Mindy Gledhill – The Phone Booth Sessions Vol. 1

By starrymag | August 30, 2024

By: Mariah Thomas

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) Like a splash of cream in a strawberry soda – smooth and heavy to balance out the sweetness.

 

Q) Who are some artists that have influenced you as a musician?

A) The Cardigans, The Sundays, Sufjan Stevens – weird combo, I know.

 

Q) “The Edge of the World” was co-written with your son and he also directed the accompanying video. How were you able to open up conversations on the topic of the song while writing?

A) In telling him the theme of the album and more specifically the theme of “The Edge of the World,” he stepped into a realm where he had no choice but to discuss healing our core wounds as children. So, you can imagine that it opened up all kinds of conversations about his core wounds. We all have different versions of an inner child inside of us who has been wounded at some point, and those wounds will always play out in our adult behaviors if we don’t address them.

 

Q) Working with your son in this new album process, what is it like to work with him but also take the step back as a mother and watch him work?

A) Working with family always presents certain challenges because the dynamic is so much more personal. But zooming out and watching him work and hearing his amazing contributions was such a beautiful thing to witness as a parent.

 

Q) Seeing as “The Edge of the World” is a specific place for you, were the visuals of the video already in mind in the songwriting process?

A) I mean, it would have been ideal to go back to the actual location (in northern California) to film the video, but I opted for the closest and next best thing – my backyard! I live on a steep hill and the overlook and tall grasses with the wildflowers and dandelions very much invoked a similar vibe.

 

Q) This upcoming project is about reflection and filled with letters to your inner child, what songs do you think would have resonated most with your younger self?

A) I think “Long Distance Lullaby” is the most intimate and direct message to my inner child of all the songs.

 

Q) Your last album was released in 2019. As a storyteller through your songs, how do you decide which stories to tell first when beginning a new album process? I imagine in the last five and a half years that many songs were written. 

A) I did a side project called “Madam Bandit” when the COVID years came along. It felt like a safe time to explore and try some new things! So, it’s not like I was sitting idle for five and a half years. As for deciding what stories to tell first when beginning the album project, I just follow my intuition. Most of the time, I feel like the songs and the stories choose ME. I don’t write songs every day. I don’t even write songs once a month. I really only have ever written them when they’ve welled up inside of me and my heart just KNOWS “it’s time to make an album.”

 

Q) Reading through your experience during the writing process of your upcoming album, it has seemed like a very therapeutic and healing journey. As you release singles and get to see feedback, does that bring an additional level of healing? 

A) Yes! To know that my efforts to heal past wounds ignite the will in complete strangers to also heal is one of the most beautiful and fulfilling aspects of recording and releasing music into the world. It never gets old.

 

Q) Of this upcoming project, which song was the most therapeutic to write?

A) Definitely “Long Distance Lullaby.” I sat at the piano and just cried and cried every time I sat down to work on it.

 

Q) The Phone Booth Sessions is notably followed a “Vol. 1”, are you working/planning on future volumes?

A) Yes, indeed! There will be a Volume 2 coming out next year.

 

Q) The Phone Booth Sessions Vol. 1 you describe as a reconstruction and starting with your inner child. Will future volumes be directed to other past versions of yourself? 

A) Volume 1 addresses my young, inner child. Volume 2 addresses my “inner teen.” [smiles]

 

Q) What do you want your fans to know and take away from this project when it is released?

A) I want them to wake up to the reality that the patterns of struggles we notice in ourselves as adults often stem from the experiences we had in our formative years as children. And it is possible to grow and change our unhealthy behavior patterns. It starts with “inner child work” and recognizing our core inner child wounds and “reparenting” ourselves through a more compassionate inner dialogue.

Q) Who would you love to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) I find that some of the best collabs are with unexpected musical flavors. So, on that note, I think writing with Jacob Collier would be amazing.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the beautiful music that you make?

A) The phenomenon of writing songs and having perfect strangers on this planet connect with them and use them in the soundtrack scores of their lives is an honor that is not lost on me. I’m grateful every day for my listeners and the connection we have through the magic of music. Thank you!