Martin Bisi is a producer, songwriter and musician. He has worked with artists across the musical spectrum from Herbie Hancock, to Sonic Youth, to Whitney Houston. He is also the notable founder of BC studios in Brooklyn. On top of that, he is a musician and songwriter in his own right. On Dec. 2, he is releasing a brand new, self-produced LP titled, Feral Myths.
Contributing writer for NYS Music, Ryan Bieber, sat down with Bisi to discuss his recent project and the meaning behind his music.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ryan Bieber: So you have this new solo LP Feral Myths. What was the initial catalyst behind this project?
Martin Bisi: ‘I think with all with all my records, and maybe even entire songs, I don’t necessarily have the end picture in mind. I’m always asking myself, ‘Well, what am I really talking about?’ I knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to get back into more narrative songwriting. With the previous two solo records of mine, I got more into … broad social concepts and very existential stuff about religion and even a song about human sacrifice. I knew I wanted to get back to talk about more specific personal experiences.
RB: Feral Myths advertises itself as having ‘tales of the wild state, of New York heroes and villains and random paranormal encounters. What does this mean to you? What were you hoping to achieve with this collection of stories?
Bisi: It’s not a pandemic record … but ultimately, that did kind of happen because there was a lot of time by myself. That was a really wild time. I was really engaged in Black Lives Matter protests like every day, practically. I went down to the occupation at City Hall, and I was helping supplies and stuff and it was a fantastic time because the constraints of society had loosened. You can kind of take over the city, you can take over the streets. There was a perceived ‘lawlessness,’ which I liked. It felt very liberated. And so that felt feral, in a sense.
RB: I found it interesting too that while most songwriters prefer to speak from experience, writing about themselves or their feelings, you on the other hand tend to write about people and concepts you find interesting. What is the mindset behind this approach? What effect does it help you achieve?
Bisi: Right now, our current cultural moment is a lot about personal voice. They say your voice is not heard … and it’s funny because my songs are about other people mostly. I’m a bit detached. It’s my music and I want it to be me, yet on the other hand not every voice on the record has to be mine. Actually, that’s why there are so many other people singing on the record. The reason the other vocalists are all women is because I want two voices, I want them to contrast.
RB: I particularly like how the song, “A Storm Called Ida,” combines myth with reality. It’s a song about Hurricane Ida hitting Brooklyn, but the production and lyricism also bring out the almost mythical power of this natural disaster. I think many people would tend to view myths and reality as two things inherently at odds with each other, but you seem to have found the common ground. In my mind, that’s what Feral Myths is all about. How on base am I here?
Bisi: Oh yeah, absolutely. I personified [Hurricane Ida} using Sara Fantry on vocals. That storm itself is gendered, it’s one of the female ones [Ida]. The quality of her voice, it sounds like the power of a storm. It’s punishing, yet we’re still in the graces of nature and it’s bestowing a sort of empathy towards us. So it was conflicted, but then I realized, I don’t need to clarify. It can be both things at one.
RB: I’m sure many people know you as a producer but don’t know you are a songwriter. What made you want to go beyond producing and be an artist yourself? Or was that always the goal?
Bisi: I used to lean more towards producing and then I slowly shifted to songwriting and performing being more of where my heart was. When I first started songwriting, I really felt that was something on the side. I never really thought that I could abandon the recording studio. I knew that I would need that to earn a living. The only reason I could get people to care at all, I think, about my songs is because they care about records that have been recorded here. Now I’ve sort of gotten into a place where it’s both kind of coexisting and feeding off each other.
RB: There’s also an obvious mix of genres and influences evident throughout the track. What kind of sounds and overall vibe were you going for with this album?
Bisi: Combining genres is tricky and hard. With Feral Myths, there’s an orchestral quality, especially with the singing being more operatic. And it’s funny, because I’m not that into some of these genres. Another quality that I like in the production is the general sense of disorientation. I like the idea of people kind of losing a sense of what’s going on in the psalms of it … So sometimes, mixing influences or superimposing them is a powerful tool to get the disorientation that I really like.
RB: New York City also seems to have had a big impact on your life. You grew up in Manhattan and later opened up your studio in Brooklyn where you currently reside. You’ve also mentioned being an active member of the Brooklyn community when it comes to activism and protest. How does the energy and history of New York City influence your music but also yourself as a person?
Bisi: I’ve always sort of been in the trenches with New York. I think at this point it would be a difficult choice to leave New York City because I think it would really affect me as an artist. It’s not just an attachment or a love for New York City, it’s been a part of my process of how I work with bands. I need the chaos of New York City to bring the few gems to my door. New York City is crucial to me.
RB: Activism is something you incorporate not just in your daily life but into your songwriting as well. Was this always the case?
Bisi: I’m essentially a musician, but my heroes, the people that I look up to, are revolutionaries. I’ve always had a strong inclination towards the revolutionary aspect underlying music as well. There’s a lot of political punk, Jello Biafra, the Clash. And these were all things that were always very attractive to me. Even if the music specifically wasn’t all the time about politics, it was underlying what I was supporting, so I would support feminist bands or anti-corporate brands. So yeah, it’s always been there.
RB: That’s all of my questions, but is there anything else you want to talk about either behind or specific song or. the general process?
I realized all my records now have a song that is almost like a collage. of song ideas. It’s not a complete song. it’ll be a series of different choruses that don’t repeat. And it’s just sort of songs and ideas that I thought don’t warrant a full song. It’s not even that they’re not good enough, but I just don’t see a path forward to a full song.
I don’t throw away work. I’m not really the type to pick the best stuff and put the strongest songs forward. I think it should all be there. It’s almost like a diary. Every record that’s recorded in the studio is a story in and of itself. It’s a story of my time in New York, every band I’ve worked with, so its all of these diary entries. So whatever made me come up with these ideas should live. [And that is the case with the last song on the album] “The Great Trap in the Creek.”
Feral Myths will be released on all streaming platforms on Dec. 2. You can preorder the LP on Bandcamp: here. Find Bisi’s tour dates: here
