Amythyst Kiah plays songs from 'Still + Bright' in The Current studio
December 16, 2024
Having broken through with her 2021 album, Wary + Strange, Amythyst Kiah returns with her follow-up, Still + Bright, released on October 25 of this year. While in town for a concert at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, Kiah visited The Current studio to play a three-song solo set of songs from Still + Bright.
After the performances, Kiah sat down for a conversation with host Zach McCormick. Kiah talks about working with producer Butch Walker on the album, what fascinates her about production and songwriting, and what it was like to work with a number of other musicians on the album, including Billy Strings. And having lived all her life in eastern Tennessee, Kiah talks about the influence of some of the region’s folk tales on her music.
Watch the performances above, and find Amythyst Kiah’s interview with Zach McCormick below. Beneath the interview video, you’ll find a complete transcript of the conversation.
Interview Transcript
Zach McCormick: Amythyst Kiah, thank you so much for joining us here in The Current studios. My name is Zach McCormick. Great to be with you here. Your new album, Still + Bright, is out now, and your breakthrough record, Wary + Strange, a favorite of ours and our listeners here on The Current, they really connected with that kind of personal storytelling that you were doing on that album. What were your creative priorities when it came time to make this new record, versus your first — your kind of breakthrough with Wary + Strange — and how did that differ, maybe, from the the breakthrough album?
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah, well, first of all, I really had to kind of reimagine my entire approach to songwriting, because most of my songwriting was, you know, kind of born out of a catharsis, and emotional turmoil and grief and, you know, after spending, you know, at this point, five or six years in, you know, going to therapy and like, drinking more water and eating my vegetables and like, trying to, like, actively take care of myself and like, work through my, kind of work through my mental blocks, as it were, I got to a point where I kind of realized that, well, what am I going to write about now? And I didn't — that was the unintended consequence of, like, taking better care of myself and like working through the mental health stuff was that. So I, quite literally, I got on YouTube and typed in, like, "songwriting," and just started watching just different videos of people talking about their various techniques. And then I came across How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy, and that was, and it's, it was great, the way he kind of really broke down songwriting and demystified it a little bit, and got down to the nuts and bolts of it, and it kind of made it — so it just really helped expand my approach.
Zach McCormick: Totally.
Amythyst Kiah: And so I got into what am I interested in? What do I like? And then just kind of going intostories that I like that inspired me, or, creating my own story, or with characters that aren't me, you know? And so, yeah, it was, it was a chance to really kind of explore just different topics, things that are outside of myself. I think one of the things when you're writing a confessional album, it just it gets so like, you get so absorbed in it. And one of the things that happened during, like, the album campaign of Wary + Strange, another unintended consequence, is continuously talking about my trauma and grief over and over again, was like, that was also kind of taking a toll, on top of the fact that, you know, trying to tour a label debut during a pandemic.
Zach McCormick: Yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: Omicron really messed up a lot of tour dates, you know? So yeah, the whole thing, it was just very — it was an amazing time to be recognized for what I have to share. But it was also, after all of that, I spent a lot of time just continuing to further my meditation practice and continuing to kind of assess, like, what, what worked, what didn't, you know, because if I'm going to be continuing to tour, continuing to write songs, I got to find a way to make this work so that I'm not burnt out. And because that affects creativity immensely, you know. And a lot of us, a lot of artists had a really tough time. There's a lot of artists that got so exhausted that they had to cancel their tours. And it's just, you know, we're all out here, like trying to get it and grab every opportunity, but at some point, it's like, at what cost? You know, like being able to slow down and assess things, and be able to be better at saying no, and that's going to be different for everybody, of course, but that was what I had to kind of do. So it was a little bit of soul searching.
And through that, one of the things I also realized I needed to do in order to expand my songwriting was to start co-writing with other people that have been doing it for a really long time. And so, because I knew that that was going to be — I remembered my experience when I did the project songs for Our Native Daughters, and it was my first time really co-writing. And it seemed less daunting because it was about a topic, you know, that obviously, like, it was connected to ... I was connected to it, like, in an historical and a social sense, but it was still a topic outside of me talking about myself, you know?
And so it's different when all of your songs are confessional. The idea of co-writing with someone else is like, "Oh my god, like, there's no way! I don't want anybody to see any of this, so I'm totally done!" But I knew, in order to, like I said, in order to like, continue to expand and write about different topics and also just learn, just be able to learn how to keep working, and to be able to learn how to like, keep up with writing all the time, every day, even if it's a few sentences, as long as I'm doing something every day, or at least on most days, and just also getting a chance to see how other songwriters work, too, you know?
Zach McCormick: Totally, yeah!
Amythyst Kiah: Some of them had studios, and we were able to cut a demo right then. And then it also got me into, like, really digging in more to working on demos at home on GarageBand. So the whole thing, just everything from the actual mechanics of songwriting to the songwriting process; like incorporating recording, recording demos, and also kind of getting into, like, what it's like to produce and to kind of think from the mindset of a producer's perspective. So all of that's just really fascinating to me, and particularly working with Butch Walker has been really fun.
Zach McCormick: I was gonna ask you about that, yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: Because, like, he was just super open about me picking his brain. He even, in some of my demos, he gave me a few tips. He gave me some tips here and there, some stuff I was trying to do, and like, a better way to do it. And then also, like, some of the stuff that I did in the demo, he like — in GarageBand — he kept on some of the songs for the record. So because he's of the mind of, like, "I'm not precious, it doesn't have to come out of my studio." He's like, "I can't tell you how many tracks I've gotten out of GarageBand from people that sound amazing. And I'm like, 'Well, it sounds great already, I can go in and do my thing,' you know?" So yeah, it was great.
And everybody I worked with, like Sean McConnell, Sadler Vaden, Avi Kaplan and Jeremy Lutito, Tim Armstrong — yeah, I don't think I'm leaving anybody out. . And also, I wrote a couple of songs with Butch as well on the record. So it was just great to see everybody's process and how they do things. And, yeah. So, good!
Zach McCormick: It's been a cool kind of selection of, cross-section of artists too, because, like, Butch, you know, Tim Armstrong, they got this world and kind of the this foot in the rock world, you know, maybe even some like, kind of punk-rock energy from those guys, and then some of the folks that you were mentioning, a little bit more of the Americana sound.
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah!
Zach McCormick: Were you getting, like, different musical perspective while you're also getting these new ideas? What was that process like, opening up and like, kind of relinquishing a little of, maybe that creative control? Was it invigorating, scary at all? What was that kind of decision-making process like for you?
Amythyst Kiah: It was invigorating and a little scary.
Zach McCormick: Yeah, totally.
Amythyst Kiah: Because especially, I came to Nashville, I think it was at the beginning of, I want to say the beginning of, maybe 2022 or 2023. I get it mixed up. But it was like I was set up. My A&R guy at at Concord, Mark Williams, I've been working with him now ever since I signed with the label, and he's, you know, we've had some great conversations about what I want, where I want to take my career. I'm interested in being like, a career artist. I'm not trying to be like — I mean, having a billion streams or whatever, I'm not, that's not as important to me as just having a sustainable career, you know? And that's what he wanted to; that's why he's at Concord, because that's what's promoted there, at that label. So I was set up with, like, I think it was five days in a row. I just, basically, it was just, it was almost kind of like, speed dating in a way—
Zach McCormick: Like bootcamp or something like that.
Amythyst Kiah: ...because you're like, meeting people that you haven't met yet. All you're going on is, like, the music that you've heard. And for me, I kind of was, like, based on who I was gonna meet, I'd be like, "Oh, well, I think this person would be good for these songs I'm working on." You know?
Zach McCormick: Totally, yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: And so then I would go in, and we'd talk for like, an hour or two, just get to know one another. And then just about every time, we'd come out with a demo or at least an almost-finished song, and I would maybe, you know ... Like, I with, like, with "Gods Under The Mountain," the second verse I wrote on my own at home. But a lot of the time we were able to just finish it all right there and have a demo and everything. And I saw the power of, like, having a studio when making demos. Like, when you write a song, it's like, you can have something right then ready to go to send to the label and the management and everything. So yeah, it helped melearn how to be, like, more organized with my songwriting and with demos. Yeah. Although it was funny, because with demos, what would end up happening is I would, like, get really carried away and act like I was producing a song. And they'd be like, "Hey, you know, you can go ahead—" Like, sometimes I would hang on to it a little too long because I'd be trying to tweak stuff. And they're like, "Stop doing that." Just literally a vocal and a guitar on a Voice Memo would be fine. But I kind of, any time I really get into something, I go very extra. And I've gone back and listened to some of that stuff that I was tweaking now, and I'm like, "God, that was — why did I put that phaser on that acoustic guitar like that? That sounds crazy." So anyway!
Zach McCormick: It sounded cool. You were playing with sounds. It sounds like you maybe got some producer skills that you're trying to flex. Maybe somewhere down the road. Is that something you'd like to do? If you had, like, you learned a little bit from this process, maybe add more of those tools to your—?
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah! I think I definitely would be interested in getting into producing. I don't know what capacity. I mean, right now I'm thinking about, I'm kind of practicing that, like, you know, on my own stuff when I write songs, but, you know, I would like to continue to kind of develop it and just see where it goes. I don't want to get too, put the cart too far ahead of the horse there, but I definitely am fascinated with ... Especially with working with Tony Berg for the first record, that was kind of like a moment of, like seeing the way a producer thinks about sound. And he had such a unique way of looking at sound. I think, you know, on that song, "Hangover Blues," there's a sample in the beginning that's sort of like Tibetan chants, and that was literally from like a — what is it? — it was like a toy; not a toy, but like a tourist trinket from Tibet—
Zach McCormick: Oh, cool.
Amythyst Kiah: ... it had like seven or eight different pre-recorded chants on it. And he was just like, "I have an idea!" And he grabs this and just, like, records it and then takes the sample and then adds it. So it was just cool also to see the way that using samples in songs, too, which usually you kind of associate with either ambient music or hip-hop or something like that. But to incorporate some of that in my music I thought was, it was a super fun thing. So, yeah, it's like, I have this — I think, between him and also, again, working with Butch, it's just getting an idea of how different people work. So it's been really inspiring to really work with all these people. The studio musicians as well. Like, seeing what it really takes to be a studio musician, to be able to come in and have not really heard any of the songs, and be able to take good direction, but also have a good feel for what should go where, you know? So, yeah, it's just cool. It's such a cool process. The studio is a really fun place to me. So I really have been enjoying the past few years being able to have this opportunity to work with the big dogs, you know? So it's been cool.
Zach McCormick: Joined by Amythyst Kiah right now in studio talking about your new album, Still + Bright, out now. We're talking about this on The Current. You were just mentioning the session players that you had on the record, Billy Strings guests on the album, doing a song called "I Will Not Go Down," which I think makes some lyrical references to the Crusades, which is super cool. And he's like, really ripping on that song. You're a potent instrumentalist yourself. So like, was it important for you to preserve space for those instrumental passages on the record in addition to your great vocals and lyrics?
Amythyst Kiah: Oh yeah, totally. Yeah. Especially because with "I Will Not Go Down," when we first recorded it, we had had a conversation — me and Butch, because he cowrote song with me — we'd had a conversation, you know, about, like, Iron Maiden it and, like, symphonic metal—
Zach McCormick: Totally. Yeah!
Amythyst Kiah: We talked about a bunch of stuff. And so when we first recorded that song, there was, like, a really crunchy guitar. There was — my banjo had a distortion pedal on it, and then he put down some, like, Iron Maiden-style drums, so he was, like, full on, like, was going into
Zach McCormick: "Run to the Hills."
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah, exactly.
Zach McCormick: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: And it was funny because we did that, and also we kind of did something similar with "Never Alone," where that one had like an octave fuzz situation on an Epiphone SG, so it was like, again, getting pretty heavy. And it was funny because, just because those two songs, compared with the other songs that I had written and the direction that they were going, it was going to be too stark of a—
Zach McCormick: Wasn't going to fit.
Amythyst Kiah: ... difference. Yeah. So the mission was, how do we take these, like, metal songs, and still keep them metal? How can we make it metal without it being metal?
Zach McCormick: Yeah, totally, totally.
Amythyst Kiah: And really, when you take the drums away, and you put in, like, a bass, and you put in all acoustic instruments, it turned into, like, a bluegrass song with clawhammer banjo, which is associated mostly with old time music.
Zach McCormick: I was going to say, yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: But it was fun to play within that context. And then I'd been wanting to work, I'd been wanting to do something with Billy Strings for quite some time, because I've been a fan ever since [Strings’ debut full-length] Turmoil & Tin Foil.
Zach McCormick: Yeah, totally.
Amythyst Kiah: And I thought to myself, "bluegrass is like the metal of folk." And he's got his toes kind of like in both worlds, you know? So I was like, I think this would be the perfect song for him to just lay down some really sick acoustic stuff. And he did what I hoped would happen naturally. I didn't want to direct it. But like, in some of his jams on some of his songs, like, there's this crescendo that builds up.
Zach McCormick: Cool, yeah, yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: I can't really describe it very well, but it's just—
Zach McCormick: It's almost like he's revving the engine. He's like, building the power of his riff or something.
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah, like, it builds up and builds and builds. I'm sorry. It builds up and builds and builds, and then it just, like, explodes back into the beat. It's one of those things you just have to hear it. I can't explain it, but I'm sure there's somebody, a music theory whiz, that could break it down. But I was hoping that that would happen, and I wanted it to be an organic thing, and it did happen in the song later on, I guess in the last part of the song during the, I guess, the outro for "I Will Not Go Down." And that was such a magical moment, to hear that and be like, "Oh my God, that's like, that's on my song!"
Zach McCormick: Totally, yeah. That would be so cool.
Amythyst Kiah: And I was there when he stopped by the studio. So I was there, and I was able to meet him be there for the recordings. We'd already recorded everything else, and it was just amazing to just hear him. It was just like, he just did eight takes of some of the wildest, just his, you know, what he does.
Zach McCormick: Yeah, yeah, totally.
Amythyst Kiah: And, yeah, it was cool.
Zach McCormick: That's awesome.
Amythyst Kiah: And it was Butch's first time meeting him too. So it was all — it was great.
Zach McCormick: That sounds really sweet.
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah, yeah.
Zach McCormick: Another great player on the record, Ellen Angelico, plays guitar on a couple of different tracks, including "Silk and Petals," which you played for us during this session, sounded great.
I've read that that one was inspired by a story from The Haunting of Bly Manor, the series, and also, kind of, like, the the Lady of the Lake, the tale that it was originally based on. I've kind of heard, you're like, a sci fi, you know? Like—
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah, I really, like—
Zach McCormick: ...horror movies, that kind of stuff.
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah.
Zach McCormick: Is that sort of part of the soup of inspiration for making this record a little bit?
Amythyst Kiah: Definitely, yeah. Yeah. Even if I'm not talking about my own turmoil, I still love to sing about other—
Zach McCormick: Yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: ...I still like to hear about other people's turmoil!
Zach McCormick: Totally.
Amythyst Kiah: But yeah, no, I've always, yeah, I've just always been a big fan, especially of like, you know, like cosmic horror, like HP Lovecraft, Lovecraftian horror. So, yeah, I've always really been into that. And, like, psychological thrillers. And it's funny, though, because it's like, jump scares are what really, like, actually terrify me, which is really annoying.
Zach McCormick: I have that same problem. Yeah.
Amythyst Kiah: I remember one time — this is a little off topic — but I went to go see Hereditary at like, eight o'clock at night. I had a day off on tour, and I was just on my own, and went to this movie theater I really love that's in Williamsburg [in Brooklyn, N.Y.], called the Nitehawk movie theater. It's super dope. Anyway, I went, and I knew that it was like a psychological thriller, but I didn't think it was gonna be terrifying. And so I'm sitting there, and there's these jump scares, and it's, like, insane. And then, like, at the end, I get out, it's 10 o'clock, and I'm like, "Oh no, it's nighttime, and I have to, like, catch the bus," like, it was crazy. So yeah ... I learned my lesson. I'm gonna start, like, doing research: Are there jump scares in this? I want one day to overcome my fear of jump scares, because I just feel like a little kid, pulling the sheet up over my face. But it's one of my weaknesses I'd like to overcome one day. But regardless, like, yeah, it was just fun to — especially with "Gods Under The Mountain," that was inspired by [the podcast] Old Gods of Appalachia.
Zach McCormick: Oh, cool.
Amythyst Kiah: And "Die Slowly Without Complaint" was also inspired by Old Gods of Appalachia, too, but, what I love about it is, it's a cosmic horror story, but it's set in Appalachia, and Cthulhu lives under the mountain, as opposed to, like, coming from outer space or under the ice, you know? And I just think it's cool, because it's, like, it was a lot of us in Appalachia love all that. I mean, like, we're, like, the land of cryptids.
Zach McCormick: Yeah, totally, I was gonna say.
Amythyst Kiah: So we're all into all that spooky stuff. So it, it's only fitting that, you know, finally have a good old Cthulhu story coming out of Appalachia. So, yeah. And then the guy, one of the guys that travels with the live show and writes and has written some songs for the for the show and does some voice acting, he owns a hair salon and cuts my hair, and he is also a singer songwriter. So it's, like, just cool to, like, having something so awesome come from our area and, like, actually, like, know, some of the people that are in it. It's a special thing.
Zach McCormick: That's great.
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah.
Zach McCormick: And it made its way onto your record here. Still + Bright, new album out now from Amythyst Kiah. Thank you so much for joining us in the studio.
Amythyst Kiah: Yeah. Thanks for having me.
Zach McCormick: It's been a blast having you in here.
Amythyst Kiah: Hell yeah. Thank you.
Songs Performed
00:00:00 Empire of Love
00:03:40 Silk and Petals
00:06:47 Play God and Destroy the World
All songs from Amythyst Kiah’s 2024 album, Still + Bright, available on Rounder Records.
Musician
Amythyst Kiah – guitar and vocals
Credits
Guest – Amythyst Kiah
Host – Zach McCormick
Producer – Derrick Stevens
Video – Derek Ramirez
Audio – Evan Clark
Graphics – Natalia Toledo
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor
External Links
Amythyst Kiah – official site
Amythyst Kiah – Bandcamp