Music Q&A with Jolie Lindholm of The Darling Fire
Photo courtesy of The Darling Fire
Featuring members of Shai Hulud, Further Seems Forever, The Rocking Horse Winner, and As Friends Rust, The Darling Fire is getting ready to release their sophomore album, Distortions, on September 16th via Iodine Recordings! In this Q&A, front woman, Jolie Lindholm, talked about the band’s upcoming album, what she would change about the music industry if she could, the best advice given to her by a musician, and more! Distortions is available for pre-order HERE.
Congratulations on the upcoming release of Distortions! What’s your favorite song off the album and what does it mean to you?
Each of the songs we wrote for Distortions mean something special to me, but if I had to choose a favorite, it would be “Rituals”. Now that we’ve had a chance to bring these songs to venues, I can say this song is definitely one of my favorites to play live. It brings out a certain energy in the band every time, which is a ritual in and of itself. We all have our own rituals that we perform throughout our lives, and this song represents that for me. The way the song is structured–it takes off from the outset, with little ethereal breaths during the verses, then a slow, dark bridge. This represents the ebbs and flows of life on earth; living among others who are traveling their own paths; conducting their own daily rituals. We haunt each other in life, with love and hatred, sometimes hiding our own insecurities. Our rituals, whatever they may be, maintain a constant throughout our lives, keeping us sane among the insane.
What’s something that you did during the making of Distortions that’s different from the making of Dark Celebration?
When we recorded Dark Celebration, we brought ten completed songs to J. Robbins, but only recorded eight. We were still finding our sound, and the band was still very fresh. We had an idea of what we wanted to do with those songs, but we hadn’t quite figured out what this band would sound like going forward. With Distortions, we had a lot of time when the world went dark for a while to hone the kind of vibe we wanted to present the second time around. We only had five songs completed when we first recorded with Jay Maas, and we knew we had to return home to write another five–we wanted Distortions to include ten compositions. After the first leg, we were inspired, and we experimented even further with the next five to push our own boundaries. Those who’ve heard Dark Celebration may be surprised to find a much heavier side of us coming through on Distortions. We wanted something sonically different, with more energy, more layering, and a thicker sound overall, while incorporating some new instrumentation. This is something that developed naturally over the past few years as we continued writing. Jay really helped us to bring out that heavy darkness combined with the dreamy vocals we were looking for with this new album.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
There are a few things that I struggle with in the music industry, but one issue seems to be breaking through all of the noise. Using social media to tell your listeners about a new release doesn’t seem to reach everyone that may actually want to know about it. Back in the day, with my old band The Rocking Horse Winner, there was a thriving local scene here in Florida, and kids would find out about you through word of mouth, or a show you played. Now it seems to be more about how many followers you have before you’re given the chance to reach more ears. There are so many great bands out there that I’ve had to seek out on my own, learning about them from other bands, or from seeing them on a bill. It seems to be a lot more difficult to break through these days, with a large sea of bands sending their content out into the world.
What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?
Throughout the writing of Distortions, my husband, Jeronimo, our guitar player, pushed me to test new boundaries with my voice. He pushed me to be a better lyricist and to really pull from deep inside to figure out what I’m capable of doing. I think I’ve always had a level of fear in pushing my voice to see what I can do with it, but he really helped me to bring this out for the album, and I continue to do that as we write for the next one. Testing new things has been challenging, but it’s made me a more authentic frontwoman. I was able to push myself harder than I ever had before in the studio. It was an emotionally satisfying experience for me personally, and I think that comes through in the songs.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
I think it goes without saying that the past few years have been difficult. I had already faced some adversity before the pandemic that led to the creation of this band, so it has definitely been a test of my character, and patience to make it through all of these challenging layers. I just decided that things always work out one way or another–they always have, whether that means they go in the direction I expected them to go, or not. I remember when this band started, and I never thought we’d be at this point, having worked with a producer we admire, and releasing a second album with a label we love. I’m so grateful for where I am, and I wouldn’t change a thing, regardless of some of the worse times I’ve been faced with more recently. The drive to continue to see where this strange path leads, keeps me positive.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
Thank you for having me! We have some shows planned from now until the end of the year, including Furnace Fest, and (Gainesville) Fest, with a couple of potential tours in the works for next year. We’re planning to hit the road as much as we can once the album comes out. We also recently filmed a video that we can’t wait to release. I hope people will check out the new album–we put our heart and soul into this record and it’s some of the best material we’ve created as a band. We put time into the arrangement as well, so listening in order from beginning to end is an experience we created with the listener in mind, introducing this new version of the band and taking them with us on a bit of a journey.