Stephanie Dosen

MAA  : Would you tell us more about your musical past ? Have you been immersed in music since your childhood ?
Stephanie Dosen  : I started singing in my attic when I was a little girl. My dad had an old guitar up there and I would sneak upstairs and write songs on it when no one was around. I was very secretive and shy. I used to record the songs on a little tape recorder and make my own little albums to listen to. No one really knew that I could sing at all because I was so quiet. I dreamt of taking my guitar and leaving town and going on the road to sing my songs. I wanted to be like Stevie Nicks. I even asked my family to call me Stevie for a while, because that’s a nickname for Stephanie, but it didn’t stick.

MAA  : What are your musical influences ?
Stephanie Dosen  : I grew up in a small town in the Midwest during the 80’s so I was surrounded by classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. When I was in high school I was really into bands like The Smiths, The Cure and Depeche Mode. It wasn’t until a bit later that I got into female singers like Sinead O’connor and Siouxsie Sioux. My favourite band of all time is The Cocteau Twins so it’s a big honour every night to “Teardrop”.

MAA  : What do you prefer : be on stage or working in studio ?
Stephanie Dosen  : They are both so different. I’m a perfectionist, so the pressure of being in the studio is way too much for me. Playing on stage is fun every night but my favourite part is the writing process itself. That’s when I can hide away in secret and work on the magic part which is the creation of the songs.

MAA  :What’s on your decks at the moment ?
Stephanie Dosen  : Right now I listen to a lot of modern ambient atmospheric music. My favourites to play daily right now are Colleen and Lau Nau.

MAA  : Do you have good vibes towards France and the French audience ?
Stephanie Dosen  : Most Americans have a very romantic idea of France and I am no exception. It was the language I chose to study in school and I dreamt of living there someday. I’ve been to France many times now and am always blown away by the warmth of the people. They really love their music and I enjoy playing to a French audience. My only complaint is that I’ve been to Paris 4 times and I’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower ! That is one of the drawbacks to being a travelling musician. You don’t often get to enjoy the city as much as you’d like because you are on the tour-bus or passed out in the hotel.

MAA  : Where and when did you decide to work with Massive attack ? - How did you meet them ?
Stephanie Dosen  : I’ve been a fan of Massive Attack for a long time. One day last year I was in a charity shop looking at vintage coats and my phone rang and it was 3-D. I had to sit down and take it all in. Of course I was very excited when he asked if I would consider some collaboration work. It has been a great experience and I never take it for granted. I know how lucky I am to work with such a great band.

MAA  : What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you on stage with Massive Attack ?
Stephanie Dosen  : This summer we played a festival that was near a lake. So at night when the stage lights came on, every bug or moth in a 10 mile radius came flocking to the stage. There was a swarming sea of insects on stage as thick as a fog. When Yolanda Quartey came off stage after singing her first number she had bugs stuck in her lip gloss ! When I had to go on I was dreading it. While I was singing and playing my first song a huge 3 inch bug landed on the top of my head and worked its way down the back of my hair and onto my neck ! The whole way I could feel it clawing its nasty little legs but I couldn’t move because I was playing guitar and singing it was torture ! The guys at the sound-deck said they saw it come out of my hair and walk down my back. It was horrible and disgusting but hilarious.

MAA  : Among all the Massive Attack songs you performed on stage, which one do you prefer and why ?
Stephanie Dosen  :I love singing teardrop because it’s been one of my favourite songs for a very long time. It’s hard being the new singer of a song that is so beloved by so many people. I try not to think of what the crowd might be thinking when I’m up there. I just sing it honestly as if I were in my bedroom alone. That keeps it real for me and I love every minute of it.