Name: Maryam Said aka poolblood
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Recent release: poolblood's mole is out via Next Door.
Recommendations: Book: Girl, Woman and Other By Bernardine Evaristo. Such a fantastic read.
Music: Stereotype A by Cibo Matto, so fun to listen to!

If you enjoyed this interview with poolblood, visit their official website for more information. They are also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started writing when I was in my teens, my earliest memory is re-writing the words to a one republic song because I thought my lyrics sounded better haha.

I was really influenced by city and color, I was listening to them a lot in high school, but I was also listening to a plethora of music as well.

I feel really good when I sing and it’s a place where I feel the most at home with myself, which is why i keep doing it haha.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colors. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

I definitely get goosebumps if a song is good. I don’t really see shapes or colours, I would love that, but I can kinda feel or tell what kinda aura a song has?

For instance, I think my song “my little room” definitely has a deep blue / purple vibe.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

I guess my journey is different. I’ve always been more focused on playing music I knew I could play, and with this record, I challenged myself with going into a different space and opening myself up to more collaboration.
 
Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.
 
I’m such a sensitive person and you can tell from my music ahaha.

I just want there to be a place where I'm free from judgment and music is the one thing I can count on. It works out in my favor, creatively.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?
 
Probably sincerity.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?
 
I think there's room for both. I learned a lot about country music while making this record because both of my producers, Shamir and Louie,  are really big fans of country music and the idea of tradition being the main force behind country really inspired me.

I think tradition, in my case, could mean being true to not staying in one place and the idea of being from a working class. As much as it’s intriguing to be ‘innovative’ , it would leave me feeling short. I just want to explore and do things that feel close to home for me.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

If it feels good, keep it!

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

Hahah, I start off with brekkie! Which is eggs and coffee. I usually then go to my day job and when I get home, I’ll try to decompress with music or a movie!

If I have a day off, I’ll spend it with a friend or go for a walk to dissect my demos.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?
 
For my current record, mole, I wrote the record over the course of a year, chipping away at it, recording voice notes at work, or in public, writing lyrics on the subway, staying up late to finish an ending of a song. Watching an interview with my favorite artist and having to pause the interview because I found the ending to said song.

I don’t really have a live performance creative process, I sorta go out there with my friends and hope we all get to have fun together!

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

I’m someone who prefers to write music alone, just so I can process my thoughts together. I just find it easier for myself. I’m more open to collaboration when it comes to instrumentation.
 
How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?
 
I think because of my identity as a non-binary black person living in North America, I think I owe it to myself to make space in music, specifically in the folk sphere, for people who look like me or have a similar background.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

Great question! I do think music helps us process life. I know I've used music to help me navigate my way through life and it feels like a family member at this point to me.

There so many records I listen to when I’m going through it. But I've learned it's best to also know how music can also become a puppet master. Like when you're down and you keep listening to music that keeps you down, I think it's important  sometimes to allow art and music to just exist within the time its allotted.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other? 

Music is so metaphysical I’ve never thought of the scientific side.

The way our body reacts to music and the way it transcends every box we’ve created for ourselves and each other has probably been studied. I think there is a science behind music but I haven’t read up on it, haha.
 
Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?
 
Oh I think it's the same haha. I think the greatest moments in life are in the mundanity of things. I think in music, a simple lyric or line can send me over the walls because it can be so triumphant.

I also think no matter how many times we do a task, it's still unique in its making. A great cup of coffee can give me the same endorphins that singing a line in a song I wrote can. I think everything in our lives is so inter-connected and shows us in small ways that we’re truly here together.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

It's the ultimate dessert of life and who doesn’t love dessert!

Music has been with us since the beginning of time and even in the darkest moments of human history, it was still able to transcend.