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Michelle Chamuel talks taking control on her new “Feel It” EP

When we first introduced you to out musician Michelle Chamuel, it was as the enigmatic frontwoman of My Dear Disco. She was fresh off a pretty sweet gig; performing at a little music festival you might have heard of called Lollapalooza. Three years later, Michelle landed on another cool stage as a contestant on The Voice. Her inspired covers of Taylor Swift, Cyndi Lauper and Katy Perry as part of Team Usher had new fans voting for her up through the season finale, where she came in a close second.

Michelle did not take the conventional after-the-reality-show route with her career. Her first post-Voice album, All I Want, was electro-heavy and released as a solo side project, The Reverb Junkie. She followed that up with three Reverb Junkie EPs-The Drift, EP2, I Am-and, in 2015, released Face the Fire, her first album under her own name. And on her new EP, Feel It, Michelle has taken the reins on all aspects of the music, including the mixing and production.

We talked with Michelle about the new recording process, why she may be a little bit of a control freak, and if she’ll be collaborating with partner Mary Lambert anytime soon.

AfterEllen.com: So many things have been happening in your life since we spoke last. What’s been going on and how has it shaped the new music?

Michelle Chamuel: Absolutely. Yeah! I’m still trying to sort out how to eloquently describe this process because I think-you know, everybody’s process is so different. For me, I think I’ve been realizing-it’s been so strange because I’ve been known as a singer for so long, and it’s definitely a big part of who I am, but it’s something I’ve been rebelling against since I was little, even though I love to sing. So that’s kind of been confusing to incorporate as an artist, because people will be like, “You love to sing-why don’t you sing right now? Why don’t you want to tour?”

Dealing with that in the context of making music, I’ve always wanted to not only just sing-singing is a part of the entire music of it, getting more into really digging intro production and engineering and figuring out that the person that controls the sound is not just the singer. Like you don’t even get to control, fully, your voice when you’re a singer because of cueing or the types of effects. That for me is a part of sound. But I think for a lot of other people, it’s not. Someone else will say their voice is, you know, they’ll put reverb or no reverb, and it’s like, cool, I’m still singing and still expressing my identity. But for me, it feels really different. If someone plays a different bass note under me than the one that I’ve expected, I have to figure that out based on my own performance and composition. That changes what I’m singing.

AE: For a lack of a better term, are you a little bit of a control freak?

MC: Yes. [laughs] I also feel like-I’m trying to think of a good analogy-but like I walked into the wrong classroom. I’m someone that loves to sing and will always sing and will always do that, but at the same time, just labeling me as a singer? I feel like I stepped into the singers meeting. It’s like “Wait, you’re not like us! Why don’t you want to do this thing and this thing?” There’s gotta be some kind of other major or something. This isn’t quite me yet.

AE: Do you think that has to do with the fact you were on a show like The Voice, covering other people’s songs, and so that’s the assumption made about you?

MC: I think that made it more so. But it definitely wasn’t The Voice where I started dealing with it. In college, I studied music psychology. I always sang, so it was still happening, but I definitely had issues with it. Like I almost failed a class because it was aural theory and you would have to sight read to sing the stuff, and I just couldn’t do it. I can’t really sing on command. My voice will shut off. It just shuts off. So I couldn’t do it! The teacher was super nice like, “OK, maybe next week; maybe next week.” It was almost the end of the course, and I figured out I could sing from the hallway into the classroom-I could sing if it was loud around me and everyone wasn’t looking at me. So that’s kind of my relationship with it. It wasn’t like, “Let me sing for you!”

AE: So you like being able to control the other elements around your singing.

MC: Yeah, for sure! In college, basically, I did a track with a friend, so I recorded in a studio which, for me, is very different than performance. And so based on that track, I ended up being able to collaborate with a band and then I joined a band. I’ve been bucking against that whole singer label and all that since college; since like 2006. Being like, “I know that I sing in this band, but I don’t want to stand in front of everybody; I want to be treated like a musician and like we’re all part of the music.” And I want to be a part of the music and work that way rather than an accessory or on top of the music.

You know, the lead singer is usually out front and is the person that does the interviews, and I wanted to share that. I thought we were all part of the music, and I didn’t understand why my voice wasn’t viewed as an instrument. Going places-I didn’t dress like a lead singer. I just dress like a musician so I’d show up at gigs, and they’d be like, “Oh cool, are you the merch chick?” “Nah, I”m the singer!” It wasn’t like, “Oh are you the bass player?” The band would be getting ushered into some suite at some event, and they’d be like, “I’m sorry, miss. You can’t go in. It’s for band members only.” It’s like “What!?” So I’ve dealt with that. The Voice was just making it louder so to everyone else it’s like “Oh cool! You’re a singer,” but it started in the band.

AE: What kind of themes show up on the EP? Is there a concept or is every song an individual entity?

MC: What’s cool about this is I’m working on a CD that’s going to come out in the summer-it’s called Feel It-and those lyrics are kind of about me trying to figure that out in the process. So the title track is about how music, in general, makes me feel better. If I feel like something’s missing, and I don’t know what it is, the music’s there and I don’t have to deal with it alone, and I feel like that’s what music is for a lot of people.

So it’s kind of about the place of music in my life, whether it’s-I don’t know. I feel like I’m awkward part of the time so if I’m at a party or something and didn’t really know how to mingle because it’s so loud and I feel like kind of an outcast, a song I know will play, and I’ll be able to dance real hard to it. And I communicate through that, because it’s a common language. Feel It is just kind of about feeling the music and feeling alive. Definitely a celebration in that way.

And it’s much more production-heavy and energetic, and so it’s kind of an album for that. And while I was writing that EP, different songs were coming up that were really quiet and stripped down. And this one song came to mind, and this is for like, future projects, but I was kind of digesting this whole thing that’s happening with Kesha and Dr. Luke. I don’t really even know how to get into that whole can of worms, but basically, there’s this kind of hype, more exciting sounding EP. So what’s been happening is instead of being like “Here’s the structure, here’s how it works,” this EP is an album and I’ll push it in, you know, a more industry way, and in the back I’ll be like “Cool, I have these five songs for this EP, and right up next, I’m gonna release this quiet EP.” And meanwhile, I’m working on music I see in film. So basically it’s been really freeing to have an outlet for all the different stuff and not have somebody be like, “That’s going to be really confusing for your audience.” It’s like cool; I just want to make music.

AE: Are you the kind of artist who when you’re making music, you strongly consider “my audience” or “my fanbase” when it comes to how you write?

MC: I do, and when I do, it tends to make the music less authentic and it’s not better or worse-it’s just not made for me as much as it’s made for somebody else. And I’ve always made music for me because if they don’t like it, then you feel doubly crappy because I didn’t make the music that really only resonates with me, I made it for someone else. It’s like somebody a gift. It’s a lot of pressure. So I try to steer away from it but it always comes back-like who am I talking to? Like that one comment that fan said-I want to write them a song. I try not to think about it, but I really, really try to write 100 percent from my own truth, but it’s hard. I hear other people’s feelings.

AE: I imagine you and Mary talk about music a lot-have you ever found yourselves wanting to write music about the same thing? Maybe the same scenario or something that happened to you both?

MC: Wow, that’s a really cool question. No! I have never experienced anything like that. I feel like she is-she really writes from her truth. She’s amazing in that, and I really admire that. Not that she doesn’t also struggle with audience or whatever-I feel like most artists interact with their fanbase and hear “I like this song; I don’t like this song.” She’s writing from her experience and even if we were to write about the same event, the music would be so different that it wouldn’t even feel like the same thing.

AE: I’m sure you get asked all the time when you’ll be recording a duet and appearing on each other’s work.

MC: We’re actually working together more now. I just recorded her in the studio last week which is pretty awesome. So I will leave that to her, though. She has more things to say.

AE: Can you say if it’s a duet?

MC: I want to, but it’s for her. I’m super pumped-it’s awesome to work with her and to work in the capacity and has my partner be really excited, too, about the things that I really love to do. I’m not trying to make it so different between singing and music writing-they’re all the same for me, but to have her be really stoked about the way I produce her vocals-it’s awesome to have her support and to be able to support her too.

AE: Do you have plans for an extensive tour on this EP?

MC: I’ve always bucked against it. I think the part that made me feel so sad about touring was leaving my cat behind and the people I love and being like “Peace! I’ll be back in six weeks!” But I would love to figure out a way to do a tour. It’s actually a big financial endeavor to do a tour. Especially these days. I really want to put on bigger shows, and your upfront expenses are pretty huge. I can do a solo tour, and that’s cool, but I want to make it more of a party and so it’s harder to do than one might think. So I don’t know if it’s sustainable, but if I can, I will. If not, I will try to find a way to get some music played live on stage, but it’s definitely on the backburner. The first step is to make jams.

AE: So when you’re recording, it’s less of a concern how your music will translate live?

MC: At this point, yeah. What’s been great about separating from the models of how things are done is I’m really trying to get in touch with what do I really want to do? How do I really want to do this? What feels the best?

AE: What’s the goal for the EP? Do you have any other hopes besides reaching new fans and pleasing current ones?

MC: That’s a huge part of the goal. I would love for the music to get picked up in different ways. If you’re talking strictly goal-oriented, big goals? You hit the nail on the head with the first two main goals. Third goal is to really display more of my production aesthetic and chops. I feel like that’s something that takes a while, too: “Oh cool-that’s a Michelle Chamuel production track. That’s her sound; that’s her mix.” For someone to be able to hear you and recognize you takes a long to develop your artistry.

And so putting these out, I’m really trying to steer away from thinking about my big goals, though I have them. My big goals are to, like, have the sound be more established so that people can begin to work with me in different ways. I would love to become a mix engineer so people can know my aesthetic and help other people’s music speak-then you’re shaping the emotion of the song. That’s why I sing; that’s where I come from. So if I can do that for other people’s music, I’d love to help. I’m still developing that so this is the second EP I’ve mixed fully and mastered but mastering’s down the line. I’ll master mastering. But mixing’s definitely a step and a milestone-that I’m able to mix so I’m getting there.

I’m already doing what I would like to be doing. But to be able to do that and to collaborate with other people in that way based on me really developing my skills and being able to showcase what I do. And then I’d love to get into films and TV. I’ve always been a huge fan of thinking stuff-like the way a song will make me feel when I’m watching it; film scoring. Basically, the running theme here is really not destroying, but focusing and being involved with the emotional content of the music. That’s kind of where that comes from. So it’s a throughline with the fans, with the think stuff, with the mixing-it’s all about being able to put out how I feel it and help amplify that the best.

Michelle Chamuel’s Feel It EP comes out August 2nd. You can check out the title track and pre-order the EP now.

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