Molly Sarlé, formerly of folk-trio Mountain Man, is performing tonight at El Crisol/EXO in downtown Tucson in support of her debut solo album, Karaoke Angel. We recently spoke about the album and what’s next for the neo-folk singer:

TW: Your debut album, Karaoke Angel, is more produced than the previous work with Mountain Man. How did production come into play when putting it together?

Sarlé: Sam Owens of the project Sam Evian produced Karaoke Angel with me at a studio called Dreamland in Woodstock, NY. We wanted to prioritize the vocals and my ability to feel the music that was being made. So, instead of using headphones everything was played out of monitors into the space (Dreamland used to be a church). Most of the songs on the record were recorded live.

TW: On that note, what was the inspiration behind the album’s title as well as the concept.

Sarlé: I’m a storyteller at heart. To me, song writing is about storytelling. I love the concept of karaoke in that we are taking a story someone else has written and retelling it as ourselves. Which I think is incredibly important.

TW: Do you plan on going back to more minimalist folk using lo-fi recording in your upcoming work?

Sarlé: Naw, dog.

TW: What’s the next project, if any? Any new Mountain Man projects?

Sarlé: It’s still in the incubator.

TW: Have you been to Tucson before? If so, what’s your impression of our city?

Sarlé: I have! I love Tucson. I’m hoping to go for a hike and excited to hang out at EXO.

TW: What’s your go-to karaoke song?

Sarlé: Currently it’s “Why” by Annie Lennox.

Sarlé will be supported by local Chelsey Trejo. For ticket information and more info, check out El Crisol’s website at exocoffee.com. 

Check out Sarlé's performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk in October 2019.