NICOLE MARXEN
Photo by Kyle Montgomery
Nicole Marxen is a Dallas-based musician and visual artist. Known as one of the shiny dark innovators behind acclaimed avant-garde pop band Midnight Opera, she makes her solo debut with EP Tether.
Tether is a meditation on the grieving process. Recorded at John Congleton's studio, Elmwood, with Alex Bhore (formerly of This Will Destroy You) and mastered by Greg Calbi, it explores grief through the lens of a crystal — multifaceted among jagged and lustrous planes.
Interview by Tyler Nesler
You initially garnered positive attention as a member of the avant-garde pop/glam band Midnight Opera. What has been the most personally rewarding aspect of that project for you?
I get to make music and perform with some of my best friends. It’s such a playful project, we’re constantly making each other laugh. I enjoy the pageantry that goes into it and I’m endlessly grateful for our experience together.
How do you think your time in Midnight Opera has ultimately influenced your solo work?
Midnight Opera has helped me in so many ways. I didn’t grow up playing music, it’s something that I decided to pursue as an adult. I don’t know that I would have had the courage to keep challenging myself without the support of my bandmates over the years.
In what essential ways do you think the work you've produced for your debut EP Tether differs from Midnight Opera musically and thematically?
We all have such vastly different music tastes, which typically leads to an interesting blend of ideas. I sit on the darker side of the spectrum, and I wanted to fully lean into that on my solo work. I also didn’t feel comfortable to explore such personal material in a collaborative group setting. I knew there was the possibility I’d be too precious with it.
Tether EP, 2021
You've said that you used to hide behind the stage characters you created and that your art was a kind of elaborate escapism. How challenging was it for you to remove those masks and present yourself in a more direct and raw way with this new solo work? Were there any aspects to it that were surprisingly difficult or easy for you?
Giving myself permission to feel what I was going through was the most difficult part. I didn’t want to acknowledge my pain for a long time. Once I was finally able to face it though, the floodgates opened.
How did you come to work with producer and musician Alex Bhore on Tether? What distinct creative elements did he bring to the recordings?
I met Alex through John Congleton, who recorded the first band I was ever in. Alex is also Midnight Opera’s producer, and I couldn’t imagine doing my own project without him at the helm. We’re very simpatico. We’re both advocates for capturing authenticity over technicality.
We were able to use a lot of the original elements from my demos, but Alex shaped them to be so much more compelling and powerful. On one song, he ran the drum track I had programmed through amps placed next to the kick and underneath the snare, and then through various pedals. The isolated tracks sound insane.
He’s also just one of my most dear friends. He’s a joy to be around and recording this EP with him was a healing experience.
The video for your debut solo single "Tether" was directed by Judd Myers, who has said that it is a "small tribute to Nicole’s relationship with her mother, exploring memories, and an abstract journey through birth, death, and the grieving process...Nicole trusted me to go through archived home video footage in search of her mother, and there were all these beautiful little moments that wrecked me."
How difficult of a decision was it for you to allow the use of such personal family footage? What was your initial reaction to seeing all of these personal memories assembled into this very stylized and poignant video?
The idea came from me drunkenly showing the footage to Judd on his birthday. I had been sorting through a lot of my mom’s things around then and was excited about what I had found. Even though I selfishly commanded his celebration, it planted the seed of the idea.
When he asked to use the footage, I had zero reservations. We wanted for my mom to be a big part of the video, for her presence to feel alive, and the footage does that beautifully.
After seeing the first pass of the edit, I had hardly any notes. Judd did such an incredible job weaving everything together. I cry every time I watch it.
You are also a visual artist. What are your primary mediums? Are you working on any non-music art projects at the moment?
I draw and primarily paint with oils. I have too many amateur creative interests to keep track of. Lately I’ve been making little watercolor postcards to send to friends during the pandemic and drawing my two, adorable new kittens.
Tether is available now.
You might also like our interviews with these musicians:
Tyler Nesler is a New York City-based freelance writer and the Founder and Managing Editor of INTERLOCUTOR Magazine.
