Additional Information
Airhaert is a multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer and visual artist. Last February, she released I. I. (Intuitive Intelligence), an electro-ambient-techno album with granular textures that aims at grounding, meditation, and the discovery of things buried deep within oneself. The album is inspired by the new sciences of intuition, Taoist philosophy and various healing theories. PAN M 360 enjoyed a few moments of conversation after her performance at Experience 2 of the MUTEK festival.
Photo credits : Frédérique Ménard-Aubin
PAN M 360: First off, can you quickly take us through your musical journey? How did you become Airhaert?
Airhaert: In elementary school, my program was very focused on music, as an afterschool thing. I remember I didn’t like recess that much, I liked music more. So I participated in choir, concert band, jazz band. I would participate in almost anything music-related. Participating in all these things, and playing all these instruments, flute, alto saxophone, and using my voice, it really embedded that into my being as a child, and now, going back to music really makes me feel like home.
I stopped music when I went into high school. I wanted to do visual art. I went to university to get a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and at the end of it all I still wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do, I dabbled in all of the mediums and professions, I worked as a videographer, photographer, graphic designer, even as a technician, and these are all things that I thought I wanted to pursue. But all of those things encompassed being an artist. In the last years of my undergrad, I started to incorporate sound into my installations. Once I discovered DJing, like 8 or 9 years ago, it really opened up my ear, and it propelled me into a deep understanding of electronic music and other different genres. I’ve also been trying to produce in tangent to DJing, but it’s only been for the last 3 or so years where I feel confident enough in the studio to produce solid tracks. Obviously, there’s always more to learn. And then, also, moving to Montreal around 8 years ago was inspiring, because there’s a huge community of artists that I can relate to, artists that pursue international passions like myself.
PAN M 360: You recently released an album titled I. I., which stands for Intuitive Intelligence. Can you tell us what this means for you?
Airhaert: I got really inspired by this book, Body of Health, by Francesca McCartney. She wrote her PhD thesis about this energetic intuitive intelligence. It means that you can heal yourself and use sound as well as your mind and auric energy to heal places within yourself and train your mental and physical space. It’s pretty complex, so I’m trying to summarize it.
PAN M 360: And how do these notions translate in your work?
Airhaert: I had a whole year to work on my album, because I got a grant through the Jeunes volontaires program from Emploi-Québec, which were inspired by the fact that I wanted to fuse healing music with electronic music, and enjoyed the idea of disseminating those ideas into the world. So, how I used these notions: I started with the chakras, because the author of the book talks about them, and how they each have different frequencies. When you tap into the sound and meditate on it, it changes things in your interior world. In my work, I was trying to use each song of the album as a different chakra point. So, for each song, I would fine tune all of the instruments to the corresponding key of the corresponding chakra point I was focusing on. Also, I used instruments from the sound healing realm, like a singing bowl. I didn’t bring it on stage and instead used the recordings of it, because it’s very fragile.
PAN M 360: What sounds do you like using the most? Are there any sounds you obsess over?
Airhaert: It’s hard to say, because it’s so easy to loop something, which then becomes so repetitive and obsessive. But I try to always use voice. I really love the voice as an element, whether it turns into a pad or an actual vocal.
PAN M 360: What does your music make you feel, when you make it?
Airhaert: That’s really challenging to say! I made it, so I know all the details and hard work that went into it. And I’ve listened to it so many times, especially in the mixing and mastering stages, that I put it away for a long time. I stopped listening to it altogether. So, back then, it made me feel like « Oh my god, I’m happy it’s over! », and now, listening back to it, I feel like it’s more meditative for me.
PAN M 360: The themes that your music explores can be seen as both very academic and very instinctive. Which one are you most between the two?
Airhaert: I’m in more of a « feel things as they come » and intuitive way of doing things. I think this whole year of making the album really made me use that intuitive intelligence muscle. I’m more of an intuition-based person in my work, even if there are a lot of technicalities to it, which I do keep in mind. But the big point was using that intuitive muscle and training it throughout the year. And now I have it!
PAN M 360: Great! Thank you Airhaert!
