In 2010, singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten placed herself squarely on the indie music map with her second full-length album release, “Epic.” The album, filled with lilting vocals and haunting instrumentals, garnered much critical acclaim and also bolstered her growing fan base. This year, Van Etten released “Tramp,” which featured the same lyrical feel as her previous works, but was bolder and more fully orchestrated than her prior albums. In her current “Tramp” tour,” she will make a stop in Los Angeles on Aug. 12 and at Outside Lands this weekend. She spoke with Daily Bruin’s Andrew Bain about how her musical career has evolved, her writing process and her plans for the future.
Daily Bruin: Your musical career is still relatively young, having begun just three years ago. What made you decide music was something you wanted to pursue as a career?
*Sharon Van Etten: *The only thing I really enjoyed doing was playing music. … I first started doing it for myself, but then friends encouraged me to keep playing. … Then, when I would perform out, other people would tell me how it helped them and I knew that I had to leave … my parents’ house. When I moved to New York, people just kept encouraging me (when I played) and it just happened naturally. But I didn’t think in a million years … that I’d be able to do music as a full time thing. Ever.
*DB: *Your sound has evolved quite a bit over the course of your albums, especially from “Epic” to “Tramp” which is a bit more rock-oriented than your previous works. How did this change in your musical style develop?
*SVE: *(Initially,) my first instinct was to record the song, and (I usually started with) the vocal … I wanted to keep it really minimal, and I didn’t want to do something that I wouldn’t be able to recreate live so I tried to keep it bare bones, and those songs are pretty stark anyway. But then, when “Epic” came around … it was only a matter of months until I went in (to a recording studio) with just a few of my friends just because I felt comfortable (with that). … After touring with “Epic” and developing more of a fan base around the country … it gave me a lot more confidence to try something else … and try new things.
DB: What is your writing process? Do you start with a melody, or do you start with a lyrical idea?
*SVE: *Sometimes. It varies. Like, if I get a line in my head that I’m really excited about … then I take a really simple guitar part to try to fit with it, and then work on the melody. Sometimes I just play guitar to play guitar ““ it’s a good exercise to me. I would make up a really simple chord progression and that’s how I hear melodies, playing something really simple so (that) there’s more room for the vocal to explore.
DB: How did you link up with the guests on “Tramp” to decide on guest appearances, which included musicians from bands such as Beirut, Wye Oak and The National?
SVE: It was the first time that I got to record over a long amount of time. … So it was a lot easier to contact my friends that I know that tour all the time … it was an open-ended invite. (I also invited) people whose voices I loved, people whose guitar styles are really interesting. … It was definitely like pulling together our friends that play music that we love and that we enjoyed working with.
DB: Had you already written most of the music before the guests came in? Or was the writing process collaborative as well?
*SVE: *Most of the songs were written, but it was only guitar and vocals. And I consciously didn’t make any other decisions because I wanted everything to be a collaborative effort. I didn’t want to push my ideas on anyone, I wanted them to be themselves. … So, in that way, the songs were written … but only the skeleton was there. There was a lot of room for people to show themselves.
*DB: *What are your plans for the future, following your tour? Have you started thinking about your next album?
*SVE: *The one thing I really, really want to try next year is to write as a band because I’ve never done that. Instead of bringing songs to the table, just bringing ideas that I have and then us playing them out in a rehearsal space and really working them out as a band. I never really had a full-time band before, I’ve only had this band … for a year ““ not even a year. We’ve really grown together and trusted each other, and now I’m not so worried about being vulnerable and sharing an idea that might suck.
Email Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu.