Skip to main content
Open this photo in gallery:

Musician Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent.

Annie Clark has something that you don’t: Her own signature series electric guitar. “It’s the coolest thing ever,” says Clark, the art-rock star who makes music under the name St. Vincent. “For the 12-year-old me walking into the guitar shop staring at the Strats and the Les Pauls and going in my room and practicing Neil Young or whatever, it’s a dream come true.”

Here’s another dream come true: Clark recorded some of her latest album, last year’s Masseduction, at Electric Lady Studios, built for Jimi Hendrix, a hero of Clark’s. “Recording there felt like a big milestone,” says Clark, over the phone. “It feels like you’ve arrived somewhere."

She’s definitely arrived, this Grammy-winning shape-shifter. But like all great artists, Clark is more interested in where she’s going than where she’s been. In advance of a pair of Canadian appearances, the Oklahoma-born New Yorker talks about the future, her audiences and one critic’s hate for her.

You have your own signature electric guitar that you designed. But do you ever play an acoustic?

I have a very limited relationship with acoustic guitars. But I have one little parlour guitar that I just love. I do play it for small events and intimate shows, like meet-and-greets. I’ve gotten to really enjoy it. Also, before any concert I warm up for an hour or so, playing acoustic guitar and singing covers.

You don’t do covers on stage. What do you play backstage?

I’ll warm up on Tool’s Forty Six & 2 or Pearl Jam’s Tremor Christ or P.J. Harvey. You know, warm and sentimental stuff [laughs].

You toured last year solo, with backing tapes and video accompaniment. What went into that decision?

I thought long and hard about what I want as an audience member. And what I want is to go someplace for an hour and a half. I want to be transported. I want to suspend my disbelief. I want to be at a Nine Inch Nails show and rage. So, I thought about that, and about what a live show even is in this day and age.

It’s about making a connection, isn’t it?

People want to go somewhere with the performer. They want to be understood. They want to be engaged, and not just with the artist, but the crowd around them. It could be a gathering around a campfire. It’s special. It’s communion. It’s all of that. But, really, I play to give people something they won’t forget.

I didn’t see your Fear the Future show, and at least one music blog called you and the tour the live act of the year. But not everyone saw it that way. Is polarizing too strong a word to describe the reaction overall?

It’s funny. When I played in London, early in the tour, I got a five-star review in one newspaper and a one-star review in another. One was glowing and the other hated it so much.

For some artists that’s the goal, isn’t it?

I was actually really pleased. I don’t think I’d done anything in my career up to that point that was worthy of hate. And maybe that’s a bad thing. I was glad that I did something that affected someone enough that they said ‘I reject this.’ Because that means you’re pushing. It means you’re testing the waters and not playing it safe. Mind you, had they all been bad reviews, I might have questioned it a little bit. But the fact that it was polarizing, as you say, was actually a vote of confidence.

You recorded some of Masseduction at Electric Lady Studio, Jimi Hendrix’s studio. Is he a favourite of yours, as a guitar player?

He’s one of everybody’s favourites. The thing with him was that he was always playing on the edge. It was as if he was walking a tightrope. You hear someone playing a blues lick, and you know where they’re going to land. That’s not that interesting. Give me somebody who sounds dangerous.

What have you got planned, besides the tour?

I have a lot of things I’m going to do this year. I’m going to direct a feature film. I’ve got a couple of art pieces in the works. I’m producing records. I stay busy.

Any ideas for the next album?

I’m always looking for the next thing. What’s the next combination of instruments? Or the next combination of genres that will feel exciting? How can I combine multiple ideas in one place and make it cohesive and cool? I don’t know what that is for me. Part of the process is cerebral and plan-y and the other part, which is most of the process, is getting your hands dirty and finding it. Like diamond mining. So, I don’t know where I’m going. But that’s exciting.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe