Angel, Alien, Warrior, Woman: Interview with Musician Eriel Indigo

Music, color, spiritual theories, sci-fi, feminism and glitter swirl together in the kaleidoscope that is Eriel Indigo. Her music is catchy, and her presence rooted firmly between goofy/fun-loving/space-minded, and the deeper, more soulful aspects of life. Recently, I had the chance to chat with her via email a bit about her new song, Born an Angel (from the upcoming GALACTIVATE), as well as the beautiful, surreal world she lives in. Read on...

What is your chosen battle tactic against anxiety or negativity?
 
   I am a very empathic, sensitive creature so I do have experience with anxiety and sadness. Personally I think it's first important to do a lot of self inquiry to discover what your highest excitement is; what you love doing, whether it's creative or logical and engage with it as much as possible, while setting the intention to utilize your passion to be in service to the world.

  Other than that, meditation, kundalini yoga/breathwork, sounding/tapping, dance or any kind of cardio exercise that floats your boat, healthy human touch and animal snuggles, reconnecting with nature and striving to trust and create meaningful connections with others who inspire and support you.







 
Great advice. I feel like not enough artists talk about struggling with these things, but we as women especially tend to hide it so we don't appear anything less than strong. Onto another topic: Like me, you love scifi and are creating your own artistic statements in the realms of the speculative. What do you find yourself going back to again and again for science fiction inspiration?

   Ah! It's true, I am a scifi junky;;) I don't really need to go to any content for "scifi" inspiration because really the work I create that might seem like scifi to others is actually quite real to me. I really do identify emotionally more with other planetary cultures and sentient beings (yes this may sound crazy to some) so it's the information I have gleaned from these other realms that fuels the perhaps more scifi seeming portions of my work:)

   I do love so many scifi films though. To me they just seem closer to reality ;;)

 

 As an add-on have you seen the M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming music video series?! One of the dopest bodies of work I have EVER seen.



I haven't seen that, but I definitely will check it out. I know M83 has really pushed the limits with art and music for quite some time. Can you tell us a little about what to expect from your new song?

 "Born an Angel" is off of my upcoming debut album GALACTIVATE. This track is more in the Earthly and autobiographical than space pop lyrically, but musically is still pretty trippy with a lot of vocal cuts and electro sparkle;;)

I love seeing a throwback to trip-hop, as a fan of Sneaker Pimps and some of the lesser known experimental artists of the 90s. Who are some of your favorite trip-hop artists?

 Oh yeah, gimme alllll the trip hop, baby. There's so much good stuff; Portishead, obviously holds the crown, Lovage, Cibo Matto, Goldfrapp, Sneaker Pimps, Bjork, Massive Attack, Morcheeba, Tricky, Esthero, DJ Shadow, RJD2... I mean, we could go on for a while here.


I'll have to look some of those up that I haven't heard yet! What is the best way for your fans to reach/contact you on social media?

  All of my social media links can be found on my website www.erielindigo.com

  Twitter and IG @erielindgo

  https://soundcloud.com/eriel-indigo

  


What essentials should a woman pack for a festival?

 Well, my love that depends on the festival! One doesn't really need protective goggles in the woods but if you catch yourself in the desert in a seven hour dust storm, you had better hope you have those blessed things.

 Essential for every festival: Sparkles, if you're a sparkle pony, good dancin' shoes, headlamp, water bottle, warm and cool steezy attire, wetnaps, backpack, friends, mind expanding treats or just some nice snacks to share::D 

But really the ultimate guide to what you need at a festival is most certainly Burning Man Radical Self Reliance Packing List. Really a great read for any camper;;)

Love this. I'd like to try Burning Man one day, really. Onto another important topic: What is the best way for a woman to get in touch with her sexual power?

  Well we are a diverse bunch so I venture to say it's different for anyone, but I would recommend doing some reading on tantra, sex magic and self pleasuring meditation exercises for empowerment and getting to know your own body.

 

  Other than that, more self inquiry on what makes one feel healthy and powerful sexually. This could take form in so many ways. I have quite a spiritual experience of sexuality and I think it is important to develop one's self in this way but you know, there's also BDSM, polyamory, role playing, fetish, furries and Goddess only knows what else out there to explore so I say do your research, be safe and have at it! You never know where your own personal ecstasy might be hiding.


Favorite lipstick ever?

 Well, I don't love to applaud companies but hot damn is matte MAC Ruby Woo the most perfect red a girl could hope for.

Thanks Kendra! Sending you giant pink and turquoise bliss bubbles of love::)

 ~ERIEL

 

DOWNLOAD BORN AN ANGEL FREE! https://soundcloud.com/eriel-indigo

One of These Books Is Not Like the Other

It's been an interesting journey, writing Engaged to an Alien Pop Star. This is the first ever sequel that I've written over the years, even after writing about 8-10 books (including poetry collections).

 

Sequels in a trilogy are already hard enough, when you think about it. A sequel must keep old readers interested even though they know everyone. It must keep new readers interested, even though they don't know anyone. Oh, and it also needs to set events up for a third book. No big deal!

This book was challenging in more ways than just by being a sequel, though. I started writing an early version of it almost two years ago, the day after I finished Dating an Alien Pop Star. After about 70 pages of enjoyable, funny content, I realized that what I had written was better suited for a third book than a second, and I temporarily scrapped the project. After all, real life was taking over, and I had just written two books back to back in the space of about 9 months (Unlove Spell, and Dating an Alien Pop Star).

I spent the first half of 2015 living in Columbus, OH. The art scene there was cool, the food was great, the people were fascinating and colorful. I worked as a waitress at a dive bar, soaking in all of the grease, rampant sexual harassment, and crazy drama that the place had to offer. It wasn't a great job, maybe, but I really enjoyed the work, and it left me plenty of time every day for writing.

My writing during that time was awash with the new life I was living, with the people I'd met, the surreal nightclub experiences I took part in, the daydreams I was allowing to grow bigger and bigger in my head. My writing became both introspective, but also maniacally huge, reaching out into the very tendrils of my known universe.

The second half of 2015 was spent in my favorite city in the world, New York City. I soaked up life there, too. Every day was a new story, a new experience. I didn't write much while I was there, but I did sign the dotted line on something very exciting... a contract for Dating an Alien Pop Star, the first book in the Alien Pop Star series. 

After a 48 hour editing bender that launched me from couch to couch in various Starbucks locations across Brooklyn, and then to a red high table in a quiet Five Guys location near Union Square, I realized something.

I needed to write a sequel. Within a few months.

In early January, I had to make a difficult decision and return to New Hampshire to see my doctors here about a sinus infection, and write Engaged. Depression and bad health colored everything, though, including the writing. Some scenes leaped onto the page, others crawled. Some had to be dragged like a cat on a leash. I had to restart the book several times, delete chapters at a time, carve things up and move them around. It was stressful even before the deadline loomed, but especially after.

The revision stage is one of my favorite stages, because it takes whatever you managed to write, and makes it amazing. I'm so thankful to be in that stage now, and for the first time since the beginning of the year, I'm looking forward to writing again. The third book will surely be a challenge. I can't expect it to be as fast, fun, and super easy to write as the first book. But I also don't think it will be the stressful learning experience that the sequel was.

Even after a lifetime of wanting to be an author, over ten years of hard work to make that happen, and five years of professional writing experience, there's always something new to learn. This book was not like any of the others, especially the book before it, but I can't wait for the adventure the next book takes me on.

Self Image and Red Carpet Days

Self image has never been an easy topic for me. As a child, I was always a little heavier than other children, and my struggles with low confidence started early, as chronicled here.

Over the years, I've dealt with an eating disorder and countless days of low confidence. Very, very low. Depression tends to make low confidence even worse, and the two issues can spiral into an ugly, overwhelming mess. You feel you have nothing to dress up for, and then you feel that dressing up is too much work. In turn, you feel bad about yourself, and it continues on and on. You lose all hope of having a red carpet day again.

After all, the bad thoughts say, you have nothing to celebrate, and no one will want to celebrate you. If you were a stronger/smarter/better/more beautiful person, you would have the strength to put yourself together. Look how easy it is for other people!

But sometimes you need to break out your favorite lipstick or mascara, even when you don't plan to go anywhere, or see anyone. Sometimes there's magic in the physicality of setting out your favorite 'getting ready' tools. Sometimes there's magic in the right black eyeliner.

Lately I've fought back at low confidence and depression through a variety of means, but one of them has been busting out my favorite makeup and jewelry and getting red-carpet ready. Any day can be a red carpet day, if you feel like you need one. Get dressed up. Take some great pictures. Wear your amazing outfit just for sitting at your computer to write, or draw, or meditate, or bake a pie, or watch your favorite movie.

You can have a red carpet day at 2am or 6am or noon or 7pm. You can do it ANY time you want.

Here's a few pictures from recent "red carpet days."

Anastasia Amour: Self-Worth, Fitspo, and Ruby Woo Lipstick

I'm so excited to have Anastasia Amour as today's guest. Anastasia is a champion for body positivity, health, mental wellness, and all around good vibes. Her book, Inside Out, is a practical, down to earth guide to having a better relationship with yourself, inside and out.

Recently I had the honor to speak briefly to her about advice for breaking the cycle of women putting other women down, fitspo, and a few of her favorite things. Read on for more!

I loved your list of 55 ways to love yourself. You mention something I have become more and more passionate about- not putting down other women. We have been told from a young age that girls cause drama, that if you want to avoid drama, you'll avoid girls. We've been taught jealousy against each other, and to compare ourselves negatively to each other. What do you think we can do as women to make sure we are deprogramming from that, and why is that good for us, individually, as well?

The dichotomy of jealousy and comparison hurts us in so many ways. It keeps us from forming amazing friendships because we learn to see other women as threats, and it stops us from realising our true worth when we're constantly comparing ourselves to others. One of the biggest steps that I encourage girls and women to take to overcome this mentality is to start actively seeking out positive attributes in other women.

For instance, if you see a woman walking towards you on the street and you automatically find yourself mentally critiquing her, notice those thoughts. Tell yourself that those thoughts aren't helpful, and instead actively seek out something positive about her. Even if it's only tiny or insignificant (like maybe she's got a beautiful necklace on), it still counts. Get into the habit of doing that every time you find yourself needlessly critiquing or gossiping about another woman. The more you do it, the more habitual it will become and slowly but surely, you can begin to overwrite the previous patterns of jealousy. This helps hugely in positively influencing our inner dialogue, overall. And, as time goes on and as we become more aware of our thoughts and how they shape their reality, we can then improve the patterns that we set up for ourselves even more – for instance, by making a conscious effort to notice positive attributes about other women that aren't appearance-based.

But in order for us to fully recognise our own worth, we have to realise that other women aren't the enemy. We need to stop viewing femininity as a competition – someone else's wit, beauty, charm or success doesn't take away from our own, and we all rise by lifting each other.

You're so right! Such wise words, and definitely something we can all work on. Next, your post about fitspo really hit close for me. As someone who suffered in the past due to an eating disorder, I know that sometimes looking at "fitspo" has made me feel just as much self-hate as looking at models in magazines. Do you think that any fitspo is helpful, though? And if so, in what way?

Absolutely not. The core messages of fitspo are generally based around themes of fear, guilt and shame used as motivational tools. Through subtle language cues they teach us that fat is bad, that we need to repent for our food sins and that if we're not about to "puke, faint or die... keep going!" (no thank you, Jillian Michaels). We know that in the long term, shame is just not a sustainable motivator and keeps people trapped in perpetual infinite loops of insecurity, particularly when they're setting themselves up with such absolutist measures of success.

It's one thing to have fitness goals (like wanting to gain muscle mass or lose weight) or to look up to someone for their fitness – and I don't think either of those things are inherently problematic. But when you bring fitspo (in the cultural sense) into it, you're ultimately only harming yourself.

Recently you posted on Instagram about fashion and body image. Who are some of your favorite fashion designers? And who are some of your favorite fashion brands in terms of body inclusion?

I'm not hugely into fashion so I don't gravitate towards any particular designers. What I look for is a brand that produces ethically and if they have a body positive ethos, even better! Some of the best brands leading the charge in inclusivity, representation and diversity are Smart Glamour and ModCloth. There are other brands that do this too, but Smart Glamour and ModCloth in particular get it consistently right.

What are three songs that motivate you?

With Thoughts - Art Vs. Science

Spectrum - Florence & The Machine

Sonnentanz - Klangkarussell

Favorite lipstick shade(s)?

MAC's 'Ruby Woo' - it's a classic blue-toned Red and makes me feel like a bombshell.

Number one reason readers should buy your book?

Because we ALL benefit from body positivity! And whether you're just starting out on your journey or whether you're a seasoned self-love veteran wanting to reinforce those themes, the exercises will help you. I pinky promise.

Favorite feel-good movie?

I'm actually not a movie fan! When I want a pick-me-up, I always gravitate towards a sitcom (Seinfeld is my favourite).

Order Anastasia's book: http://anastasiaamour.com/product/inside-out-paperback/

Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anastasiaamour/

 (Anastasia chose Spectrum, by one of my favorite artists, Florence and the Machine, as a favorite motivational song! I couldn't agree more with this choice. Enjoy)

A Note About Depression

A few years ago, I did something that had previously been too frightening to do: I started telling people that I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder. Before that, I had always made excuses for avoiding situations, for having to cancel plans, for days where I couldn’t leave the house. I had to claim more headaches and unidentified work than any one person can claim in any given month. Anxiety was such an ugly and embarrassing word.

Finally, though, I experimented with telling the truth. “I had a panic attack last night and don’t feel up to coming over today. I’m sorry”, or “I’m sorry, but being in a car for six hours won’t work with my anxiety right now.” Sure, there were times when people would either give me the side eye or would just float out of my life, but surprisingly? Many people understood. Over time, I realized I could put some fences up when I needed to, and that most people wouldn’t step over them. That knowledge was freeing and relieved so much stress that I kept wondering why I’d waited so long.

But why is it so hard to admit we might be depressed? Why is it so hard to admit we may actually be very depressed?

This blog has been a victim of depression. My love for fashion, and helping women find confidence in themselves through clothes, makeup, and well-being, my love of conducting interviews… all of it has become a victim of the crushing exhaustion that comes with even considering opening a word file, typing words, and posting them.

The list of victims of this mental illness in my life is staggering.

Depression is not the same as sadness. It’s not the same as the hormonal swings women face when their menstrual cycles are fast approaching. It’s not crying at a sad movie.

It’s standing in front of the sink for five minutes, holding a dish, and not knowing if you can wash that dish, or any of the dishes. It’s being three hours late to a friend’s party, if you manage to go at all. It’s hiding from a family member because you can’t stop crying. It’s meaning to finish straightening a book shelf and never being able to. It’s never enjoying any of the food you eat. It’s feeling tired all the time. It’s not understanding what someone is saying to you because you’re too tired to even put their words in order. It’s feeling like you can’t concentrate. It’s falling asleep every chance you get. It’s getting a headache just picturing doing something you love. It’s losing all interest in things you used to care about. It’s looking at your past as someone else’s life and wishing you could have that

.

Depression is a serious, serious issue that has been stigmatized, made fun of, and misunderstood. People who have never experienced it are quick to offer advice that is usually unhelpful and ineffective, including telling the person to just stop being depressed, or making a list of reasons why they’re depressed. Or, and sometimes most frustratingly, they’ll say something along the lines of, “But you don’t seem depressed!”

Some of the funniest people I’ve ever known are also some of the most depressed people I’ve known. There’s a certain deflection technique in humor, as well as a tiny instant reward when you make someone laugh, and I think depressed people need that desperately.

But please remember:

Just because someone doesn’t fit your idea of depression doesn’t mean they might not be fighting it every day.

Just because someone doesn’t do things you think they/everyone should do, doesn’t mean they aren’t working as hard as they possibly can, and achieving goals of their own.

Just because you have depression doesn’t mean you need to be ashamed of it and keep it to yourself.

Just because your depression is overwhelming right this moment doesn't mean that in the next moment, in the next day, in the next week, month or year, that it will still be this bad. Everything fluctuates, even depression.

Just because something worked for someone else doesn't mean it will work for you, and that's okay.

For everyone else suffering with depression, please don't give up. Please don't think you are lesser than the people who can easily go about their lives and complete tasks that are a challenge for you. Please try not to compare yourself to anyone else at all.

Please be good to yourself.

Fashion Show Obsessions: Marchesa, Alexander McQueen, Elie Saab

Spring shows don't always wow me the way fall ones do, but this spring has brought some truly beautiful collections. I'm wildest for, in no particular order, Marchesa, Elie Saab, and Alexander McQueen. Below, feast your eyes on some of my favorite pieces from these gorgeous collections:

 (Marchesa 2016)

 (Elie Saab 2016)

 (Alexander McQueen 2016)

From the impossible luxury of Marchesa's pieces- they look fit for a Russian queen!- to the royal witchy vibes of Elie Saab's dark, unexpected collection, to the masterpieces of sheer fabrics and galaxies in McQueen's, this season seems to be full of over the top for accessories, and it's more delicate than lingerie.

And can we talk about the styling? I'm seeing a lot of hair jewelry and mismatched earrings. We're talking full on constellations nestled into hair. I love, love, love, love, love it, and totally want to try to recreate this look with some Half Lucid Jewelry pieces.

(Alexander McQueen 2016)

Who have your favorites been this spring? Feel free to comment below!

Returning With a Fashionable Duo...

I apologize greatly for the lack of new content in the last six months, but I've been battling real life issues. More on that later, but for now, I've been so impressed by the combined sartorial power of Matt Bellamy and Elle Evans on the spring fashion circuit that I needed to make a post about it.

Check it out!

 Dior, PFW March 2016

 Balmain after party, March 2016

 YSL February 2016

Balmain, PFW March 2016

These two have been killing it at fashion shows and fashion-y parties. Looking forward to seeing where they pop up next and how all this fashionable influence shows up in their respective artistic fields. Fabulous!