Building Intensity with Ouri

“Felicity,” released today, is a testament to her deep exploration and cultivation of her craft, incorporating strings, synths and soaring melodies from Carle, undergirded by the gorgeous harmonies of Ouri herself.

To celebrate what is sure to be the song marking the bittersweet, and sweaty denouement from summer into fall, we sat down for an exploration of intensity with the Montreal musician.

Alright first-off let's talk Felicity. Tell me about the song.

Antony and I started just this super intense friendship where we would meet at five a.m. and work on music until like eight p.m. We had no access to our phones, we were really trying to create a sort of a mini lifestyle where we'd really blend, you know, musically. We always make high energy music, but I really wanted to create something that is more like a ballad, and have something with a little bit more of this existential touch than just being a banger just like, super essential and chilled.

I also wanted to hear Antony's vocals a bit more. Because I feel like their voice is just out of this world, and I also wanted to create a space for myself where all the instruments would be alive, you know, and full of details but the voice can really dominate. I love when music switches and it becomes a banger, but I also love when you can just dive into this world and there is nothing that is gonna punch you. You can just stay in this room, you can slow down or just stay in this rhythm. Yeah, so that’s what I wanted to do with this one.

You mentioned the intense circumstances under which you made this song. Can you tell me a bit about the role of intensity in your work, and the meaning behind the name “Felicity”?

I've never done anything this much. I've never been in such an intimate context with someone— just being that funny and looking horrible, smelling bad, and being fucking depressed, and like pushing each other to create and write and create and write and rewrite and like, delete melodies that were fucking raw and find a new one that we both love and just dive into this love. I think the whole thing was an act of pleasure and like, it's playful, you know? It's not that— it is serious, like you really dive into it, but it's also super playful. You know we are really silly. We make terrible jokes. And sometimes in the music, you know, you're trying to be serious or to be understood. But you need to be just a person also. I feel like we can do that for each other. We want our audiences to access this part of us. So we push— push each other to bring this energy. That is intense happiness. I feel like Antony and I, when we meet, just to lay down next to a river or to get fucking crazy in the studio, there's always this feeling of like, I feel like we're reaching a point of happiness that is almost surreal.

“Felicity” draws upon your instrumental arsenal, weaving strings and synths. Tell me a bit about the instruments you’ve played and the different ways they communicate sensations for you?

Harp for me is access to something melodic and simple and repetitive and kind of airy, you know? Then there's the cello, which I feel like really helps me dive into the deepest emotions, it's my favorite instrument to play. I feel I can, I can be super low.I can be weird, I can be that and I can just be emotional. I can accompany myself with inserts from this slightly deeper, almost psychedelic sound and change harmonies and like change my contribution to the song. It's so fun to play. It's insane. And I love doing some slow kind of psychedelic things with it. In a sense I feel like the synth is more like the piano. You're accompanying and changing the emotional progression. I’m collaborating a lot with the cello too, which, I feel, can accompany people too, through their musical processes.

What is your process creating on your own like?

I think I love to create intense contexts. So I was, for example, for three months in Europe, and I decided to start my album like this and only come back— I had no return tickets—I wanted to come back when I was sure that I had a solid base.

I spent one month in London in the house of the creative director of Hildegard, who actually let me use her apartment. And then I rented a very weird Airbnb in Berlin. It was crazy, because I know, I think I know a lot of people in Berlin, but when I was there, I saw almost no one. I was by myself. I went to Berghain Sunday morning at 6am and I didn't really like it. I think it was the worst conditions for it. I prefered to just be alone and make music everyday, all the time. No partying, no drinking, no smoking. I only had a microwave and like, was just surviving. You know this super German bread? I was eating just that, yeah, with some cheese on it— a cheese toasted sandwich. You cannot go wrong. But when I had been in London I was cooking duck, and amazing vegetables and had oatmeal every morning with hemp seeds, you know, good for the brain. You have to have a little bit of both—the simple life and the extravagant life.

Ok so let’s talk partying— what are three of your rave essentials?

I think I'm going to bring the USB, just in case. Also, never forget a water bottle, because I don’t want to be...dry, and, I don’t know, maybe I’m not allowed to say this, but maybe some psychedelics? That’s my favorite thing.

You’re allowed to say whatever you want! How do you use psychedelics?

I use ket for therapy. I've been doing therapy with it. It's been insane because I still have to fight the stigma around it. I do it super safely, like I'm not abusing it. But I still have to fight the stigma in my mind. I use it, because I was assaulted last year, like, almost twice. So I feel like I had a long history of not taking my own space. It really helped me, just like, visualize how I can take my spot in the world, emotionally also, like, gaining more confidence. I found this amazing doctor who does ketamine therapy. At first I was like, this is weird. This is really weird. Am I gonna do this, like, really? But it's a clinic and it's safe. I just finished it. I really think I was part of the future of medicine, and I thought it was really amazing.

And I use it creatively sometimes and then it is insane. So I don't do that too often. I did it once with Helena, when we first did Hildegard, which was my first time, and I think we strongly benefited from it, because we had no ego for a moment.

Tell me more about your ego death. How did it inform your music?

I feel like sometimes, you know, you're creating from a very free place, and sometimes you're trying to create something, and then your ego is really trying to to respond to some authority, or you're trying to impress artists that you like, or you know, things like this, and it can really become toxic. So you really have to meditate and remind yourself that you need to create something that you're proud of and then you just have fun. Essentially, you want to make the emotional world of your audience a bit more supple. That's the whole point of music, and you know, if you're like me, fucking rigid inside of yourself, it's not worth it.

How are you moving away from rigidity, and what are you moving towards?

I feel like I've been exploring a lot and that's in the past. Now I want to show the spectrum of things I can do. I don't need to be extremely hard. I have a hard time being vulnerable sometimes, but now I just want to dig more into this and try to connect with myself when I'm at the mic, and see what I'm trying to express when I'm just connecting to the emotion and to the delivery and all of that. I’m also trying to remind myself that my classical background is nothing that I should be ashamed of. I should keep using my instruments, either acoustic or electronic and they do not have to follow a specific style, I can just stay in this stuff and enjoy it. You know, I always like to create spaces for me to enjoy music. I feel like I could just do things and move on and do things and move on, but it's nice to sit back and enjoy a little bit and then let other people enjoy it.