A New York Minute with Musicians: SHEL ~ By Jon

Photography by Jon

SHEL is the anagram and collaborative effort of four sisters with varying and complimentary musical talents: Sarah on fiddle, Hannah on piano, Eva on mandolin, and Liza on percussion. 

There's a steadfast belief in collaboration and in encouraging one another's abilities that allows them to blend these talents seamlessly. They rely on exuberant and sophisticated songwriting rather than cuteness or gimmicks in order to create imaginative and highly original songs. 

Their current, self-titled album contains songs that range from melancholy and introspective to festive and lively. Their music often evokes a journey through painted pictures in vibrant colors. 

From the bittersweet refrain of "Freckles" to the almost painfully beautiful "Lost At Sea," they interweave delicate and graceful songwriting with a literary sensibility. Along the way, they demonstrate an impressive instrumental virtuosity. The intricate "The Man Who Was The Circus" shows clearly how each instrument's part relies on the others to form a sound that is full and layered. 

This group of musicians has a wealth of experience and wisdom beyond their years. Despite the incredible achievement they attained with this album, there is a definite sense that they're just getting started, which is exciting. It only takes a minute to see what makes SHEL something special and worth watching.

NYMM: What is it like working together, both as sisters and as individuals with different talents? 

Hannah: Everybody has their own specific gifts. When we were younger, we might have been a little intimidated by each other, not really sure where we stood, or who was sharper in certain areas. As we've gotten older, it's become more and more apparent that when one person stands out in one area, it's good for all of us. It's not something to fight about; it's something to encourage. The more you build up one person, the more that person can build up other people. So if we're consistently building up and encouraging one another in our specific gifts, then it's benefiting all of us. Over time, as we've gotten older, that's become easier. 

Sarah: We're people, so we're constantly changing. Things come up with each of us, everyone's fighting their own battle, and so you have to get to the point where you don't get offended. I'm not always good at that, but it comes back around to you. That's one thing that's great about being sisters - we have enough familiarity with each other that even thought it's easy to get frustrated, when I calm down from that, I find that there's grace for me for getting upset about something. I think that's why it works so well - we all have grace for each other. 

Photography by Jon

Liza: Songwriting is one of the areas where we butt heads the most, but that's because it's a growing process. By the end of it, we've all grown a little bit more. So it's always a little bit painful, but then later it pays off with songs that just come together and everything goes smoothly. 

NYMM: Do you find that people make assumptions about your music because of your age and the fact that you're all sisters?

Eva: It's definitely been a topic of discussion, and affects the way we function and the way we present ourselves because we're aware of it. It's great, though, because often in life your greatest disadvantage becomes your greatest advantage if you can overcome it. At the end of the day, we see ourselves as souls, just like anybody else, regardless of age or gender. We're all people, we all have something to say, we all feel deeply, and we all have ways of expressing ourselves. You can't judge a book by its cover and we overcome the assumption that girls usually write about flowers or boys or whatever by realizing that we are all thinking, deep individuals.

NYMM: This idea of overturning assumptions leads me to your decision to cover Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore." It's not a simple cover, and it demonstrates a real love for the song.

Hannah: Our dad had been saying for years that we should learn that song, but when we were young, we just didn't get it. We heard over and over that we should do it because of the mandolin and the vocals. So Eva and Sarah got together and learned it, and we put the rest of the pieces together and eventually fell in love with it. 

Eva: We're big Led Zeppelin fans now. It took us a while to develop a taste for what they were doing musically and to appreciate the brilliance of it. We've been listening to a lot of Scandinavian music, and both have a certain tribal feeling. So Liza and I got together and felt out how it would work as a war song. We had a strong visual sense of what the battle would be like.

Liza: Any time you do a cover, you want to try and make it different, make it yours. It won't have the same type of greatness that it already has; you have to give it something different.

NYMM: How do you all work together on songwriting?

Sarah: Eva's the main songwriter for SHEL. She'll come to us with a chord progression and lyrics, and usually we love it, because she's really good. After that, we all arrange it together. Sometimes we'll finish out a song she's started, or bring parts to each other. In the end, however, it comes to the table and we all sit down and we decide if we like it and want to pursue it. Sometimes, after we pursue it, we find out that it's not a SHEL song and let it go. 

Eva: The first in a series of songs that we write in one bunch is the hardest. Once we get through that, things just kind of fall into place. We reach an understanding over and over again of how each person functions. Then it's just a matter of communicating and working with it so that you can create something together. We're all individuals, we all have different ideas and points of view.

NYMM: Is there a specific song that stands out in terms of collaboration?

Eva: I think "When the Dragon Came Down" has been a special song for all of us. There aren't really a lot of lyrics to it - it's more about the music. It was a breakthrough point for us collaboratively speaking, because we all really dug into it and worked with each other on the parts to make sure it was expressing what we wanted it to express. So I feel like the lyrics in that one were a starting point to help us grow musically, and to help us improve our sound and our relationship as a band. I love that song. We're all very familiar with the different instrumental parts and when we perform it together, I love just listening to everyone else's lines.

Photography by Jon

Sarah: It's definitely a growth song. It took us to a whole different level. More songs came afterward that were totally different because we had the experience of writing that song. 

NYMM: What have been some highlights for you so far?

Sarah: Other than our New York Minute Magazine interview?

NYMM: Uhm, yeah.

Hannah: Our dad used to play in a band with us, and he would play bass. He decided to retire, and so this has been a really good, but a really challenging year for us. I picked up the bass parts on the keyboard, so it's forced me to learn how to think about the keyboard differently. But it's been so good and been exactly what I need to push me as a musician toward that next step. Even though we love playing with him, it's been really good for us growing tighter as a group and forming our sound as just the four of us. 

NYMM: What are you currently working on?

Sarah: We just recorded "Pure Imagination" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 3-part harmony. Hannah is really good with music theory, and so she had these three parts written out. Then we decided to move it up a half-step, so she had to rewrite everything. We took our time with it in the studio, but it was a lot of fun.

NYMM: So tell me about the hats.

Eva - The first time we ever used the hats was for a music video we made. At the time we knew that the video would be comprised of static shots because we had no one to move the camera. So Sarah and I sat down and realized that we needed a ton of really fascinating static shots in order to make it work. For me, that meant a lot of costuming. I always loved top hats, so did a little research and found out that what I was actually interested in was coachman's hats. I dressed them up and we wore them for the video and just loved it. I still make them and really enjoy designing them and putting them together.

SHEL is:
Sarah, who plays the fiddle, directs videos, and is hilarious.
Hannah, who plays piano, transcribes music, and makes paper lanterns (which, according to Sarah, are "very Pinterest-able").
Eva, who plays the mandolin and makes wonderful hats (among other things) using vintage found items.
Liza, who plays percussion, does graphic design, and can beat-box like nobody's business.

They all sing and care deeply for ultimate frisbee.

You can find more SHEL at:

shelmusic.com

facebook.com/iloveshel

Twitter: @iloveshelmusic

youtube.com/iLoveSHELmusic