Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Sonia Broman
Eric Gabriel grew up in the city that never sleeps, soaking up the creativity and culture around every corner. So, it is no surprise that he found and pursued his passion for music. Gabriel talked to NYOTA about his single “Living Proof,” collecting words and phrases for songs, and his process when working on a solo record.
Being born and raised in New York is a unique experience, especially considering how much art and culture you’re surrounded by in that city. How do you think living there shaped your creative journey?
My dad would take me to a lot of shows in the city when I was growing up. I remember one concert, I must have been about eight or so, at LPR in the village. It was 21 and up. In line the bouncer was giving my dad trouble, understandably, for bringing a kid. And this big bouncer-sized guy––I guess not making much progress with my dad––decided to shift his attention, paused, looked me right in the eyes, and told me: ‘you know we don’t serve chicken fingers here?’ I must have been mortified. But they let us in. Growing up surrounded by art, music, going to museums, I think it gave me a sense of possibility and wonder and also maybe taught me not to be discouraged by places that don’t serve chicken fingers.
I actually went to LPR this past week to see Sam Evian (who produced Melt’s record) and all these incredible artists, a number of whom collaborated on my album, who were performing as part of this kind of celebration of Flying Cloud––Sam’s studio. Living in Brooklyn now, I find so much inspiration from seeing shows at small local venues. I try to see as much music as I can. There are so many people doing amazing things, and it pushes me a lot.
Many people love music or songwriting but don’t pursue those things professionally. What motivated you to see music as a career rather than a hobby?
I don’t know that I could identify a motivation. I co-founded Melt in 2017, and we got some success early on that let us start playing shows around. I kept at it, and now am still doing it. I try my best to keep thinking of it as a choice, or choices, as opposed to a career. It’s a privilege to spend my time making music, to play music for other people, and to invest my time in a creative pursuit. Obviously, it’s a job, too, and it can feel like a job, for sure, but I hope to maintain that sense of gratitude. Ultimately, I guess the real difference between seeing music as a career versus a hobby is that someone down the line had the grand idea to start paying me to do it.
I’ve been re-obsessing over Daft Punk and watching performances from their Alive 2007 tour. Do you have any artists that you frequently go back to when you need inspiration?
Prince, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell…there are so many. Bill Withers live at Carnegie Hall. Leonard Cohen. Been getting really into Willie Nelson recently.
How do you approach the writing and song creation process when working with your bandmates versus when creating a solo record?
With the band, we have the benefit of time, past and future––both to move slowly with an arrangement as well as years of playing together. It’s almost a process of finding the best arrangement of the song that works for the band, that I think also has a lot to do with how it translates live. Playing shows has always felt the most natural for us, so I think that kind of live-show mentality is often brought into the writing and arrangements, too.
On my own record, the arrangement process was really immediate. We recorded almost everything live with no click, no headphones, no playback in the studio, and few overdubs. The core of the track––drums, bass, guitar, keys––was finished within a few hours of the musicians hearing the song for the first time. So the process was more like finding the best version of the song in the context of that moment in time and with that group of people. It’s a bit more ephemeral and I think assumes there’s no “right” way to present a song, there are just choices and subsequently better ways to become aligned on those choices. I’ve been excited by this kind of process recently and it’s a lot of what I’ve adopted when I produce for others, too.
“Your Name” is a song I wrote that ended up on Melt’s album and on my album, too, so maybe there you can hear some differences in the way the two processes can play out. I like both versions.
Tell our readers a bit about your single “Living Proof.” What story is the song telling?
The song is based on a number of things my grandma said to me before she passed. A few moments, too. This is one of the songs I wrote really for myself as a way to process an experience. Not all of my songs are like that.
I love the lines “In a knowing nod at the head of a table / In a wit that to the end was razor sharp.” Are you someone who collects small moments and observations to keep in the back of your mind when you’re working on a song?
Yeah, I definitely collect words and phrases and moments––I try to journal and write things down––but I also think everyday there are a thousand things that could be in a song. There’s so much going on all the time––news, ads, group chats, conflict, doubt, hope, boredom, excitement. I mean, at some basic level, ideally three times a day or so we go from hungry to not hungry. And in that process, maybe your food tasted good. Maybe it was disappointing. Maybe it reminded you of a meal you’d have as a kid. Maybe it made you think of a bad date you went on. Maybe you had a good conversation during it. And then contentment is based in the absence of that original feeling––hunger. So maybe there’s 10 songs in there, and that’s just lunch. I think the hard part for me is figuring out what I’m really trying to say. Once I have that sorted, at least for myself, often the rest can feel more obvious.
The live recordings you made in the Catskills transport you to a different time period when you watch them. Did you work closely with Véra Haddad and Adam Baron-Bloch to determine the aesthetic and feel you wanted the videos to have?
For sure. The goal was to create something a bit old-school and also make you feel like you’re in someone’s living room. That you walked in on some people playing some songs. One of my favorite studio videos is John Lennon playing “How Do You Sleep.” I don’t think the bassist could be sitting lower in that chair… the whole thing is so confident and casual and amazingly imperfect. And also Dijon’s “Absolutely” film that starts out with the band around a dining table in what feels like someone’s house. That video is one of my favorite things from the past few years. V was amazing to work with and did such a great job capturing the vibe you see in the videos.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
I think every musician I know is aspiring in some way. I’m certainly aspiring. That said…make music with your friends. Listen to your favorite songs and think about why you like them. Do those things. Go outside. Write bad songs.