Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Pearl.
Jennifer, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
It was when I was standing in the Octagonal Church on the NW flank of the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia that I realized I had an idea for a new album. The trade winds were blowing through the large, open-air windows when a chorus of voices suddenly echoed up through the tall, geometrically white walls. Tahitian clergy and congregants in unison sang a melody so powerful, I felt it in my chest. I couldn’t understand the words, but the air was electrified. Souls were being lifted somewhere by something that day. The tape recorder hidden in my pocket would capture the first sounds looped on the opening track of the first album by my band, VUM.
I returned to Los Angeles specifically to settle into a studio apartment in Topanga Canyon that had once been Neil Young’s recording studio. After the Goldrush had been recorded in our tiny digs several decades before. Now Christopher Badger and I would make low-fi, stitched together recordings with old echo machines and tremolo in our living room while dishes rattled and clanged in the background. The field recordings I had made in French Polynesia would be both the thread and the inspiration for our first album, Night Sun (2011). Released on our own imprint, Secret Lodge Recordings, it lay the path for a decade’s worth of music and art making in and out of the Canyon. This spring we bring you Fractal Ladie- a seven and 1/2 minute digital cut destined for a 12″ 45rpm side.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I primarily make recordings as a member of the band VUM. I also have a new recording project just beginning to open its wings, known as Radiant Flux.
I also make photographic works and sculpture. In my work, I like to braid the tassels of the known and confirmable sensory existence we are currently bathed in and the possibilities of senses yet discovered; a peak around the corner, if you will.
I still don’t know exactly why I feel so compelled to create, but the energy and drive to do so seems everlasting.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
I would have immediately turned around and left L.A. had I not landed a job at Amoeba Music when I first moved here years ago. Having a built-in community of fellow musicians and artists helped me to settle in and navigate what seemed like a completely foreign and intimidating mesh of broken sidewalks and barking dogs. Find people! Go out! Pretend its the 90s- get off your phone, stand awkwardly in a club and meet someone by accident.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Music, including our new single, Fractal Ladie, can be listened to and purchased at https://vummusic.bandcamp.com/
Artworks can be found at https://www.jbadgergis.com/artworks
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vummusic.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secretlodge
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/vum/vum-fractal-lady
Image Credit:
All photographs by J. Pearl, except the image of J.Pearl as Radiant Flux by Kristin Cofer, styled by J. Pearl
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
