Speaking with Lafayette 148 New York, Vienna shares a bit about the direction of her pre-album photo shoot, and some inspirations for her current work.

Going more in depth, Vienna takes on different topics from Ellery‘s Tasha Golden, for her interview series on Ploughshares. Past and previous influences from books and poetry are explored, and extends to the work of songwriters. Also, a wider discussion is opened up with questions for readers and Vienna’s fans.

Three years after stepping away from a full-time music career to attend graduate school, Vienna returns to the studio with a new sound, a new producer, and a new approach to songwriting and recording. What’s emerging from that process is her most uptempo, pop-influenced album yet—and full of surprises, even to its creators.

“Nothing about this is familiar”

“I have all these songs in various stages of completion,” Vienna explains. “Some are just fragments of melody set to a beat I recorded on my phone. Some are a verse and chorus with no lyrics. I’ve never been a prolific writer, and then I got really involved in school, so my songwriting pace just went glacial,” she says with a laugh. “It’s sort of terrifying to have so little figured out as we start recording, but it also opens up a lot of possibilities.”

At the same time, she’s been thinking more like a producer from the outset, often sketching out percussion and vocal arrangements in demo recordings. “This album began with restlessness,” Vienna says. “I wanted the songs to have movement; I wanted to be on my feet. So I started writing more on guitar while walking around the house. I’d make rhythmic patterns on the looper and dance around to them. That’s probably part of why these songs are taking so long to find their shape. Nothing about this is familiar.”

Last fall, she sought out producer Cason Cooley as a collaborator. “I absolutely loved the album he made with Katie Herzig, The Waking Sleep, and I knew Katie had a lot of songs that weren’t fully written when they started,” Vienna recalls. “I wanted to work with a producer who thrived on that kind of scenario, who would discover these songs with me. And I wanted someone I hadn’t worked with before, so we could make up our creative process as we went along.”

Cason immediately jumped on board. “Vienna has a great sense of adventure and fun,” he says. “She holds her identity with an open hand.” The two exchanged ideas and recordings online for several months. Then in February—fresh off the premiere of another collaboration, the new musical The Fourth Messenger, written with playwright Tanya Shaffer—Vienna flew to Nashville for three weeks of intensive pre-production in Cason’s studio. “It’s like we’re starting at the top of a mountain and running down,” Cason says, “taking whatever paths open up along the way, with no preconceived notion of how we’re going to get to the bottom.”

“Take painful contradictions and make them beautiful”

And what are the songs about, at least so far? “Rekindling my love affair with music, and with the world, really,” says Vienna. “After Inland Territory came out in 2009, I found myself at a loss. I was making music just because it was my job, not because I had anything to say, and that was a terrible feeling. Here I had the luckiest life imaginable, and it felt like work.” Meanwhile, she felt the insistent pull of another calling. “I’ve always known that a big part of me lives in very un-artistic, unromantic places, like spreadsheets and computer code, nerdy conversations about policy. I didn’t just want to write songs about the problems we face as human beings. I wanted to actually work on those problems.”

So she applied to the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at Michigan, a dual masters program she’d had in her “someday” file for years; she graduates in May. Academia was a heady experience, and not always an easy one, especially at the environmental school. “It was emotionally debilitating sometimes,” she admits. “It’s hard to learn about things like climate change and extinction rates, and how difficult our systems make it for anyone to do the right thing. It’s hard to stare straight at the facts and think, ‘I don’t know how we can solve this, or even how much we care to.’”

Ultimately, it was music that gave her a way through. “It’s not all bad news—if school’s taught me anything, it’s that ingenuity and courage are everywhere, right along with apathy and selfishness,” Vienna says. “And that everything worth making or doing comes at a price. That’s when I finally understood why music matters, why art of any kind matters. It’s how we can take painful contradictions and make them beautiful. We can embrace what overwhelms us, and then do something about it.”

Vienna will be touring throughout fall 2013 in the U.S. and Europe following the album’s release (check this news post for more details). In the meantime, join the mailing list and follow Vienna on Facebook to get the latest updates on the album…and possibly a sneak preview or two!

The tour also marks Vienna’s creative reunion with songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Alex Wong. “I’m excited to play with Alex again,” she says. “We’ve always had a great time feeding off and learning from each other. And we’ve each gone through intense experiences over the past few years that have really shaped us. I’m curious how that will come through in the music.” One of those experiences for Alex was releasing his first solo album, the moodily gorgeous A City On A Lake—a major milestone for the lifelong collaborator. In addition to playing with Vienna, Alex will open 26 of the U.S. shows, performing material from City as well as a new sophomore release.

Rounding out the traveling ensemble are Jordan Hamlin, also a producer and multi-instrumentalist, known for her work with artists like Katie Herzig, Lucy Wainwright Roche and Sandra McCracken; Eddie Jackson, engineer and mixer of Inland Territory, who will be handling live sound and show recording; and Karen Shih, who will join portions of the tour to document their adventures.

Show times, ticket links, and other venue information will be updated on the Shows page as they become available.

SUMMER SOLO TOUR
9 Jul: Pittsburgh PA – Club Cafe (with Alex Wong)
10 Jul: Buffalo NY – 9th Ward (with Alex Wong)
11 Jul: Burlington VT – Higher Ground (with Alex Wong)
12 Jul: Natick MA – Center for the Arts (with Alex Wong)
13 Jul: Ogunquit ME – Jonathan’s (with Alex Wong)
14 Jul: Londonderry NH – Tupelo Hall (with Alex Wong)
20 Jul: Charlotte NC – McGlohon Theater (with Alex Wong)

ALBUM RELEASE PREVIEW (TRIO)
18 Aug: San Diego CA – Grand Del Mar (with Alex Wong)

ALBUM RELEASE TOUR – U.S. (TRIO)
25 Sep: Evanston, IL – Space (with Barnaby Bright)
26 Sep: Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark (with Alex Wong)
27 Sep: Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark (with Barnaby Bright)
28 Sep: Kent, OH – The Kent Stage (with Barnaby Bright)
30 Sep: Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall (with Alex Wong)
1 Oct: Boston, MA – Royale (with Alex Wong)
2 Oct: Norfolk, CT – Infinity Hall (with Alex Wong)
3 Oct: Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Wolf Den (with Alex Wong)
4 Oct: New York, NY – Highline Ballroom (with Alex Wong)
5 Oct: Blairstown, NJ – Blairstown Historic Theatre (with Alex Wong)
6 Oct: Annapolis, MD – Rams Head on Stage (with Alex Wong)
8 Oct: Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live (with Alex Wong)
9 Oct: Bethlehem, PA – Musikfest Café (with Alex Wong)
10 Oct: Washington, DC – The Hamilton (with Alex Wong)
11 Oct: Asheville, NC – Altamont Theatre (with Alex Wong)
12 Oct: Durham, NC – The Carolina Theatre
13 Oct: Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic (with Alex Wong)

ALBUM RELEASE TOUR – GERMANY (TRIO)
15 Oct: Koblenz DE – Cafe Hahn
16 Oct: Karlsruhe DE – Tollhaus
17 Oct: Kaiserslautern DE – Kammgarn
18 Oct: Freiburg DE – Jazzhaus
19 Oct: Stuttgart DE – Theaterhaus
20 Oct: Nürnberg DE – Maritim
22 Oct: Helmbrechts DE – Bürgersaal
23 Oct: Dresden DE – Lukaskirche
24 Oct: Leipzig DE – Peterskirche
25 Oct: Kassel DE – Staatstheater
26 Oct: Worpswede DE – Music Hall
27 Oct: Bernau DE – Ofen Bar
28 Oct: Hamburg DE – Fabrik
29 Oct: Hannover DE – Kultursommer Schloss Landestrost
30 Oct: Mainz DE – Frankfurter Hof

ALBUM RELEASE TOUR – U.K. (TRIO)
1 Nov: London UK – Bush Hall

ALBUM RELEASE TOUR – U.S. (TRIO)
7 Nov: Austin, TX – One World Theatre (with Barnaby Bright)
8 Nov: Houston, TX – Dosey Doe (with Barnaby Bright)
9 Nov: Dallas, TX – Kessler Theatre (with Barnaby Bright)
11 Nov: Phoenix, AZ – Musical Instrument Museum (with Alex Wong)
13 Nov: Los Angeles, CA – Largo (with Alex Wong)
14 Nov: Livermore, CA – Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center
16 Nov: San Francisco, CA – The Independent (2 Shows)
19 Nov: Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios (with Barnaby Bright)
20 Nov: Seattle, WA – Neptune (with Barnaby Bright and Alex Wong)
22 Nov: Sacramento, CA – Assembly (with Barnaby Bright)
23 Nov: Saratoga, CA – Villa Montalvo Carriage House (with Barnaby Bright)
4 Dec: Nashville, TN – The Basement (with Barnaby Bright)
5 Dec: St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House (with Barnaby Bright)
6 Dec: Lawrence, KS – Lawrence Art Center (with Barnaby Bright)
7 Dec: Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard (with Barnaby Bright)
8 Dec: Cedar Rapids, IA – Legion Arts Center (with Barnaby Bright)
10 Dec: Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz Lounge (with Barnaby Bright)
11 Dec: Denver, CO – Soiled Dove (with Alex Wong)
13 Dec: Albuquerque, NM – Outpost
14 Dec: Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room (with Alex Wong)