In her debut solo album, released in 2008, Closer Than Far, thas elements of folk, blues, country, new wave, classical, rock and funk -- in fact, something for everyone!
An accomplished classical guitarist, Serena is also a renowned cellist, having been a member of the art rock group Rasputina; the flourishes of cello throughout the album are the icing on the cake, setting this material apart from the singer/songwriter genre and bringing regular highlights to the songs, including a long, haunting instrumental passage on I Wait in which the cello engages in a dialog with Julian Maile's virtuosity on guitar in a melody that conjures images of tango dancers in the American south.
Serena's band is not to be overlooked on this album, and in addition to Maile's often soaring guitar work, bassist Brad Albetta and drummer Colin Brooks give committed performances throughout under the exquisite production of Albetta.
The final track on the album, Stowaway, Serena revisits the theme of the importance of a place to call home; her vocals are at their most delicate and wistful -- the lyric I'm so exposed crystallizes the honesty with which she has revealed her innermost musings on this deeply personal album, inviting the listener to join her in an intimate musical experience which promises to become richer with every consecutive listen.
Swiss Roots talked with Serena to learn a bit more about her background and her passions.
Where were you born?
I was born in Evanston, Illinois, USA. My older brother was born in Zürich, and when my parents came to The States they thought they would stay for only a couple of years. But we went from Illinois to Michigan where my younger brother was born.
Where did you grow up?
I mainly grew up and went to school in East Lansing, Michigan. However, my family went to Switzerland (GR) a lot, since many of our relatives lived there. I have always been bilingual (with Schweizer-Deutsch) and the main language we used to communicate at home was dialect. English was also part of it, though, especially as I got older and it became the language of my education, reading, etc. There’s a lot that could be said about existing in two different languages at once.
Where do you live now (and why?)
I have lived in New York City for over 10 years. This place has always had a pull for me. I feel like the city is a big conveyor belt, and the second you walk out the door, you’re like a piece of luggage being whisked around on one of those things at the airport. Yes, you have ideas of where you want to go, what you want to do, but anything could happen! The place is in motion. It’s exciting to be here, sometimes quite tiring and difficult too, but it is so very interesting and endlessly surprising. I like discovering new places, people or ways of thinking, and in this city, there’s always another pocket. At the same time, I’m also really happy to leave — the world is a big place — and to understand that even a big city can become provincial.
What is your vocation?
I am a musician. I’m a singer/songwriter and cellist.
When did you first become aware of your Swiss Heritage?
My Swissness is a part of me, it is not a removed or newly discovered thing — since my parents came here just before I was born. I think as a little kid, you just exist in your own reality without a lot of self-consciousness, so for me I always spoke both languages, like all bilingual kids from wherever, and experienced that as totally normal. Only when I began public school, did it suddenly become very confusing because I realized that these other kids were (mostly) “American”. I felt like a Swiss person inside America. That was the beginning of me trying to understand and negotiate how to exist in two cultures. I often found myself having to explain: how to pronounce my name, why I wore the same clothes two days in a row, and why my lunch looked so different than the white-bread sandwiches all the other kids brought with them to school. Ironically, when I was in Switzerland, I was often faulted for being “The American”. So it’s a bit like straddling both shores of the Atlantic Ocean! But in the end, I was always proud to be Swiss, and felt special because of my dual nationality.
The best thing about being Swiss is:
The best thing for me about being Swiss is knowing that I maybe have some of the qualities that a lot of Swiss people seem to have in common. There’s a certain honesty, I guess I would say a kind of realistic and pragmatic way of dealing with things, that’s quite Swiss. From the outside, it could be construed as just critical and a bit hard, but it’s a very useful quality. I’m glad I have it and feel blessed that it is combined with some of my more American qualities. On a more elemental level, it’s incredible to know about beautiful alpine mountains and to have that red passport!
The trouble about being Swiss is:
I guess I’d say there are a lot of advantages, not only to being Swiss, but especially to being bi-cultural and holding dual citizenship. I feel like some of the more troublesome things about being Swiss are rescued by my American side. Like for example, this realism that I mentioned before, it can at times approach a type of realistic pessimism, which can be a major downer! But, in my more American mojo, there’s that bright shiny optimism which is hopeful and wishful. Yes, it can become optimistic denial, but if you’ve got the one with the other, it is all a little kinder and fuller.
One trait that I think of as Swiss -- the desire or even requirement to be precise, predictable, regular, and perhaps “correct” — can become very oppressive. While those qualities can be very effective, and produce quality work, in their worst form, they can really take a toll on people. Sometimes you have to break with prescribed ways of doing things — ask what makes me a better person, a more inspired creator?
Is there such a thing as "Swissness" and if so, what's "Swiss" about you?
Whenever I’m in Switzerland, I feel like I’m the right size, plus, everyone sort of looks like me! And a lot of people seem to know how to build things and take them apart in order to clean them, qualities that I seem to come by naturally. But seriously, I think there are many things that could be included in some kind of “Swissness”. For me, the main thing it touches on — I can’t totally find a way to say it — is having some kind of ethical core or thread. Obviously, you can’t call everyone in a whole country only good or bad, and all people anywhere are plenty complex. But there’s a quality that a lot of Swiss people have. It’s a combination of integrity and humility.
Does it show up in your work?
I think that often music or creation bypasses any logic initially, that you’re maybe catching something you don’t understand or direct in any way, it just flies though. But the way it comes together after that, the way you “work” something comes from a willful or conscious place. My music often has pretty clear structure to it, and I think that working with forms in a certain way is probably pretty connected to being Swiss, with the tendency to order and delineate. I like building things that have an internal logic. Lyrically, I’m interested in non-normative grammar, or in things that are very expressive and unbound. Anyway, I think there’s an interplay of form and freedom and I kind of slalom my way between them, needing both. For example, I have written songs with very straightforward language and also songs with made-up language sounds. So far I haven’t written in Schweizer Deutsch but hope to do so in the future. Also, in terms of musical lineage, many of my Swiss relatives were and are good musicians—my uncle is an incredible jazz piano player.
For more about Serena Jost visit:
http://myspace.com/serenajost
