Known for her sumptuous, unsettling sound, Weyes Blood (aka Natalie Mering) is an American singer-songwriter described by many as the voice of her generation. Nostalgic yet of its time, her 2019 breakthrough album Titanic Rising is a folk-pop record whose songs capture the disillusionment of modern life without losing hope.
The LA-based multi-instrumentalist played Glastonbury in June and will return to the UK for shows in November. Her acclaimed fifth album And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is out now on Sub Pop records. weyesblood.com
The first record I loved was Nirvana’s Unplugged. I had it in on cassette, and I’d listen to it on repeat on my red Walkman. Nevermind was great, but the unplugged performance rang out into my soul.
What's everyone reading?
My all-time favourite piece of music is Quatuor Pour la Fin du Temps by Olivier Messiaen. It was written in a prisoner-of-war camp during WWII on an out-of-tune piano, a one-string cello and a broken clarinet. The desolation is so audible, and the redemption comes in heavy on ‘Louangeà l’Eternité de Jésus’. It never ceases to amaze me how something so dissonant and minimal can say so much about the human condition.
I’m currently reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, and it’s really thoughtful – dark but beautiful.
My favourite film changes all the time! Lately, I love Siberiade – a four-hour Russian epic that spans three generations in a Siberian village. It explains a lot about the culture and history of that place. Also, it has great synth music.
I spend too much time trying to solve all the world’s existential problems in my head.
I love the painting Le Silence by Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer, a French symbolist artist. It’s very strangely suggestive.
My favourite restaurant is Found Oyster in Los Angeles. I’m obsessed with the fruits of the sea, especially oysters. It never disappoints on simplicity and freshness.
If I won the lottery, I’d build a giant outdoor immersive experience to heal soul sickness, with big, beautiful water structures full of natural vitality and intentional planning so everything can grow. There’d be a section of edible plants where people can pick their own delights, Garden of Eden-style. Nudity and swimming permitted, just no plastic.
My favourite place in the world is the Sierra Nevada mountain range in central California. The river that runs through it is melted glacial water, cold and clear. It’s nice to lay out on the huge granite rocks in the sun and get hot enough to dip into the freezing water. I can think clearly there.
If I could bring back one trend, it would be people communicating via printed media – a culture of zines and handmade books. People listening to each other in long-form, instead of in comments sections.
