The aht [EP]: Martina Nehrling meets The Sea and Cake

A little about the inspiration behind the aht [EP]: 

While preparing for interviews I'll often hear a song, now where I don't necessarily consider myself a synaesthete but my brain goes there from time to time while looking at the art of others. The aht [EP] is where you'll find musical comparisons to the work of a previous interview guest. So please keep an ear out for the occasional appearance of these musical posts on this blog.

Here is the first of the series: Martina Nehrling meets The Sea and Cake. 

Below we have a piece by previous guest, Martina Nehrling based in Chicago. Several works by Martina appear to be related to almost anything aquatic for me, so naturally my brain pulled up the instrumentation side of a song called "The Leaf" by The Sea and Cake (also based in Chicago). I couldn't have planned that better myself. Could this whole thing reflect a certain pulse of the creative community found there? Not sure but it makes for a good reason to point that out. 

"The Leaf" opens, with what sounds like, the bubbling up of marimbas being played together, and with a bit of a phaser effect perhaps? This speaks to the overlapping/layering and kinetic weaving of the strokes in Martina's painting below...both the song and the paint create the form and structure of what I see and hear. Also, a good part of the song features similar sounds, along with the drums holding things up just a bit ever so complimentary, even the breathy vocals echo that fashion. Then a transition to light electric guitar(s) skillfully loosen up the song's framework to close...all while the drums get a bit more familiar to the ears. 

Below you'll find Martina's painting and the audio for "The Leaf." I hope you'll enjoy these two artforms side by side. 

The Man Operating the Tilt-a-whirl was in Love With Rose, 28H x 36L in., acrylic on canvas, 2012 by Martina Nehrling

The Leaf by The Sea and Cake:

For more work by Martina Nehrling, please visit her website: Martina Nehrling 

And the previously released audio interview on the blog can be found here: Martina Nehrling interview.

The Sea and Cake website: The Sea and Cake

 Thanks for looking and listening.

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Artist Interview: Martina Nehrling. The outtakes.

Here is a collection of outtakes from my conversation with Chicago based artist, Martina Nehrling. Found in this group of snippets is the mention of paint marks, and the bird life that inspires them. Also talked about is her approach to titling a specific painting, and the compilation ends with thoughts on the color blue. Listen below for more!

Murmuration, 48H x 72L, acrylic on canvas, 2011

 Spelling
Freckles
Favors
Forgiveness

50H x 60L in., acrylic on canvas, 2013

Audio outtakes: 

The artist's website: Martina Nehrling

To listen to the full-length interview. please visit the post: here

Thanks for listening!

Artist Interview: Martina Nehrling

Words of the day: optimism. audible. flying. direct. whale.

Martina Nehrling, painter based in Chicago, joins ahtcast to talk process, scale of the work, and how some pieces require a lot of "think time." Martina Nehrling also shares her reasons for wanting to have had the chance to speak with a special list of artists who's work means a lot to her and her being an artist. Please tune in as I also share my thoughts on the work, as well as which musical act I feel would make an appropriate soundtrack to some of Nehrling's paintings. Listen below for more! 

Blue Sketch No. 4, 58H x 107L in., acrylic on Aquabee paper, 2015

The Man Operating the Tilt-a-whirl was in Love With Rose, 28H x 36L in., acrylic on canvas, 2012

Thin Slicing, 20H x 16L in., acrylic on Montval paper, 2014

 Liquefaction, 50H x 72L in., acrylic on canvas, 2011

Yarning, 40H x 63L in., acrylic on canvas, 2015

Audio interview with the artist:

The artist's website: Martina Nehrling

Artists etc. mentioned in the conversation:

Claude Monet

Mark Rothko

The Sea and Cake song: The Leaf from the album OUI

Piet Mondrian

Giorgio Morandi

Philip Guston

Henri Matisse

Eva Hesse

Cy Twombly

Wassily Kandinsky

Agnes Martin

Frank Stella

Jim Hodges

Jim Hodges, Into Life, 2001, Silk, cotton, polyester and thread, dimensions variable

The above piece is mentioned by Martina Nehrling in the conversation

The above is a video (43 seconds) I put together, using process pics provided by Nehrling, that shows some of the life of the painting "Big Blue and Orange Sketch."

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In the beginning of the episode you will hear a promo for this great podcast called: Tell Me About Your Song.

TMAYS, hosted by Jacob Haller, is podcast that asks musicians to share their thoughts and process about a certain song they wrote. So if you like music and stories that inspire it, check out Tell Me About Your Song! Thanks.

(Original ahtcast intro song by David T Miller and Phillip J. Mellen)