Arts :: Music
Burning Bright by Scott Kearnan
Arts EditorFriday Mar 7, 2008 Michael Hensley continues to blaze with Fire Behind Me
It’s been nearly a year since Michael Hensley, an openly gay Boston musician, released his debut album, Fire Behind Me. Chock full of dense, thoughtful electro-pop, the disc has garnered Hensley a growing fan base, a positive critical reception, and even a few "Aren’t you that music guy?" moments.
But Hensley, an independent artist who self-financed much of his debut, hopes that other earnings won’t be far behind.
"I just did my taxes. I saw just how much money I’ve put into my music," laughs the 27-year-old musician. "I’m fortunate, in that I have a full-time job that can pay all the bills and finance my music. But I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for people who are living paycheck to paycheck in shoebox apartments, all while trying to become musicians. It’s expensive, and it’s hard to get people to pay attention to you."
Hensley has enjoyed a fair amount of attention since the May 2007 release of Fire Behind Me. Not only has the gay press noted Hensley’s burgeoning success, but mainstream electronic music publications like Aural Innovations, Pitch Perfect and more have also paid attention.
Most recently, Hensley got props from Sean Drinkwater of freezepop, a Boston-based band that has achieved "underground darling" status on the electronic radar. After discovering Hensley’s sound - the perfect complement to freezepop’s juicy, joyful, synthesized indulgences - Drinkwater invited the artist to open for his band at an upcoming Boston gig.
"We have a very similar sound," says Hensley of the fit with freezepop. "I’m very excited."
Besides musicality, excitement has been a vital force in propelling Hensley forward in his musical career. After earning his degree in Audio Production from Emerson College in 2003, Hensley, who has been writing songs since youth, realized it was time to focus his energy on making the music he loved: electronically influenced, mindful of complex instrumentation and geared towards putting a human face on a frequently impersonal genre.
Armed with introspective, emotional cuts like "Never Loved Me," "Take Me Away" and "Can I Do This Alone," Fire Behind Me has come to represent a certain era in Hensley’s sonic headspace.
"Many of the songs from that album were written six or seven years ago now," explains Hensley, who admits that heartache, longing, and introspection are recurring motifs on Fire Behind Me. "The songs helped me exorcise a lot of the past."
Hensley hopes that a new perspective can inspire his upcoming work. "I’m already thinking about the next album," he explains, though he notes that the music is still coming together. "I don’t think it will be as heavy [as Fire Behind Me]. That’s not to say that everything is going to necessarily be happy... but I think there will be a more lighthearted approach. It will be a little less intellectual. Not dumb," he laughs. "But not overly analytical."
While it’s another entry from Fire Behind Me, Hensley’s next release is nonetheless a good preview of things to come: later this month, he’ll unleash an EP of the single "This Machine."
"After going to different clubs, giving my album to DJs and being able to hear it [in that setting], I got a new outlook on how it sounded," says Hensley of the decision to up the ante on remixes. "It’s a pretty electronic record, but it didn’t have any one song that I thought would fit in between, say, a Rihanna or Madonna record."
With that in mind, Hensley commissioned new club cuts of "This Machine" from remixer Yasuhiko Fukuoka. Already one of the more danceable cuts from Fire Behind Me, "This Machine" will mark another debut for Hensley: it’s his first release to receive an energetic music video treatment.
"We’re working on dates for the shoot right now," says Hensley. "It’s going to be set in an abandoned factory or an abandoned warehouse, and takes the idea of a bunch of people crashing the place to throw their own party." In keeping with the title, a few technological innovations will be used to tweak conventions: "We’re going to run some of the footage backwards, flip some things and play around with it a little bit to make it different from the standard club video; a little edgy."
Edginess has worked for Hensley so far. He plans to continue that trend. "I don’t want to think too hard about it," he says of future music. "I just want to jump in without thinking."
Never has not thinking seemed so very smart.
Michael Hensley opens for freezepop at the Middle East on Friday, March 7; 472 Mass. Ave, Cambridge. Show at 8.pm.; tickets $12 at the door until 7p.m., or via www.ticketmaster.com.
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