Name, Location, Occupation
Natalie Closner of Joseph
Portland, OR
Musician, Medicine Woman
Please describe your home:
My sisters and I are a bit nomadic at the moment so we have many homes on people's couches and guest bedrooms; but when we're in Portland we stay at our sweet parents' house. We wouldn't be able to do what we're doing right now if we didn't have a haven with warm beds and kale and egg breakfast! We live on a pretty little street that is lined with pink and white blooming cherry trees right now.
What inspires your music?
The tension that holds both the beauty and struggle of life. Longing. Conflict in relationships. Risk. Long stretches of road with snowy mountains and wide desert expanses.
Has there been a defining moment or turning point when you realized what you wanted to do for a living?
I think it was something that started as a small idea - a simple thing like trying to write a song - then it grew and swelled slowly until it was the only reasonable thing to do.
Who are your favourite musicians?
Oh dear me. What a question. Here are artists who we listen to most consistently, respect most deeply, and thoroughly savor (and who immediately come to mind): in no particular order...
Lianne La Havas, Feist, Laura Veirs, Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab For Cutie, Disclosure, Sleeping At Last, Lucius, Rhye, Bird Courage, Hunter G K Thompson, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Macklemore, Ella Fitzgerald, Sondre Lerche, Jonsi, Bon Iver, Greylag, Ben Howard, Motopony, Penny And Sparrow
What do you think is the most challenging aspect of working in music?
I think it's the same thing that is challenging about any ambition - staying connected to the people (yourself, those on your team, the people you encounter) and prioritizing right, reconciled, honest relationships over whatever task the work may be presenting.
What are your greatest loves in life?
My sisters, parents Scott and Lisa, brother Ryan and his wife Rani. My dearest friends. And that moment of clarity and peace that comes when life's hurting turns into something beautiful.
What are you reading at the moment?
Just finished The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. (weeping. so many tears.) And I always keep a copy of Rilke's Letters To A Young Poet open for constant consultation.
What are your simplest daily pleasures?
The first cup of coffee, the perfect egg, over medium, wearing my big floppy hat, when my mom kisses me on the cheek, a long walk over the Broadway bridge through the city and car dancing.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I see me with a heart full of new knowings that will make me more directed, understanding, and aware. I'll probably have some more lines on my face and richer relationships that have endured bigger storms. I see myself with a home of my own where I can hold other people and give to them. I hope I am still saying true things and I hope those true things are making someone else feel not alone.
Photographs by Maria Lamb of Anthem Photography.
