Nona Invie – “Called A Fool”
Americana Highways is hosting this video premiere of Nona Invie’s song “Called A Fool” from her forthcoming album of original songs Self Soothing, which is releasing on Feb 28. Self Soothing was produced and mixed by Andrew Broder; engineered by Nat Harvie and Tom Herbers; and mastered by Alec Ness. Source photography was captured by Ingrid Weise with album design by Casey Deming.
Musicians on the album are Nona Invie on keyboards and vocals; Cole Pulice on saxophone; Cole Davis on bass; Emily Elkin on cello; Alex Guy on violin and viola; Evan Slack on guitar; and Greg Fox on cymbals.
Americana Highways had a chance to ask Nona some questions about the “Called A Fool” and themes on the overall album. The premiere appears just beneath the interview.
Americana Highways: You explore themes of guilt, shame, toxic love, and loss on Self-Soothing. How did writing and performing these songs help you process those emotions?
Nona Invie: In the initial stages of writing, when it is just me and my piano, all of these emotions get channeled into the music. There are no words to stumble over or catch myself on. It is just raw, unfiltered feeling sort of pouring onto the keys. When lyrics come into play, then I have to face the reality of my feelings and consider just how true and honest and vulnerable I am willing to be. And what I’m willing to share. Some of these songs were years in the making and it was interesting to see how my feelings evolved over time.
AH: The sound of the album blends so many elements—piano, synths, electronic effects—how did you decide to integrate these different textures into your work?
NI: I love playing around with layering different piano and synth tones in my writing and performing, as I feel it adds a richness and complexity to an otherwise pretty simple keyboard sound. Andrew Broder, who produced this record, was the real texture wizard for the album. He created such depth with all of the different pads and melodic elements and really brought the songs to life.
AH: On the song “Called A Fool,” there’s a playful, dreamlike quality with the piano and harp. Can you talk about the mood you were trying to create with that track? If there’s one thing you hope listeners take away from “Called A Fool,” what would it be?
NI: With “Called A Fool” I wanted to evoke the feelings of a classic, simple, fairy tale love story. The piano is contemplative and a little whimsical with the sax joining on the trills. Many of the songs on this record are so intense, I wanted to let myself take a breath and just enjoy how it feels to fall in love. And basically to ignore the haters who try to damper the fantasy. The fool is at peace with their desires and has no energy to give to the naysayers.
Thanks very much for shaing with us, Nova. Folks can find the music here: https://orcd.co/nonainvie
The video was directed with lead videography by Connor Lynch and videography by Zoe Prinds-Flash.
It was edited by Lauren Josephine with title graphics by Sandy Uhrich. The Fool was played by Penny Weiland.
Light plays a starring role in the video – lights in the dark, contrasts. Nona’s introspective style draws you into a reflection and the result is compelling as her vocals rise and fall and the piano plays sparsely and gently, and later the sax takes its turn. Ultimately the song, too, is about contrasts in your mind and the sparse darkness that can haunt your deepest fears. “Can you even imagine / Where this could end / Called a fool for wanting.”
