BLOG

BY INTO FRUITION COLLABORATIVE

Uno Lady

Members / Instruments Christa Ebert, vocals and whatever I bang together for percussion 

Years Active 2006 – present

Latest GROUNDED– released January 12, 2021

Favorite Local Artists Mourning [A] BLKstar 

Current Album on Repeat Monster Rally – Castaways, Vol. 1

Currently Reading Real Love, The Art of a Mindful Connection, by Sharon Salzberg 

Favorite Venue to Perform I loved singing in the Superior Viaduct, the lower level of the Detroit Superior Bridge but that’s a rare occasion they let an art event happen there. Happy Dog feels like a second home so I love and miss singing there too.https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=917498454/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/minimal=true/

How is everyone holding up during this time?

I’m holding up alright. I cannot wait to hug all my friends this summer.  I am used to recording and writing on my own. I craved time to create before covid and I have it now. It’s not the ideal situation nor inspiring but I’m doing my best to focus on the silver lining of this continuous catastrophe, stay safe, and fill my time with art. I have gotten better at giving myself permission to rest and move at a slower pace.

What do you think is the biggest lesson we can all take away from this past year?

Slowing down, we were made to collectively pause. The biggest lesson is reevaluating what is important in our lives and what is worth risking our health and happiness over. I think many people have a better understanding and recognize the impact our actions have on each other. Also, learning how to show love to family and friends without embracing each other. 

I hope to find hand soap in every music venue bathroom moving forward.

Tell us about how this project got started?

I started recording as Uno Lady because I had to sing and create. Music is part of me. I wasn’t sure how to organize a band so I just started singing and layering into a music program and then people started to ask me to play shows.

Are you working on anything new / specific at the moment?

My latest project  GROUNDED released in two parts: A short film aired December 2020 and the album released digitally through Bandcamp January 2021. GROUNDED is mindfulness mantras, soothing songs, and guided meditations. The sights match the sounds. Slightly modulated, natural layers of vocal and video to help find peace in the present moment. 

I filmed mostly in my backyard. Stop-motion animations were created with homegrown flowers and sweet potatoes, drawings and paintings. The film depicts a busy mind and uses hypnotic mantras to retrain focus. Some songs are lyricless, ambient, and the visuals abstract – others pieces feature natural sounds and have breathing exercises intertwined. The first track, “Thinking About Thinking” is a stop-motion animation that shows my MRI images with stop-motion thought bubbles floating through. The animated bubbles dissipate to show these thoughts and emotions pass. 

I’ve never had this much time to focus on a project and the quality is better than anything else I have made. I’m really proud of it and excited to share it.

Anyone you’ve collaborated with recently? 

I’m grateful to work with a few talented friends on this release. Sequoia Bostick added the hypnotic animations to a few songs: Ways We Wish The World Was, Ditch Resistance, Chill Out For One Minute, and Here Now. I added modulated nature visuals behind her animations.

Meditations are guided by LaToya Kent and Erica Snowden-Rodríguez. LaToya is a meditation teacher and musician who performs solo and as a part of Mourning [A] BLKstar. You can hear her calming voice guide you through the meditations Breathe and You Are Love. Erica plays cello in the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra and is Principal Cello at Erie Philharmonic and Principal cello at Akron Symphony Orchestra and guides the beautiful breathing exercise, Meditación. 

Both artists were approached with a breathing exercise idea but allowed creative freedom. Written separately but together, the recordings were sent to me and then I composed vocals and music around their words. I’m so happy with the results.

What’s the biggest thing that your band could use help with (Promotion, Recording, Merch, Booking, Touring, etc)?

Promotion and touring when it’s safe. I think Cleveland has so many wonderful musicians, amazing venues, and also manufacturing like GottaGrooveRecords, but we don’t have management services like booking, promoting, and labels. We’re stuck promoting ourselves in a town that takes pride in being an underdog. It can be challenging to get press or book shows outside of the local bubble.

Strangest thing you’ve heard from someone at a concert?

Too many to mention but I really enjoyed receiving a handwritten note that read, “Do you yodel?” 

What has your recording experience been like?

I love the recording process and sometimes it is my writing process. I record my home studio and use Logic Pro. Some of my songs are 40-70 vocal tracks so going into someone else’s studio is not the best fit. I’m pretty meticulous too and re-record those tracks.

What’s the next move?

I’m going to keep doing what I do, chip away at recording an excel list of 100+ songs, and hope a fitting opportunity comes along. I’d love to compose songs for films and that is why I began working with video art. I know I have more meditation songs in me. I have some songs and videos from a residency in France I’d love to finish. I got a jingle business idea in my pocket. The possibilities are endless

---

https://intofruitioncollab.com/

In “3030 Akron + Cleveland”Posted in: 3030 Akron + ClevelandTagged: interview, into fruition, 3030, into fruition collaborative, music, cleveland, cleveland music, akron, uno lady, meditation, christa ebert