try an instrument that I could play in their jazz groups. From the very first time I played the bass, it just felt so natural to me; more than the flute ever did. The bass allowed me to express myself better than I ever could on the flute. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: But you also play flute on Activities.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AB: [laughing]. Yes. Playing the flute on the album was not something I intended to do when [co-producer and mixer] Pete [Min] called me and asked if I wanted to make a record. Because his concept with the Colorfield Records label is to have artists play instruments they are less familiar with, he started asking me if I play guitar, drums, or piano. I don\u2019t play any of those instruments.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG: Though, Activities <\/em>finds you performing on all three.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AB: Right. I think I can get them to make the sounds I was looking for on the album, but they are not something I play at a professional level, not really anyway. But as far as the flute, after I told Pete that I couldn\u2019t play the instruments he named, I suggested that I could do something on the flute. Though I never intended to play flute on the album, it was nice to reconnect with that instrument that I once loved and later grew tired of; to play it without negative emotions. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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