Belgian-born and New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Ghalia Volt recently released her fifth album, Shout Sister Shout!, via Ruf Records. True to form, and as she did with her previous albums, she sought out a unique experience in working with a very specific Producer and in a special studio space. This time around she went to Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California, to work with David Catching (Queens of the Stone Age). With her two previous albums intensely steeped in Blues traditions, Ghalia Volt branched out into the multi-genre vibe of her new location to allow for Garage, Rock, and Psychedelic elements to creep in around her core Blues influences.
The result is a varied collection with an energy that’s undeniable and avenues of storytelling that are compelling. Vibe and atmosphere do become a big part of the experience of listening to Shout Sister Shout!, whose title track is, intriguingly, very measured and controlled. It’s clear that a solid vision for each song helped guide the album into territory where experimentation and varying genre accents only added to its potential. I spoke with Ghalia Volt about her experience of recording at Rancho De La Luna, what she had in mind with these songs, and what she likes most about their often unexpected outcome.
Hannah Means-Shannon: You’ve been playing a lot with more shows to come, and I see that it’s a bit of a return to a full-band experience for you.
Ghalia Volt: Yes, it’s been a minute, with the pandemic, and before that, it was a bunch of one-woman shows, so it feels good! It’s great to walk around on the stage and interact with the band.
It’s such a bigger sound, I’m sure.
Oh sure! The cool thing about the one-woman band is that the sound was pretty fat, but there are so many amps now, so it’s definitely a big sound.
Is it a literal and figurative weight off your shoulders not to carry it all yourself?
Yes, like you said, you carry things yourself, both the project and the gear! I don’t have to carry a drum kit no more, which is a good feeling. [Laughs].
You’ve made a few albums, so you’re kind of in a schedule of doing that, so was that part of the timing of this album?
You start to collect songs, for sure, and then it’s time. I did the One-Woman Band for Ruf Records, and that was a lot of touring, so I was writing then. I tend to have a schedule of doing a record every two years. Sometimes it’s made within a year, but by the time it comes out, it’s a little longer.
You’ve worked with some great producers at some great studios so far, and going to Rancho De La Luna to work with David Catching in Joshua Tree seems like an appropriate next choice. Was it a kind of destination for you, a goal?
Finding those studios that have those stories means you find yourself totally surrounded by that environment. There’s a magic, an atmosphere, a vibe. The desert definitely had one. It was really chill and laid back. You’d get there in the morning, but by the time that you opened the door at night, all you could see was stars, stars, stars, with no other lights. There were the Joshua trees, then there was the vibe of the studio itself. It was like recording in a house with the feeling of a house party.
You’d play music for ten hours a day and get the best songs with the best musicians that David had picked. We had the drummer, Danny Frankel, who had played with Lou Reed and a bunch of people, and Ben Alleman was the keyboard player for Doctor John. David himself played guitar on a couple of tracks, rocking that Wah-Wah pedal. It was an impressive place to record an album.
Was it hot out there? It’s quite a change of scenes for you.
I live in Louisiana! I love the heat. There’s also a strong connection between Rancho De La Luna and New Orleans because David used to live here. That’s how my managers got in touch with him, thinking we could do something together.
How much did David know about the songs before you got there? Did you send him demos and make decisions about which songs before you arrived?
There was some preparatory work done, and there was a lot of room for improvising. He had a list and a feel, and he knew what I was looking for coming up. Then you get the local talent and input, and his musical input. We got kind of more psychedelic throughout the record, which is great because you’ve got to rebuild yourself with every album. If you don’t create, if you’re not innovative, you’re just repeating yourself. It felt good to be fresh, and that happened because of having his input. My last two records were more centered on the Hill Country Blues and North Mississippi style, along with my own influences. Here, Hill Country was one of my influences, but I also grew up listening to Garage and Rock, so those weren’t totally strange to me. But it all came together to create something new, something different.
I was wondering about that because I think of Rock music when I think of Rancho De La Luna, and I knew that you liked Punk music when you were younger. I wondered if the place would bring that out of you. I think this album is an interesting mix of elements, though, rather than a full-on Rock album.
Yes, I agree. There are only two types of music, the good and the bad. I grew up listening to Punk, and Garage, yes, but also Psychobilly, Rockabilly, R&B. All of that is in me. It never leaves you. Siouxsie and the Banshees are in me. But Jerry Lee Lewis would be nothing without Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. So my point is that I went back to the roots of the music that I was listening to, and I like it all. They are all parts of me.
But if you’re in the desert, in California, not too far from LA, and you get a psychedelic vibe. I found some of The Doors in me. I may come from Hill Country Blues, but I’m asking a California drummer to play it, so why label the music? Music is beautiful when it’s free-form. I grew up in Europe, so who am I to talk about the Blues? I didn’t live the Blues? We all can be empathetic and understand what pain means, and certain situations, but there’s a deepness to it. Problems that a white lady has will never be the same problems that Son House faced and what he lived through. I appreciate and show respect for their music, but I also don’t just stick to that. I try to be natural and organic.
I think the outsider status is an interesting connection between Blues and Punk. That’s something a lot of Punk and Garage bands seemed to relate to and respond to. In the music on these songs, I can hear some of these elements that you’re talking about, but something that really stands out is your vocal choices. Did you do your vocals after hearing the full sound of the music?
We kind of recorded live with me and the drummer, with me singing the tunes. Then I redid the vocals later because, obviously, I’m not from here, but I’m a songwriter and I want people to understand my lyrics. I want to make sure that the words are the most understandable that they can be. The vocals on most of the tracks, though, have live drums playing through. For some songs, though, I didn’t know until the day of, even with the title track. I had the sickest groove, but something was missing, and I realized it was called “Shout Sister Shout”. Later, when we did the backing vocals, it made even more sense.
I think it was great that you brought in more vocalists on that one. It builds up the feeling of unity.
We had the grooves and the mix down, and I had the lyrics, but I realized that I needed more. I called the sisters and they came to Joshua Tree and recorded those backing vocals. It totally makes sense. It’s like a hymn. After doing One-Woman Band, having an album called Shout Sister Shout! means there’s a message there to other women, not to just live life, but to do it keeping their chin up. It’s a call not to be oppressed by the very masculine world that surrounds us.
Something impressive about the song and the way that you all performed it is that the vocals are never screaming or shouting. They are very controlled and have a low rhythm, but that makes it seem more serious and powerful.
Right, it’s like if you go to a protest. Aren’t the most peaceful ones the ones with the most impact? Also, I’m just done screaming. I’m not 18 years old anymore.
It feels more healing, too. It’s also confident. The video is trippy with tons of storylines.
Yes, the video is the opposite of the song! Everything is diplomatic in the song, but the video is a big contrast.
It’s diverse. There are childhood scenes, relationship scenes, and live scenes of you and some other ladies performing.
The goal was to think about those old guides that used to be written, like about how to be the perfect housewife. The little girl is opening the guide. The old scenes show that controlled and objectified woman doing what she’s supposed to do. Then you see the modern version with all my friends having the best day of their life because they can smash a washing machine into pieces with a sledgehammer! They said it was the best day of their life.
I would be glad to smash a few washing machines with a sledgehammer. I used to have one that broke all the time.
Just throw it from your window! Especially if you’re on the second floor. Bam! I actually went back to Brussels for that video and called all my friends for it. We had a little fun.
The song and video for “Changes” is out now, featuring you on a moped going around New Orleans. The song is more free-flowing and mellow. The meaning of the song was interesting to me, that idea that the speaker is saying to another person, or themselves, that they don’t think they are ready for change.
I like to keep songs open, so this song can mean whatever it means to you. I think everybody can feel like, “When am I going to do something about it?” That’s what the song is about. Maybe it’s about a relationship, and you’re unhappy, but maybe it’s finally time to do something about it. But it could be about work, or any position in your life where it’s time to make some changes. But the video we did in a couple of days because when you’re on a moped or a bike, you do feel free, with your hair in the wind. It’s just symbolic of wanting to be free. That’s what changes can be made for, to have more freedom and a better life. I’m also a big fan of Mavis Staples, and she was definitely my inspiration for the chorus of the song.
“Every Cloud” is a song that also leaves a lot of room for interpretation. The sound reminded me of Soul music.
This music has so much in it. To me, “Every Cloud” has a kind of Fat Possum groove, but with the influence of Joshua Tree, we wanted something more soulful, psychedelic, and funky.
There’s such a unique feeling with the guitar and the organ music.
The guitar has an octave pedal on it which makes the sound deeper and richer. Then, the organ is a great improvisation from Ben Alleman. I love it.
Does this idea of clouds having a silver lining relate to your philosophy of life?
I was trying to find a way to talk about nostalgia in this song because that’s what it’s really about. I don’t want to sound cliché, but I had a great-grandma. She was so badass and I miss her so much. At the same time, I can’t cry, because I smile. I smiled because she was so funny and everything about her was so good. There you go. When something is really dark around you, there’s that silver lining, and that silver lining is that smile behind that sad feeling.
