Snow & Voices is essentially the work of one Lauri Kranz. Lauri, with the help of her friend Jebin Bruni, create gorgeous pop songs augmented by a heap of instruments (everything from cello to pedal steel . After releasing 2 records under her own name she began the Snow & Voices moniker in 2005 with the release of her first S & V record (a S/T release on Ric Menck's Birdsong label). This year has seen the release of her latest record, WHAT THE BODY WAS MADE FOR (released on her own Elastic Ruby label). Dig in and be enlightened......

 

Was music a big part of your house while growing up? Where did you grow up?
My parents had very few albums in the house. They had The Beatles/1962-1966 album, which I played several times a day. My mother had a couple of Pat Boone albums. She told me that when she was growing up the nice girls listened to Pat Boone and the bad girls listened to Elvis. I didn't spend much time with the Pat Boone records. I grew up in a small town outside of Hartford, CT. My only access to new music was the local top 40 station. I was very frustrated with how few songs I wanted to hear on that station but even so, I found a few artists to treasure like Prince. His Purple Rain tour came to town and it was one of the first concerts I saw. It was incredible.

What was the first record you remember buying with your own money?
The first album I bought was Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run. I knew every word to every song on that album. I listened to it endlessly. I got lost inside the songs – the words the melodies. I found my escape in that album and into music.

When did you first begin writing songs?
I began writing songs when I was in elementary school. Maybe around 5th grade. I wrote in journals. My parents found them and sent me to a child specialist. They were very concerned with what I was writing about and thought maybe I needed someone to talk to.

When/why did you go from your own name to the Snow & Voices moniker?
When we went into the studio to record in 2000 the process felt much more like a band then a solo project. Jebin and Ric and I had been playing together for years. We talked a lot about the direction we wanted to take that album in. It was a natural evolution that it should go from a solo project to a band.

How did you end up on Ric Menck's Birdsong Records for your previous record? Tell us one thing about Ric that we might not know.
When we finished recording the album we released in 2000, Ric said he would like to put it out on Birdsong. I think the sensibility of that album fit in well with what Ric was doing with the label.

Ric is a pretty private person. I think in this day and age we all should be very careful about what we want to reveal about ourselves and each other. One of the greatest things that we possess is our privacy. I think it is worth protecting.


Was there any major differences in the record of that record and your latest, WHAT THE BODY WAS MADE FOR?
With What The Body Was Made For, I came into the studio with words and melodies and sang them to Jebin. Jebin would then start creating the music. All of the songs on the new album started this way.

How has Jebin Bruni helped your music career?
It's impossible to imagine what the music would be like without Jebin. He is integral to the songs, to the process, to the recording, to it all.

Do you feel part of any kind of scene in L.A.?
Scenes are uncomfortable for me. I like what can happen when no one is paying attention.

What is one song you wish you'd written?
'My Body is a Cage' by Arcade Fire

One performer (alive or dead) you wish you could perform with?
Thom Yorke

Your top 10 desert island discs?
Miles Davis Ascenseur pour L'echafaud
Radiohead O.K. Computer
Stina Nordenstam And She Closed Her Eyes
Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks
Sun Kil Moon Ghosts of the Great Highway
PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love
Rickie Lee Jones Pirates
Bob Marley Exodus
Simon & Garfunkel Bookends
Marvin Gaye What's Going On