PREMIERE | Emily Ritz, "One or the Other"

The pan-media art world of Emily Ritz; video still courtesy of Malia Scharf & Max Basch.

If coverage of current day arts and portraits of these modern day artists has shown us a running motif of universal truths — it is that an era of unprecedented adversarial hardships (at this juncture too numerous and exasperating to print to the fullest extents) has unlocked a heightened level of intuitive artistry. The environmental cycles of the physical realm are experienced as inner astral planes of thought, spirit and emotive interplays of creative discourse — as observed in the latest work from upstate Hudson, New York mixed-media/multimedia/post-medium songwriter, singer, performer Emily Ritz. Expounding upon the pop arts from contributions in DRMS, Honeycomb and Yesway with a deeply sublime, sensual and psychic solo oeuvre — Emily presents a debut listen and viewing of the earthy, enchanted and ethereal "One or the Other".

Directed and produced by Malia Scharf, with cinematography from Max Basch and a camera assist from Sam Wood; Emily Ritz reconciles the divide between the external and internal worlds of the natural, feminine order. Expressive hymns of hope and holistic notes on the nurturing processes of healing dovetail into poetics that explore personal and spiritual statements of growth and an exploration of the ineffable states of being. The rich narratives of the visuals bring together elements of earth, humanity, plants, autumn leaves, serpentine creatures, bodies of water, forests and bonfire flame. The planetary motions of seasons are displayed as mystic testaments to the infinite powers of unlimited might and magic that women wield. Emily Ritz moves the creative and conversational marker beyond the antiquated notion of madre terra for deep illuminated meditations that blend together the biological, the cosmic and earth sciences in lunarian solstices and constellations of intimacy, affection and actualization. Emily and friends showcase a ritual of dances that celebrates womanhood among earthly settings of barns, bramble, bushes, brush and rivers joined by a nursing baby, wandering bugs, a sultry snake, arranged with an assembly of understated—yet inspired choreography.

Emily introduced us to the song and visual “One or the Other” with the following insights:

“One or the Other” is one of those songs that tends to flow right out of me in a time of questioning and heartache. In many ways this song is about the duality of self and the process of peeling back all the layers in hopes of discovering truth and perspective. My dear friend Malia Scharf was on my short list for a long while of directors I wanted to work with. Her partner Max Basch, an incredible filmmaker himself, had shot two videos for my band Yesway and I felt the three of us would make a dream team. Malia had several visions come to her so fitting for the themes of this song that when I realized she hadn't even heard it yet I was shocked. The video depicts the cycles of life, the seasons, death and rebirth, the earth, the moon and that of a woman. Malia's vision was to tell the story of the seasons that take place within a woman's body in relationship to the seasons on Earth.

Emily Ritz shared further elaborations in the following candid exchange of reflective thoughts:

We last chatted around the release of Pattern Recess. Describe the trajectories of your own creative and personal growth from then to now.

Wow, it feels like that was lifetimes ago and surely I've evolved a lot creatively and personally. When I released Pattern Recess I was so terrified to put something out under my own name for the first time, to do it completely on my own. I was met with so much love and support that it inspired me to keep going. It took me almost two years to release that record and in that time I'd written a whole new one so literally the day after my last show on the PR release tour, I began recording 'In Love Alone' with my friend and one of my biggest inspirations, Luke Temple. Even that feels like forever ago, maybe because it was! All this to say I have finally shed some old skins of self doubt, expectations and fears that once again have kept me from sharing my music. The pandemic certainly has accelerated my growth in many ways. Bringing everything to the surface. I see now that I want to achieve a flow state not just in creating but in sharing as well. I trust myself more, I believe in love and I've worked so hard to feel that I can function well enough to stay steadfast on my path.

Creative visionary Emily Rtiz; press photo courtesy of the artist.

Notes from the upstate New York scenes from Hudson and beyond that have captivated and inspired you lately.

You've caught me in the midst of my favorite season in my favorite place so boy oh boy I am captivated. This time of year is by far my most sensory, productive and energized. Autumn does something to me on a cellular level. The colors and smells and energy in the air is unlike anything. I'm simply buzzing.

Reflections on the life events, energies, dichotomies and more that informed both the song and visual for "One Or the Other".

'One or the Other' emerged when I was experiencing a level of heartache that made me question everything. I felt like those women in movies who just slowly walk into the ocean, dead-eyed, intending to never look back. When I am in a state of confusion or fear I often want to gain a sense of control, I want clarity. This song was an attempt to make things look black and white when I know they aren't. It's about duality and the idea of wanting it all and being it all. It was really fascinating working with the director Malia Scharf because her vision for a music video for me was to show the cycle of women's bodies in relation to the seasons, to death and rebirth, the earth and the moon. Though I knew 'One or the Other' was a deeper track on the album and not necessarily one of the singles, I felt her vision aligned perfectly with this song. She mentioned snakes and motherhood and death, I realized all those themes were in the lyrics. I've been the serpent, I'll die and come back, it's all light and all black, I'll grow a child, I'll grow so wild. Perhaps because I am a woman writing from my own experience, those themes embed themselves in my songs unconsciously. I love leaving my work open to interpretation because it reveals things even I didn't see in it. Malia helped me see what I was really writing about.

Following in line with recent visual singles "I'm in Love" and "Door Watcher" — describe what other creative works might be in process at this time.

I am currently recording some new songs with my drummer Alejandro Leon. I've realized how much I love producing and directing things with limited funds and more low-fi tech. I used to think I needed a big fancy recording studio or a whole film crew on a video but actually unless you have a ton of money it can be way more limiting to do it like that especially as an independent artist. I'm really spreading out and having fun while not completely draining my energy and bank account. After my record comes out at the end of this year I'll be able to start releasing the newer singles. I am very pleased to announce that Orphan Records will soon be releasing a 7-inch of “I'm In Love” with an incredible remix of “Door Watcher” by Mophono on the B side. Definitely cooking up some fun imagery for that as well.

The radical Emily Ritz; press photo courtesy of the artist.

Insights on how you have been keeping yourself inspired during these isolated times.

For me it's super easy since quarantine life suits my practice. I like being solitary and honestly not having the choice to be out in the world doing other things helps me stay focused on executing my ideas. I do miss performing with my band and it's pretty tough not being able to visit my friend family / home in California. I am very fortunate that I can do my work from home and being stuck here actually benefits my process and productivity. At this point I've been making my art and music for so long that both practices kind of keep themselves going. One thing leads to the next so I'm never fully starting over or having to think of what to make. Plenty of inspiration all around when what inspires me are my own experiences and nature. Two things that I can't lose under any circumstance, not even a pandemic. 

Current activists and artists that have been a guiding light for you and yours.

Too many to name! Many of whom are my own friends and community. Honestly I'm seeing so many folks evolving, creating, giving, sharing themselves and their work in major ways. It's incredible to see how resilient humans are in the face of these impossibly huge global issues. 

Other self-care methods and routines that you two have found to be helpful.

I've always had to be so careful about what I eat because I have a lot of inflammation and physical limitations that are greatly affected by food and stress. As someone who can't eat gluten or sugar or dairy, I've relied a lot on meat and eggs. Quarantine helped me really see just how much meat I was eating. About 5 months ago I went fully plant based and it's helped me so much, mentally and physically. Staying active is also so important for me. I'm lucky to live near nature and it's easy to get outside. I'm constantly fighting against wanting to sleep all day because of my chronic pain and fatigue. Of course rest is really important but for me too much rest is bad for my brain and body. I have to try a little harder these days to get myself out there and move around and I don't always succeed but it makes all the difference.

Hopes and dreams for our world that is in need of help and healing.

I really hope that we are hitting some sort of rock bottom as a species. All of our issues personally and as a society are rising to the surface thanks to this pandemic. I see a lot of communities coming together to help each other. I see so much resilience and yet we have set up all these fragile systems that are crumbling at our feet and the people in power don't seem to care because they don't rely on these systems themselves. I hope that we wake up soon and rebuild something more sustainable and kind. I hope that it's not too late to override our innate selfishness and greed to protect the planet and future generations.

Discover the world of art by Emily Ritz via the artist’s website.