Michelle Shaprow is the type of music artist that radios need more of.  She is more than a beautiful face with the voice of an angel;  she is a woman of raw intelligence.  She graduated from Yale University with a degree in psychology and philosophy, with an emphasis on music cognition, and she applies all three elements to her music.  While attending school, she released songs with three different record labels, including Warner Brothers.  She’s multi-talented, writing, singing, and producing her own songs.  She has also done production work for VH1, writing scripts for shows like Strange Love, starring Flava Flav and Bridget Nelson. Check out the interview below:

1. Where does your love for psychology and philosophy come from?

I think it’s a desire to understand reality. Psychology is the study of the mind and the mind is our interface with reality (some might argue reality itself). Philosophy is the study of reality, and the study of thought and inquiry. I just feel that life is so precious, magical, and mysterious. I like to do whatever I can to understand it better.

2. How long have you been singing and writing songs?

I think everyone is always singing. I was making musical sounds with my voice since I was little just like most people. I actually started writing songs when I learned how to play piano when I was eight, but I think that I was probably “writing” them earlier. It was just that I had an instrument to write them on when I was eight, but it’s one of those things that’s very gradual. I feel like music is always in all of us and it’s simply a matter of finding the instruments to express it.

3. How would you describe your style of music?

Free, pure, soulful, whimsical, and mystical.

4. What do you feel is the connection between the mind and music?

It comes from the mind (or rather through the mind), and it stimulates the mind. In my studies of musical cognition and psychology, I explored why we like to listen to the music that we do. I feel that an understanding of the type of music we gravitate towards can facilitate in understanding the type of information that resonates with us. I believe resonant information has a truth to it, which is why it is resonant, so a study of music and the mind can lead to a greater understanding of truth and reality.

5. You were once signed with Warner Brothers. What made you decide to leave?

They didn’t put out the album, so I eventually requested to part ways so I could release music. But it was an awesome experience. It gave me a chance to get a lot of experience in the studio with other producers and engineers, so I learned how it all worked. I got a lot of free food too. I love free food.

6. What do you feel was your biggest accomplishment in your music career so far?

Returning to my inner voice.

7. You’re also a producer. How long have you been producing, and what have you produced?

It’s difficult to completely mark in time. Is it a matter of the mind being a producer’s mind, or is it a matter of connecting with the equipment which allows the music to flow through a producers mind? So I don’t know. However I first met producer equipment (my Ensonique), which could allow me to arrange and get familiar with musical technology in 9th grade I think. I wasn’t really good with it until later. I first got in a full fledged studio and took a musical concept from conception to fruition later in high school. Then I got a lot of great opportunities to produce when Warner put me in the studio with a number of engineers. I have produced more songs than I can remember, so I’m not sure.

8. What is it like doing production work for VH-1?

At VH1 we wrote scripts, selected footage, supervised video and audio sessions.  It was awesome.  It felt like being a babysitter for very interesting kids. You’re in charge of the information and entertainment, you carry it with you from one session to the next, and make sure that it maintains it’s integrity and works. You get immediate feedback because your spot is on the air that week. It also felt a little like being a journalist, only your subject matter was Flava Flav and Bridget Nielsen.

9. Who and or what motivates you to keep going forward?

My family, possibility, magic, love, God, the universe, my friends, my boyfriend, Los Angeles, beautiful environments, trees, the sky, the ocean, free time, travel, great food, movies, and bookstores.

10. What vibe do you want to send with your most recent album, Sevenly?

Magic, wisdom, progress, optimism. I want it to feel like how Disney World and Epcot Center make me feel. Like Earth Wind and Fire makes me feel. Like Berry Gordy films (the Wiz, the Last Dragon) make me feel. Like purple, pink, and blue make me feel. And like listening to Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall while looking at View-Masters as a child made me feel.

11. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to pursue a career in music?

Do it. Do what you want to do. Follow your passion. Also, my advice would be very different depending on the person, so it’s hard to give blanket advice since everyone is driven by different things, and inspired in different ways. I would like to speak to them personally.

Tags: Michelle Shaprow, music, musician, philosophy, psychology, Sevenly, singer, VH1, Warner Bros

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm and is filed under buzz, may09issue1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.