Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 Sunday Interviews
By Neph Basedow, Fri., Nov. 7, 2014
Angel Olsen
2:30pm, Orange stage"I've always felt like an old lady," admits Angel Olsen. "When I encounter certain situations, I ask myself, 'How would my mom have dealt with this at her age?' I've always carried that 'old-fashioned' vibe with me."
Credit the St. Louis-born singer's adoptive parents, now in their 70s and 80s. Her work ethic's similarly old-school; the 27-year-old songstress estimates that by year's end she'll have played 140 shows.
That trumps last year's tally by more than double. Heightened demand arrives via her enchanting second album, February's Burn Your Fire for No Witness. With a haunting, Patsy Cline-meets-Grace Slick voice, the former Bonnie "Prince" Billy backup singer debuted this year to the festival circuit.
"Until recently, I'd never had offers, but this year I've played several," she says. "It's weird to see what one album, and one year, can do."
A month after the release of Fire, her festival year began with South by Southwest gigs at Mohawk and Central Presbyterian Church, fronting a band.
"My group is intimate, but we bring a lot of loudness, too. Playing outdoor fests requires some creativity."
Nonetheless, Olsen considers stripped-down sets her best suit ("I'm not trying to be U2 or anything.") and thus looks forward to taking some time out to reflect on her next album.
"I want to make music that I care about. There's pressure in the industry to do things at a certain time, so people stay interested – but that's all crap. If what you're producing is interesting, people will pay attention."
Whatever communing needs to occur before her next release will happen in Asheville, N.C., where she moved last fall after having spent seven years in Chicago.
"[Asheville] forces you to slow down," she says. "It's been a crazy year, but I just want to work hard, and have fun. Because, you never know ... this could be it."