Jill Interviews White Magic’s singer/guitarist/pianist Mira Billotte:

“You know I want it to be the good magic.”

Jill D: Mira, hi there; how are you?

Mira Billotte: Good, how are you?!

JD: Good, thank you. I’ve got to just dive in: where did you learn to sing? You’ve got some serious pipes. Was this voice training? Natural?

MB: Yeah, it is natural; I’ve never had any lessons. Even with piano—I just grew up with a piano. I grew up listening to music and singing along with other people’s songs. I think that’s how I trained my voice. I listened to Billie Holiday and songs on the radio, when I was little. We were also really into Blondie and music like that—my sister liked Blondie, so we’d listen to that. But I think [I was] twelve when I started listening to the Billie Holiday and singing along.

Continue the interview after the jump…

JD: What’s the first band that you were ever in?

MB: The first band that I was ever in was when I was seventeen, a band called The Blue Rider. It was an all girl band. And I actually played bass, there was a drummer, and a guitar player. None of us knew how to play our instruments. We decided we were going to be in a band and that we would learn our instruments afterwards. I think we were trying to do a punk thing but it came out pretty arty—we were art students so… But yeah, it was fun: the guitar player and I sang. We never recorded, but we did open up for Slant 6 a couple of times—

JD: That’s your sister’s band?

MB: Yeah, my sister’s band. It was in DC; that’s where all the music and shows happened so I was always there, at shows.

JD: Nice, and since then you’ve moved to Brooklyn.

MB: Yeah, I lived all over New York actually; I’ve been in New York for four years. I lived in the East Village for a while; I lived in Greenpoint, in Bed-Sty—all over!

JD: Is your music paying the rent? Do you have a day job?

MB: It is and it isn’t. I supplement with odd jobs—I don’t have a day job, but I have a friend that I work for sometimes, on and off.

JD: Doing what?

MB: Ahhh, it’s kinda funny. It’s like a video karaoke thing for parties. You just have to run the machines and then at the end you give them a DVD of themselves dancing. It’s pretty ridiculous, but it’s kinda fun.

JD: I kinda remember these things from when I went to, like, bar mitzvahs.

MB: Well, I don’t know how long it has been around.

JD: Well, it wasn’t that long ago. So, what are you guys doing now? I know 2007 was a pretty heavy touring year. It was your biggest extended appearance ever.

MB: Yeah, it was our first headlining tour ever and it was really interesting. White Magic hadn’t toured the US in a while. We toured Europe, Scandinavia and UK. We just got back from the US tour a month ago. It was really cool. We had a lot of turn out in some of the bigger cities. We had some really great shows and really packed out audiences. So it was fun to see that, and now I know what audiences are out there .

JD: And, this year, have you started recording yet? Are you working on another EP or diving into another format?

MB: We are. We’re in the process of planning all of that now and hoping to start recording in February and March. I’m not sure what format the next release will be—we are thinking of releasing… Working on two things simultaneously, another EP and a full length, as well; and then maybe releasing the EP and the full length back to back.. That’s the tentative plan right now.

JD: And, where do you get your ideas for your songs? Your voice is so guttural, it seems like everything just flows out of you.

MB: Well, thank you. It’s emotion,… a lot of my songs are inspired by a spiritual longing. I try to express emotions and feelings that don’t really have a name, that are not easily explained with language: an emotion that’s between emotions, in a way. I just focus on that and really try to write words that paint a picture, as opposed to naming something. A lot of it comes from my childhood imagination and experiences that I had as a child. Mythology also… and a lot of those visuals, and visuals from my dreams.

JD: And what about your name? Did White Magic come from a dream?

MB: I had always wanted to have a name with the word Magic in it. I thought of just naming us Magic but then I thought, ‘well what kind of magic do I want it to be?’ and I realized, White Magic. You know I want it to be the good magic.

JD: And what’s a typical day like for White Magic?

MB: We listen to music most of the time. Or play it. We DJ sometimes in New York. But it’s really all over the place.

JD: What are you listening to right now?

MB: We listen to old and new music, Ethiopian music. We’ve been listening to this new series of music from Zanzibar. I also just finally got the Karen Dalton DVD. Doug is really into Grime (British rap) and dance hall. We are all over the place.

JD: Very all over. But honing in on your music, what’s the best way to enjoy your sounds? How do you intend them to be heard? I imagine it can be difficult to envision someone listening to your work but…

MB: But, I do think about it. People have told me they enjoy putting it on in a room when they are quietly working on projects by themselves, maybe doing their art or sewing or just doing your day to day things in your house, not necessarily just as a background music, but having it on in a quiet moment so that you are absorbing it, but don’t necessarily have your ear to the stereo. But then, I also have listened to it in a car and that’s very enjoyable as well. It really sits well when you’re driving down a road with lots of trees or in a forest.

JD: I second the car listening, 100%. So people have solidly been listening to you guys, since you released your first EP in 2004. You have been hugely popular amongst the people who know about you. But, you’ve been really flying under the radar beyond them. Is that something that you are going for or just how it’s evolved?

MB: It’s not something I strive for, no. I mean, I am trying to get the music out there as much as I can. The music climate of today has changed and everything is at a faster pace.

And for me, the writing process can take a long time. Also, there were some things that were out of my control that took a long time, especially with the “Dat Rosa Mel Apibus” record. There was also a lot of layering on “Dat Rosa” and longer songs. A lot of time was put into recording in the studio.

I think because the climate of the music industry is at a faster pace and there are so many more bands even than when I started in 2003, I think peoples’ attention spans are a lot shorter when it comes to music in general. I think I have enduring, patient fans because the music requires it in some ways. I don’t have the hype machine that other bands have, but I am glad actually. I feel like these bands get really hyped in the moment and then all of a sudden you don’t hear anything about them. So, my goal is to be someone who is around for a long time and stays in the minds of people and keeps fans for a very long time. Fans that don’t disappear because the hype disappears.

JD: Well, you’ve got me as a fan, and I will certainly spread the word.

MB: Ok, cool. Thank you.

JD: Yeah, thanks for talking to me. Good luck with everything in the New Year—planning, writing, recording. I’ll be looking out for you.

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