INDEX
“Staring At The Wall” Reflecting Improvisational Performance Background
-I think “Visions” is a very special piece, different from anything I’ve ever done with you. On the other hand, having listened to your music for a long time, I feel that every song is very much a Norah Jones song. But it’s still different. I think that’s what makes “Visions” so wonderful. Is there anything that came out because of the way you worked with Leon this time that you wouldn’t have done normally?
Norah: The first time I wrote a song in the studio was on an album (“Little Broken Heart”) that I made with Danger Mouse. Before that, I didn’t feel comfortable “going into the studio without a song or idea and writing it there, seeing how it went. After that experience, I started to write in that way.
Norah: Working with Leon, you were constantly coming up with ideas, and there was never a time when you said, “I went into the studio and nothing happened. It was exciting and very good chemistry. He came up with something in advance and didn’t try to force me to do it, and I didn’t do it either. We were both very open and just enjoyed making music. We just bounced ideas off each other, and it all came together nicely.
-Did you and Leon compose together in the studio featured in the music video for ‘Staring At The Wall’?”
Norah: Yes. That song was recorded in that studio, and we recorded it exactly as you see it in the video. We decided to make the video that way because we thought it was a great way to show you how it was made.
-The music video for “Staring At The Wall” is really cool and I’ve seen it many times. I imagine that the environment of the studio, with all the vintage equipment and instruments, may have been the inspiration for some of the ideas?
Norah: I think so. That song was done at a really fast pace. I think it’s probably the fastest song we’ve ever finished. That’s what I really like about it. He started playing the drums, and I played the guitar, and the melody came to me, and I came up with that “Ahhhh woooh” chorus. So we recorded the guitar and drums, and then quickly recorded the vocals. Strangely enough, the lyrics for this song were also written at a fast pace.
-I see! How did it come together so quickly?
Norah: I don’t know [laughs]. Maybe inspiration just came to me.
-I imagine that composing with sounds in the studio at such a speed is like a session. If so, I also imagine that it is a state of “improvisation” or “interplay” that you are doing slowly. Would you say that something like your “improvisation ability” is being demonstrated?
Norah: Yes. That’s probably how all the songs are made. The recordings don’t sound as cool as they could if I wanted to make them up. I’ve always done a lot of improvisation, so I think that something works best when it comes from a place that isn’t very thought out.
