PAIGE STARK OF TASHAKI MIYAKI

L.A. three piece Tashaki Miyaki have delivered their highly anticipated sophomore record Castaway. Embodied within its title lies the essence of the album. An underlying concept of seemingly contradictory notions of isolation and connection. As lead vocalist and drummer Paige Stark remarks “the title Castaway comes from the idea of being a castaway from things as a result of your own choices or thinking. Especially in relationships, the two people in a relationship are kind of on an island alone together and no one else really understands.” An idea that Paige elaborates on by adding “I was thinking about my life and the way time passing has changed relationships and myself”. A poignant comment and one that is indicative of Paige’s own time and place as she moves through her years.

From a view point slightly further down the road, it becomes increasingly evident how time marches on and how focuses change. Recalling a recent event, “I was out at dinner last night with a friend who is in her early 20’s, and she views life so differently. Everything is such higher stakes, more intensity and more drama. I think being in my 30’s I experienced certain things enough times that it's not so dramatic anymore, and there's some resolve around certain issues and topics, and I feel like I know myself and my purpose more. And I know my faults and my gifts, and also the faults and gifts of those around me. And that's part of what this record is about. Just kind of accepting things even if there's a sadness in that. Realizing nothing has tuned out how I thought and I have these flaws that will probably always be there, but that's ok. And the other people in my life have flaws too and they're going to annoy and disappoint me, but that's also ok. I really think the people we choose to know over time, its people whose shortcomings we can deal with. That might sound cynical or something, but I find it really freeing to just accept disappointment as a part of life.”

The type of humility and humble acceptance Paige speaks of shows a dynamic maturity in that the acknowledgment of the fact that best laid plans often fail and when coupled with the unpredictability of people, these frustrations in life can become a springboard from which to better invest time and energy into pursuits that garner more satisfaction and stimulation. A case in point is that of her work in the studio leading up to the records release and that of mixing and tracking Castaway. In what was initially a little daunting and challenging prospect, the lessons learned from working with contributor and producer Jon Brion were invaluable. “I have learned a lot from Jon over hundreds of conversations. He really pays attention to detail and has taught me to do the same. He has reinforced, "If you hear it, it's there." And that comes from me making recordings with people where I would hear a sound and not like it and the engineer would say, "Oh you won't hear that" and I would and it would drive me crazy.”

All these instances and conversations over the years have added to her experiences and evolving technical knowledge. So to hear Paige talk about different interests, it simply demonstrates further that her thirst for new experiences and sources of inspirations are never ending as she mentions, “lately I've been thinking a lot about Tchaikovsky. I love the way he wrote little conversations in the music. The instrumentation voices all these different characters and they talk to each other and it's also filled with incredible hooks. I also recently bought John Cage sonatas and interludes for prepared piano and have been thinking about that. He created such unique sounds and texture on one instrument, I think there's ideas to be mined in both those spaces.” As polar as these interests maybe, they remain artistically related discoveries that build a more detailed picture.

The confluence of sources and creative insights Paige has incorporated from the four corners of the musical world reveals itself by another piece of cherished advice I got from an old friend "write songs like English is your second language. Most of your favourite songs have direct lyrics." And that is so true. The person who told me that English was her second language so I don't know if that's how she came to that, but it's so right on. Most of us can't write like Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen, so it's best not to. I certainly am not that level of poet. But there are really great lyricists that are great because what they say is both super personal and super direct like John Lennon. So yeah I think about those things a lot.” Understanding such unique points of view and the subtleties in the ways Paige approaches song writing hints at the methodology she harnesses in writing and recording. As the nuggets of wisdom she has unearthed from numerous sources all culminate in a style that is wholly unique and when these disparate processes are melded together, the result is a style that speaks deeply to a wide audience.

A desire to learn and push herself is most evident in the primary discipline of music itself as she declares “I am always learning and exploring and so I will always be bringing a new thing to play with on each record. I listen to all kinds of music and will find one element that I want to play with on our records, and that could be anything. It could be an effect, a sound, an instrument, a percussive element, a stylistic element. Really anything.” This is apparent when considering the sonic palette of angelic vocals, fuzzed out semi acoustic, slow bass and tambourine Tashaki Miyaki draw from. It is a refined one that Paige, her guitarist Luke Paquin and bassist Sandi Denton find a great width and depth from which to work and continually mine in creating such rich and varied soundscapes.

Unable to contain that passion for playing is highlighted by what many artists have had to endure in recent times, namely that of the global pandemic, as Paige recalls from the beginning of the record. “We actually had recorded the majority of Castaway prior to the pandemic. We were in the mixing stage when lockdown happened. And everything just paused for six months. Then I got so restless I called up the band and said, we have to make something or I'm gonna explode, so we went into the studio with Joel Jerome and we made an instrumental record. One of those songs became I Feel Fine, and all the others remained instrumental. I thought it was important to include I Feel Fine on the record as it did encompass the feelings of the pandemic. But some songs written pre-pandemic took on new feelings as well, and I think that was reflected in our mixing. Once we picked back up to finish the mixes we pretty much were starting over and everything felt really different. We added some details on certain songs and changed things up, and some of it did change the feelings, because that pandemic feeling was in the air so it's definitely on the record.” Most would consider an extended break in recording and mixing a curse yet for Tashaki Miyaki it was a blessing as the time between initially constructing the record and finally mixing it proved to have a silver lining. The additional time to reappraise the tracks and finesse them has been encapsulated on the record forever, further ensuring that with the clarity that hindsight affords and what was extracted from an unscheduled pause meant that what was ultimately laid down, was indeed the absolute best Castaway could be.

Of an equally enduring nature, the video clips that Tashaki Miyaki produce are each within their own right truly artistic masterpieces, all with a timeless quality to them. Previous wonders such as: Get It Right, The Dream, Girls On T.V, Facts Of Life showcased the exceptional talent and vision that is applied to the craft of film and in particular, the recent offerings of Gone and I Feel Fine serve to bolster those credentials. All exquisite, captivating video clips with a cinematography that is enchanting and marrying the visual concept to the musical sentiment is always a challenge and fascinating to know how directors and musicians approach it. For Paige the answer lies in the company you keep, “when we work with directors, we let them have free reign to make what they want, and I think that's how you get the best results. Work with people you trust and let them do their thing with freedom. When I have made the videos (which I have directed all the videos for this current album cycle) I'm just making things I want to make, or doing little visual experiments, because I am very new to film, and it's a fun playground so I'm just exploring and trying to make something engaging while doing that.”

For these reasons Tashaki Miyaki video clips are a mix of colour and monochrome which begs the question, does a certain idea or storyboard concept immediately suggest that it be shot in black and white or in colour? Paige speaks for herself when saying that “for the Tashaki videos I have only made black and white and that is because it was shot on digital and I don't love how digital looks and I think black and white is more forgiving, but also that the video which was for I Feel Fine was inspired by the film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, which is in black and white, and I thought the black and white gave it a vibe. The other videos are shot in the day on film so the colour is beautiful and soft and I like that.”

The creative innovations never stop for Paige and throughout her journey with Tashaki Miyaki there are reoccurring themes of experimentation, artistic discoveries and self-exploration. Bypassing the trivialities of life and taking a warts and all approach to the world in her pursuit of making new music and listening to the wisdom of old heads, leads us down a path of Paige’s creation and one that we find ourselves willing to follow when beautifully crafted albums like Castaway and subsequent video clips are the result.