© Allison Michael Orenstein | Joan “As Police Woman” Wasser: “Feeling free is the most important thing in my life.”
Interview

Joan As Police Woman: 'I’m pretty comfortable being uncomfortable'

Tom Peeters
© BRUZZ
05/02/2018

'Let’s be clear about what we want': It’s the most transparent statement anyone can make in this post #MeToo era and it’s all over Damned Devotion, the sixth album that the gifted American songwriter Joan Wasser has released under her acclaimed moniker Joan As Police Woman.

How to crawl your way to freedom, as a woman and as a musician, has been a recurrent theme in the life and works of Joan Wasser (47).

“Thankfully, now it has become a part of public life and debate as well,” the New York-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist says, and even though she did not write the new record about that, she admits: “I probably could have.”

Wasser was one of the half a million protesters who took part in the 2017 Women’s March in Washington DC, one day after the inauguration of Donald “grab them by the pussy” Trump – she describes him as “our unmentionable not elected president”.

Protest votes

“My body, my choice!” the women chanted at the rally, “Her body, her choice!” the men answered. Wasser recorded these “protest votes”, and they now appear on “The Silence”, the centerpiece of Damned Devotion.

“Here, the personal, the public and the political really come together. It was a necessary event, not only for women, but for the world. I was not setting out to make a statement. It is something fundamental about my person. I’m always trying to get closer to myself, and I appreciate it when others do too.”

“Women have been talking about these issues among themselves and to their men/(boy)friends for years,” she continues. “But for a long time, they did not get the support they needed. They were challenged about whether they were telling the truth, or maybe some of the details were question­able. So it has always been very risky for them to step forward, including in the music industry."

"I remember Amber Coffman, the singer of the indie rock band Dirty Projectors, did it a few years ago and I was so pleased with that, because she was not one of the obvious sexy pop stars. What was cool recently is that all these actresses put together a programme for people that are not actresses. That was very thoughtful of them, since the whole world needs it. Luckily, people are finally listening."

If you are comfortable enough to show your weaknesses, then you’ve got nothing to hide and you find yourself in a place of total freedom.

Joan Wasser

"It is a bit similar to the debate in the US about people of colour being killed by the police. I can’t say whether or not anything is actually changing, but there is more public knowledge about it, and there’s nothing bad about that.”

On some of the promo pics for the launch of her new album – hand between her legs, tongue teasingly slipping out of her mouth – Wasser walks a thin line between fear­lessness and vulnerability. “If you are comfortable enough to show your weaknesses, then you’ve got nothing to hide and you find yourself in a place of total freedom,” she explains.

“I don’t really do anything on these pictures. If there’s a camera around, it’ll end up catching that. It’s just the way I am. I grew up in an environment where I was encouraged to challenge things. Feeling free, which is part of that, is definitely the most important thing in my life. Growing up in a family that is not your own blood (Wasser was born to an unmarried teenage mother and adopted when an infant - TP) you can truly develop who you are.”

No wonder she read a lot of Jean Genet. The notorious French poet, novelist, and outcast fitted her lifestyle, she tells us, while explaining why he popped into her head during a subversive disco jam with her drummer, leading to the new track “Steed (for Jean Genet)”.

“Nevertheless, it took me a long time and a lot of discomfort to get where I am now. I’m pretty com­for­table being uncomfortable. Sometimes that hasn’t been good, because I stayed in situations that were inappropriately uncomfortable. But I learned from that as well.”

Home-grown

Last year, it was 20 years since the classically trained artist lost her then-boyfriend, the beloved singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, to the greedy Mississippi. In the aftermath of her loss, she played in different bands as one of the most versatile session and touring musicians on the scene.

Antony Hegarty (now Anohni) hired her as a violinist and she went on tour with Lou Reed, but that was then. Becoming a solo artist was a necessity, rather than something that she absolutely wanted to do.

“I loved being a part of a group of musicians playing together, but then life began serving me some serious plates of pain. I needed to do something, but at the same time I was terrified to sing."

"Around 2002 I was just exhausted from making it work with other people, trying to deal with their extremely fragile egos…when mine was already fragile enough. I admitted that I had to do it all on my own… and slowly it became impossible not to sing, whether I liked that or not."

"It wasn’t comfortable at all, but I had to, and in the end it helped me to confront my vulnerability and make my 2006 debut as a solo artist.”

I’m always trying to get closer to myself, and I appreciate it when others do too

Joan Wasser

As an antidote to the (head)strong characters she used to perform with, she tells us that everyone in her current band is flawlessly amazing, respectful, and communicative: “Former experiences didn’t stop me from chasing strong characters, but I tend to choose slightly healthier ones now.” [Laughs]

Things also evolved musically. The dark edge of Damned Devotion, supporting the raw and sincere lyrics, is triggered by subtle drum programming. “At first I didn’t know if beat-making and drum programming would make sense for Joan As Police Woman. I started demoing in my house, making tracks with songs that I was writing."

"At the same time, I was composing a film score with my friend Thomas Bartlett. He told me he really liked the new tracks. When I told him I also had to start writing my new record, he answered: ‘But you already got it!’ I mean, it wasn’t already done, but the template was there."

"I ended up using the tracks I recorded in my house and recorded over them. So Damned Devotion is literally home-grown.”

> Joan As Police Woman. 8/2, 19.00, [CHEZ PIAS] & 2/4, 19.30, Botanique, Brussels

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