Interview: Vincent Littlehat discusses her new EP 'Another Land Below,' upcoming releases, and worki

Photo credits: KingVuddah

Vincent Littlehat is a musician, performer, writer, and model. She was born in Poland and currently lives in Berlin. With thought-provoking lyrics, she invites listeners to embark on a journey outside of themselves, to shift their perspective, and return with a new sense of themselves. She enjoys collaborating with diverse artists and experimenting with different styles of music, with each release evoking new feelings. Accompanied by fantastical graphics, Vincent Littlehat’s musical experiences are vividly immersive. We had a chance to ask Vincent Littlehat about her latest release, EP titled ‘Another Land Below,’ her inspirations, working with AI-generative tool, and much more!

Hey Vincent Littlehat, welcome to CelebMix! For those of our readers who are not familiar with your music, could you tell a few words about yourself?

I’m glad to be talking with you guys, at CelebMix. I am using artistic forms to explore and share my interest in re(dis)covery of an identity. The one that has more connection with our bodies, these created between our bodies and in general the natural rhythms that are somewhat repressed and not prioritized, which build up psychological conflicts.

Will you tell us a little bit about your style? What genre do you represent?  

As a musician, I explore the wide perspective of expression in alternative pop, but the source of my inspiration is in imaginative, lyrical worlds.

What are some of the artists that influence your sound? 

Sound and visions are inseparable, for me. I am most strongly influenced by Syd Barrett, Jim Morrison, Cat Power, and Gregory Alan Isakov. Among other artists I listen to regularly are Polish musicians such as Republika or Katarzyna Nosowska.

You have just released your five-track EP ‘Another Land Below’ – can you share more about this project? 

Another Land Below is my first release that’s built of more than just one song (and a video). I somehow got into following the fashion of sharing small pieces but I am striving to tell longer stories. Every chapter in this EP is unique as the songs are constructed with 3 different musicians/producers. Kris Steiniger who did additional production on each piece managed to bind them together and the pattern emerged.

What inspires you to write and record your music? What was your biggest inspiration while working on the ‘Another Land Below’ EP? 

As mentioned before, my songs are contemplations on identity. Who Are You?, I ask in one of them. Although I am not focused on gender, sexuality (and these kinds) identities (although I am aware of problems of inequity that come with these) I like to notice the more subtle forms, not accessible to an observation from a first glance. That’s another land below; a mysterious one that needs repetitive giving of attention. For example, the levels of energy everybody has available. We represent the types that are extremely various, if we are not forced to fit in, we can feel ourselves and direct the available power more efficiently, instead of forcing movements, and burning out. There is an availability to manifest things in some people, and in others the possibility of supporting and reflecting on the processes, they will ask a lot of questions instead of acting. It’s easy to choose the label of procrastinating that demotivates further with a feeling of guilt. Maybe if a different environment changed and the job fitted better, for example in the form of a group effort then there would be no conflict but a flow.

One of the tracks from the EP is “How I Vibrate,” and you have just dropped a music video for this single. Could you tell us more about the visuals? What can we expect?

It’s the first ever piece of video work that I’ve created with the help of an AI-generative tool. A successive flowing flight of images creates a digital reality from purposefully selected prompts. This work evolves from a certain level of randomness, an essential element of its creation. A blending of imagination and material reality. The line between machine and human interaction is thinning substantially. This reveals the differences between AI and human intelligence but also shows what we have in common. In the end, the intelligence that’s perceived as artificial is an expression of our own. I noticed after creating it that the lyrics could be interpreted as the AI singing about itself. This brings up the question: will it ever develop free will? ‘By choosing the sounds of which I vibrate…’ Do we have free will or is it an illusion? If it is, is there a difference between us and machines apart from the complexity? I was recalling Donna Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto, it’s been said about it in a Wikipedia article: ‘The cyborg is a dualism, as opposed to a dichotomy; there is value perceived in the confusion of the borders of bounded categories. The need for the divide between culture and nature is no longer relevant, and the cyborg emerges from the blending of that boundary.’

All of your singles feature thought-provoking lyrics. Do you write all of them yourself? What does your creative process look like?

Is there anything that is happening by yourself, or myself? I don’t believe in this. I read a book that’s thought-provoking, and my mind blends it with what I’ve learned before, or what I talked about with someone a week before. That merges with how I’ve learned to write, starting in kindergarten. A skill shaped by different teachers and writers of whom works I’ve consumed. I eat breakfast, and maybe take some drugs after (dark chocolate, or an amount of sugar that amplifies my concentration), that energy fuels the lyric, and has a direct effect on it. My producer and co-writer Kris will sometimes ask me to write an additional verse or a line. I resist at first but then I am thankful to him as the piece sounds indeed only completed with the addition.

You are currently based in Berlin, have you performed there already? If yes, what’s your favorite venue to concert at? Are you scheduling any live gigs in the upcoming months? We would love to see you! 

Yes, I am based in Berlin. I performed at self-organized events and secret festivals. In my room as well, ballads to one person at a time while they are relaxed, resting on the mattress in the darkness. I’m looking forward to sharing our creations more; I have good memories from listening to others at Berghain Kantine, perhaps it could be one of the venues for this or the next year.

What are you planning for 2023? 

Completing music videos, writing new songs, and playing more concerts. Finding a community, building something away from keyboards, and spending some time outside of big cities.

Thanks! 

Vincent Littlehat – Another Land Below EP is out now via Littlehat Recordings: https://vincentlittlehat.lnk.to/another-land-below

ncG1vNJzZmiblaGyo7nIsWWcp51ktq%2FAxKutop2nYsOqusKepa1lnJ7BtbjEoZitZZSewKTB0qycrGWYmr9uusSwZJ6oXZa7sMDHnqlmpJGjsW6uxKWmsGWlpbCwucinnmaqlaGyor%2FErGSappRixLC%2ByqKloGWnnsGpecCiZKCdnpq%2FosDIr5xmrJ%2BkubR7