My 5 Favorite Things: Erika Spring
Erika Spring first came to fame as one third of the Brooklyn-based distaff electronic-pop outfit Au Revoir Simone, with whom she went by the surname of Forster. But after three attention-getting albums with the trio, which numbers such esteemed aesthetes as David Lynch among its fans, the singer/keyboardist got the urge to make a more personal statement. That doesn't mean that her self-titled solo debut EP, out July 10 on the Cascine label, is some sort of introspective, confessional statement. Quite the contrary — if anything, the Erika Spring EP offers a more urgent, visceral, and downright danceable approach to electro-pop than the airy coo of Au Revoir Simone. But Erika's artistic interests extend beyond the world of music. It turns out she runs with an extremely talented pack of ladies distinguished by their work in fashion, film, visual art, and more, and given the opportunity, she decided to call out her five favorite artist friends for us right here.
1. Stephanie Dodes: Stephanie makes videos, collages, installations, and stages performance art pieces. Her most recent show included a room with three giant fake-fur-covered caves with video and sound playing inside each private space. Her collages are intricate, beautiful, sometimes mystical. She explores themes of pop culture and the female psyche.
2. Linnea Vedder: I met Linnea when she was playing in the band Lights, now called Cliffie Swan. She’s a super-talented drummer and singer. She also makes paintings with beautiful colors, often milky, rich pastels. You can totally see the joy and playfulness she exudes as a person in her paintings.
3. Celia Rowlson-Hall: Celia is a director (movies/music videos/stage), choreographer, and dancer. She is a creative visionary and is constantly making things and bringing people together to work on collaborative projects. She loves glitter and wigs and nostalgia and people in their natural states/shapes. She is generous enough to share all her goings-on on her website.
4. Paola Suhonen: Another super-talented woman and friend, Paola is the founder and designer of the Finnish fashion company Ivana Helsinki. She also writes and makes films, founded a magazine, and helps to create happenings in her pop-up shops around the world.
5. Carmelle Safdie: Carmelle is also a painter and musician. Her most recent show included a series of beautiful, large-scale, bright-colored grave rubbings. She is a splashy dresser, in the best way, and a captivating performer.
