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After Al Capone's release from prison and frequent hospitalization, he moved to Palm Island, an exclusive neighborhood in Miami Beach. In order to escape his criminal past and any further mishaps, Capone spent his remaining years near the ocean with his loved ones. This trend is not limited to high-volume drug dealers or the politically corrupt. The concept of moving closer to the sea is an enchanting prospect for anyone who's got a head to clear.
Ex-Portlander Casey Dienel is no exception. After struggling to pay rent as a full-time musician, Dienel, who performs under the name White Hinterland, left urban bohemia and moved into her parent's home on the beach in Scituate, Mass. While the move was financially motivated, Dienel says forgoing "late-20s bullshit" wasn't a bad thing, either.
"At first, I was not happy about going home," she says. "I had so many friendships in Portland, it was like my big electric blanket. But after the move, I just threw myself back into the work. And for me, work is happiness."
Despite having to move back in with her parents, Dienel has a pretty sweet setup. She turned the basement into a studio, which she dubbed "the Glades," where she recorded the entirety of her latest album, Baby. "My parents are really generous and tolerant," she says. "They let me make tons of noise." And while Scituate doesn't claim such a lively music scene as Portland's, Dienel says: "It was the perfect place to record the album. I could work all day and night if I wanted to, then go walk on the beach."
Baby is White Hinterland's most mature effort yet, and one of Dienel's most honest and precise pieces of work. She engages with an airy, R&B-inspired sound somewhere between Fiona Apple and Portishead. While the album shudders with insecurity and anxiety, her bellowing vocals and pop-leaning piano display her vast range of musical discourse. Dienel also produced the album, a first for her. On her more collaborative past projects, Dienel would think of herself as the director, with the producer acting as a cinematographer. With Baby, she compares herself to Stanley Kubrick, and seems to have enjoyed the heightened sense of control—even if she occasionally needed to reference home-studio tutorials on YouTube.
"I've worked in studios before, and they can be great," she says, "but I've come to find I'm just somebody who works best at home."
Although Dienel does
her best thinking in the confines of her nest, don't call her a
homebody. "I'm never really home," she says. "I love being on the road."
She spent the majority of 2014 on tour, and is currently supporting Baby
on the West Coast before heading to Europe. She is also in the process
of recording another album, in addition to writing songs for other
artists. Whether she is holed up with her family by the sea or sweating
it out onstage, Dienel is devoted to her music. "To me, music is more
than just work or a career," she says. "It's a calling."
SEE IT: White Hinterland plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Wildcat! Wildcat! and Superhighway, on Sunday, Oct. 12. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 9 pm. 21+.
WWeek 2015