Please introduce yourself and/ or your project. Please give a briefrelevant history.

hi. my name is jamie stewart of the musical group (gripe) xiu xiu. we have been making records since 2002 and hope to until 12002.

What does the word “Animism” mean to you… This can be as literal or abstract as you wish. Does it find life in your project or in your day to day movements?

in a literal way, to me, the finding of spirituality in nature or from nature or nature as God.

it does not find direct life in our project in so far as being part of a daily practice when working on music but very definitely does in indirect ways in that nature as a whole, physically and intentionally being in nature and considering the wonder and variety of nature is massively inspirational to what we are trying to do.
we have several songs that were written after having explored new outdoor settings, or are about specific non human forms of life or non industrial places.
also in an unintellectual, unanalytical way, hoping and wanting to allow for some kind of positive and, if this is even possible, restitutive communion with nature by trying to be musical creative is private motivation for us as a band.

Do you talk with spirits or deities? Do they answer back?

yes in a pretty normal western style of prayer and yes but in feeling or intuition” rather than in language. times when i have ignored it things have wildly awry and times when i have heeding whatever advice or warning was being  transmitted (for lack of a better word) disaster has been avoided. i feel a very deep and pointed connection between spirituality and music.

If you could have a secret magickal power (or have one), what would it be? Or, what is it already?? And finally, what would you wish to do with such a power?

i wish i had the power to restore what humans have damaged in the natural world.

What is the season of the year that resonates most deeply with you and why? Do these vibrations appear in your work?

that is an interesting one. I patently dread the coming of summer but we seem to get most of our work done during the summer and tend to finish records in the summer. so i am not sure. but i, emotionally prefer spring, autumn and winter by leaps and bounds over summer.

What do you dream of destroying?

corporate greed and disregard for this remarkable planet.

What do you dream of creating?

i wish i had more ambition than this, but more records and drawings and fruits and vegetables with eyes and mouths holding spears and swords.

What keeps you up at night?

that is a loooooooOoooooOoooooooooooooooOOOooong fucking list.

What brings you solace?

working on music, being with my family and one on one with close friends, being moved by transcendent works of art, bird watching, lichens, being in nature with no people or evidence of people around, hippie drugs and travelling.

What does the word ritual mean to you? Do you incorporate any rituals into your daily life? Your practice? Your performances?

the practice of formalizing and acknowledging to God in or the universe what one is about to do. i do a little prayer and meditation every time i go into the studio before i turn all the equipment on to say thanks to God and the spirits of music and to ask that everyone working on anything generative is inspired and that an interesting door is opened.

Do politics enter into, inform or speak through your creative workings? What are your thoughts on the creative process’s responsibility to, or freedom from politics?

i dont feel there is a responsibility to be politically active in art if it is not what one finds genuinely moving. it is just lame and pointless to be hollow about it order to fit it or do what you think you are supposed to. be oneself, that is more valuable than spouting pablum so you dont feel guilty. but personally i do find it genuinely moving. the band i play has directly explored social, sexual, ecological and geo politics through music since we started and probably always will.

What does the word community mean to you and how does it influence
your process and practice?

as a very shy and increasingly introverted but also generally lonely person, that is something that i struggle with. i want to be around people more but it is harder and harder for me.

Any last departing offerings? Anything you would like to talk about that wasn’t covered?

i love cats!