Physically based in Boston but creatively existing in a fantastical world hiding at the bottom of a rabbit hole, ambrosial is the artistic project of Shannon -- a songwriter, dancer, vocalist, visual artist, and dreamer.
The Yellow Light: Your Spotify description reads “the artistic director of a world of my own”. This is such a powerful position! And such an eloquent way to describe your investment in your work. Can you talk about what it means to be the artistic director of a world of your own?
ambrosial: First of all, thank you for taking the time to make this interview happen! I grew up on fairytales -- stories of adventure, romance, whimsy -- as many have. I also grew up in the arts, writing my own stories, dancing, designing costumes fit for a warrior or a princess or whatever I felt like that day. Because of this, I think of things in a larger than life way, sometimes unrealistically so. It also lead to me relying on escapism to deal with what real life has thrown at me. I've always been a daydreamer -- arguably to a fault. This is why I purposely take steps to romanticize and beautify my what I experience in life.
Suffering is inevitable, but taking the extra steps to walk the long way home so that I can go through my favorite garden makes the bad things bearable. Thinking of my life as a movie and making it feel and look the way I want it to -- that's my world! Dolling myself up in vintage dresses and just to end up taking another walk through the woods, spending an hour in a coffee shop reading a thrifted romance and lazy nursing a chai tea, getting my heart broken and falling in love again -- it's what makes my life worth living. This comes out through my music, my writing, everything. It pours out of me, whether I like it or not.
YL: The visuals accompanying your songs are so decisive. What goes in to visualizing each piece? Where do you start? How do you realize your vision?
AM: Music is very theatrical for me. When I'm writing a song, almost as soon as I have a melody, visual is already playing in my head. Maybe of how I wish the situation I'm writing about had played out, or the conversation I wish I could have with someone that I can't speak to anymore. Sometimes it's complex, other times it's as simple as me dancing in a specific landscape.
YL: Your lyrics, especially those in “rotting on the vine,” marry intensely personal experiences with flowery, story-book-like words. Can you describe your songwriting process?
AM: The lyrics are my favorite part of songwriting, due to my background as a writer and avid reader. It's hard to explain where they come from, they kind of fall out of me like when a cherry is too swollen for its branch. When I feel it, it has to come out. I honestly consider myself more of a storyteller than a musician necessarily, as my writing style is very narrative-driven. I only recently got into the practice of writing the music and melody first and letting the words come later, it's really interesting but if definitely a bit more challenging for me.
Between overloaded inboxes, auto-pay, and relentless advertisements, the real world can feel exhausting. Striving to honor our present circumstance and desperately desiring escape is a delicate balancing act. Before we jaunt down the rabbit hole we must remember what we learned from Alice -- Wonderland is not without its provocations. Idyllic tea parties can be rudely interrupted by evil queens, strange cats, and mad hatters. ambrosial leads her listeners to a sonic garden party, but is the wine always sweet?
YL: Your connection to Alice in Wonderland is alive in your work. What is most challenging about living in the “rabbit hole?” Does creation through escapism present any unique barriers?
AM: It sure does! My writing style, I think, hits for a very specific niche of people — esoteric folks who love fantasy and a pop sound, which doesn't resonate for everyone. But! That does make it all the more special when it does resonate with someone.
YL: Whimsy, fantasy, wonder -- all words I associate with ambrosial. What are the biggest obstacles you face when building your world and enacting your fantastical visions?
AM: Honestly? Money lol. It's hard to produce high quality work while being entirely self funded! Luckily I have some very talented artists in my corner who help bring my visions to life, like Jo Donahue and Maddie Roth who directed and filmed the someone like u video and the amazing Eric Anderson, who has helped direct and produce all my videos. And yourself, of course!
(Thank you!)
YL: You are a very multi-dimensional performer. Between acting and singing and dancing and more, how do you balance all these hats? Do they ever conflict with one another? Or especially complement one another?
AM: I would say they compliment each other more often than conflict, I'm blessed to have a steady job in the arts that helps pay my bills and allows me to create every day -- but going back to my previous point, that's one of my 4 jobs right now. It can be hard to tend multiple creative gardens with only 24 hours in a day. But, I'm sure this isn't a unique experience, I'm sure everyone would love more time to nurture their passion, right?
Like Alice explores Wonderland through tea parties and daring face-offs, ambrosial explores darkness through bubbly production. Even her more intense songs like "kill your darlings", outfitted with a banging fist of a drum and a haunting vocal, are rounded out and fit snugly in ambrosial's sparkling universe. While her beats are dreamy and refreshing, her lyrical material is rich and provoking, such as in one of her most popular songs, "rotting on the vine", where she considers a sickly-sweet, half-rotted relationship. Her songs command a shy smile and a foot tap. ambrosial's most recent release is "someone like u", a twinkling, aerated track that sounds like kicking feet and rosy cheeks.
YL: The music video for “someone like u” is full of 80s nostalgia! Can you talk about the inspiration to use this aesthetic to represent this song?
AM: Thank you! Both of my parents were teens in the 80s, and my dad especially kept us well fed with 80s pop culture, which is where my deep love of it comes from. It's strange to feel an unwarranted nostalgia for a time I never actually experienced, but nonetheless. I think a lot of it comes from the gaudy, larger than life style of 80s pop culture. That and the dedication that they had to fantasy- I, to this day, will turn blue in the face defending the Neverending Story's status as a perfect film.
For the someone like u video, we wanted to dig into that kind of goofy, over the top, parodied to death 80s rom com vibe. As a production team of almost entirely queer people, myself included, we wanted the love story to be queer, as our demographic was underrepresented in most 80's mainstream media.
YL: You have mentioned that your life is a movie for an audience of 1 -- yourself! What does it mean, to you, to create so intentionally for yourself?
AM: I used to live for many other people, to appease their notions of what I should be and it was a misery. To create for myself heals that inner part of me, one that needed external validation to feel like she was worthy of taking up time and space. Not saying I don't like external validation -- I love it, but I don't need it. This life is mine and mine alone, and I owe it to myself to live a life that I enjoy, whether someone else thinks it's right or not.
YL: Looping back to the “rotting on the vine” video, which is so gorgeous and has such a strong concept with a very fun execution. How did you come up with the idea for this video? What does this video mean to you?
AM: The rotting on the vine music video is one of my favorite things I've had a hand in making probably ever. Me and Eric started storyboarding about 3 months before shooting, and I had such a clear vision of the colors and visuals I wanted -- all based around Lore as my zombie lover. I love creature features and really wanted to play with the intersection of romantic and macabre...with a bit of comedy sprinkled in.
Inspiration from Alice in Wonderland pulses through ambrosial's work. Throughout ambrosial's music videos you can find earthworms wiggling menacingly, picnic blankets sprawled daintily across lush grass, and golden-handled tea sets fit for a princess. The story of Alice and her rabbit hole are deeply meaningful to Shannon, who leaned into escapism to help her persevere when life was challenging, and even find moments of whimsy and joy amongst the hardships. Shannon compares ambrosial to Alice, as ambrosial gets to live in a special world cultivated just for her. When reality was too difficult to digest, escapism allowed her to reframe her experiences.
YL: Your aesthetic presence is so consistent and cultivated but also diverse and interesting, from your videos to your songs to your cover art. Are there any rules to the ambrosial universe? Once you get down the rabbit hole, is anyone in charge?
AM: The ambrosial universe...it's my version of wonderland, I guess! It's full of angels and bastards and monsters and the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen. Everything is somehow both technicolor and pitch black. If you look the wrong way for too long you'll get lost. It holds all my secrets in plain sight. It's a labyrinthine extension of myself. I'm in charge, for better or for worse.
YL: As Alice falls down the rabbit hole she sees lamps, mirrors, books, rocking chairs, and more. What floats amongst ambrosial’s rabbit hole? What does the landing pad of ambrosial’s Wonderland look like?
AM: My landing pad is most certainly a lily pad! As I'm falling I would say there's...sewing pins, hair ribbons, irises and nasturtium, taxidermy ducklings in checkered suits, crystal perfume bottles, pinecones, apple butter, basil leaves and tomato vines, dirt, lace curtains, a locket, skeleton keys, lots and lots of notebooks, caterpillars, and black cherries.
YL: The Yellow Light embraces periods of transition, of speeding up or slowing down. When the trip down the rabbit hole feels more like falling rather than floating, how do you manage it, or even embrace it? How do you find comfort in the chaos of change?
AM: OH boy that's a hell of a question...I go for a lot of walks, that's my cure-all for everything really...but I think one of the things that keeps me going is that you quite literally never know what's going to happen next. Tomorrow I could wake up and the world could be underwater, or I could win the lottery, or it could be exactly like it was yesterday, but it most likely won't. But it will be beautiful, in one way or another. Maybe the clouds at dusk will be extra pink or the spiderwebs out my window will hold onto the morning dew a bit longer. I think my final answer is that when the world feels like it's spinning, I do something just for myself. I go for a walk or sit and nurse a cup of coffee, or sit at the piano and plunk my feelings out. Just be there for yourself, keep yourself safe, love yourself with as much of your heart as you can muster.
Want more ambrosial? Check out her Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or Instagram.
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