Getting to know: Michele Stodart

You obviously grew up in a very musical household, with your brother also being a musician and both of you being a part of The Magic Numbers. Was music always going to be part of your life, and what sort of stuff did you grow up listening to?

I was born in Trinidad and they had a very big country music culture actually, as well as calypso and soca music. We grew up listening to Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Elvis, and Willie Nelson, among others. My mum used to perform regularly with a house band, singing Burt Bacharach and Carpenters classics. Our family would listen to records most evenings and end up either dancing or in tears!  I learnt from a very young age the power of songs, and the emotions they can evoke.

I read that you left Trinidad and moved to New York when there was an attempted coup. What are your childhood memories of the Caribbean, and what was that time of disruption like for you as a family (and for you in particular as a child)?

That was a very scary time for our family. I was very young when this happened. I hear many stories of there being a curfew, and there were security guards patrolling the streets. I feel like there is a part of me that remembers this time very vividly.

I think music took on a whole other level of importance and responsibility for us as a family during this time, especially for us as kids moving around a lot. We clung to it as a lifeline, and songwriting was the way we could connect together and with ourselves through the difficult times… and there were many.

There have been many losses in our family, and separations. I honestly wouldn’t know where I’d be without music and songwriting in my life. It has given me such strength and confidence growing up, as I was very shy as a child and teenager.

Your songs have always dealt with subjects that appear personal to you, and that seems to be even more the case with the new album Invitation, which seems to come from a very personal place. Is that how you approach songwriting, as a means of expressing and processing things that have happened in your life? 

There are many things I write songs about. I believe songwriting to be a form of connection, communication - a way of processing through story, words, and music. The songs I have been most drawn to are the ones I can feel, they grab me and say “listen - something is happening here.” 

Invitation is a very personal album… from beginning to end you are taken on a journey through the transformation of someone (me) and her realisations, awakenings. It was a difficult record to set free, but once I did, the songs were no longer just mine. They have connected with others who have shared their journeys and stories with me, and the songs continue to grow and evolve.

I want to always believe in what I write, and hope that the way I tell the story can be universal, in its truth and vulnerability. For everyone has had things happen in their lives that change them. Invitation is exactly that, an invite welcoming those feelings in, and trying to connect through them.

You worked on the film “Yesterday”, written by Richard Curtis and directed by Danny Boyle, which imagines a world in which no-one knows of The Beatles except for the hero of the film, who pretends to have written their songs. Can you tell us a bit about that experience (and give us your top three favourite Beatles songs while you’re at it)?

There have been a few dream come true moments in music for me, and I’d have to say this is kind of one of them. Firstly to be in a blockbuster movie playing bass, but also it being a Beatles movie reinterpreting those songs we know and love, then to record them for the soundtrack at none other than Abbey Road Studios. Richard Curtis and Danny Boyle were amazing, and it was inspiring watching them at work, creating something special. So much work and time goes into making something this huge - I was in awe really most of the time.

I got to take my daughter on the red carpet at the premiere, amongst such talented actors, and I got to play on a rooftop. Still brings such joy to reflect on this moment!

Picking three Beatles songs is hard, but these are some of my go to faves:

“Something”
RIP George. Those bass lines… they make me want to weep. In fact, I'm gonna put this out there, I would love to collaborate with Paul McCartney one day. Universe, I hope you’re listening!

“In My Life”
I think this song is so beautiful lyrically, and the musical arrangement is just perfect!

“Blackbird” 
I think as a guitarist, this was one of those songs you just had to learn. Beautiful. Also very much loving the Beyonce version, she’s amazing - I loved that she used the same guitar sample.

Can you give us the heads up on an album or an artist you like that you think we might not have come across and should check out?

Well, there’s an artist who I love. Her name is Ferron - she’s up there with one of my favourite lyricists. She’s a queer Canadian artist, singer-songwriter, and poet, and became one of the earliest and most influential lyrical songwriters of the women's music circuit.

The first song I heard of hers was put on a playlist for me by my now partner. The song is called “Ain’t Life A Brook” and it is stop you in your tracks amazing and beautifully heartbreaking. Ferron is a total unknowing inspiration for me I think, she has moved into my soul and is channelled every so often.

Tell us a bit about your new album - what inspired the music and the lyrics?

There are eight songs on the record. I went into Echo Zoo Studios in Eastbourne with my friend and long-time collaborator Dave Izumi Lynch, and we produced the album together. I demoed twenty or so songs, took them home, listened, and realised the story that needed to be shared.                                      

I quickly realised my intention with this album was to go deeper... I was writing the songs during a time of self-discovery through heartbreak, separation, grief, learning what abuse was, and the emotional mental repercussions of all that. It was a long journey, and has been a very powerful experience.

After I learnt what my intention was, influences started creeping in - one being the David Whyte’s poem “Self Portrait”, which later became embellished and interpreted by another writer called Oriah Mountain Dreamer, who wrote a book from this one poem. I found this so exciting and real!

I am always exploring the possibility of deeper, longer lasting human connection and what that would mean, how we constantly shift and evolve when we energetically connect. I like to read and listen to work by teachers and leaders like Glennon Doyle, Brene Brown, and Thích Nhất Hạnh, as well as other lyricists like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Conor Oberst.

This album has been a turning point for me. In many ways I have learnt a lot about myself through setting these songs free into the world. It was an important album to write and share, and has given me the confidence to connect by seeing how it's reached others. Because of all this, it was extra special being awarded 'Album of The Year’ by UK Americana Awards. Another dream I didn't dare to dream.

What is your usual songwriting process - words or music first, or does it vary?

It varies a lot, and I give myself regular challenges and exercises to keep things fresh and exciting from a creative point of view. Sometimes I'll wake up with a strong melody in my head, and other times I have a lyric that needs unravelling and sitting with to work out what the story is behind the words.

My favourite moments are when I catch a glimpse of my guitar in the corner of the room and I pick it up, and in just a few minutes she’s gifted me this beautiful melody and hook, and I can’t help but bounce around the room like a kid saying “omg - this is gonna be a hit!”

I’ve also written a lot of songs away from my guitar while walking or travelling. I write a lot when I'm on the train actually, on long journeys. I even wrote one of the songs on this album, “Push & Pull”, in a disused elevator, where I was waiting for the train as it was so freezing and windy on the platform.

Mostly, the writing process is a reflective time… being quiet and open, to allow whatever to flow in without judgement.

What can we expect from your show at The Bear?

I hope you’re gonna love the band as much as I do! It’s a real immersive live experience. We are consciously working on creating the sound on the record, which of course has evolved dynamically on stage together, meaning that every show has been very different and really exciting for us as a band. 

Sonically, musically, and lyrically, everything is married together, offering at times meditative, healing, or calming properties I think. I certainly have felt this on stage myself. In the first set, we play the whole of Invitation in its entirety, and that alone takes us on a journey together. It feels very connected. I really want every show we play to be inviting, and to create an atmosphere to truly lose ourselves and sink into the moment together. 

I am very lucky and grateful to be playing with the musicians in my solo band. They are all intuitive players who are at service to the song and what it needs - there is no ego on stage, we are good friends and respect and admire each other. Andy Burce (piano & bvs), David Ford (bass, gtrs & bvs), and Emma Holbrook (drums & percussion). There is an electricity to our musicianship on stage. 

In the second set, we will also be playing some newer songs, which shows a different side of us - more playful, and at times rocking out! We love getting the audience involved as well. By the end, we will all hopefully lose any inhibitions and be singing along together.