Erny Belle: Interview + Review of New Album ‘Not Your Cupid’

4 Dec

KATIE BROWN - 4 DEC 2023

Ah, Cupid — that troublesome maker of mischief, that plague on affairs of the heart — all powerful in matters of love, until he’s struck by his own shot and learns quite the tidy lesson of what it’s really all about. (Spoiler alert: there’s a happily-ever-after — but after some pretty rough times.) Life’s a bit like that, and it’s this neat little dichotomy that is subtly and cleverly packaged in glorious new album Not Your Cupid by Tāmaki Makaurau pacific-pop act Erny Belle, real name Aimee Renata (Ngāpuhi). Released in November via Flying Nun, the artist’s highly anticipated sophomore album is at once melodic, catchy and compelling; yet layered, complex and characteristically mystical — and a little impish in and of itself.

Following trio of teaser singles, ‘Unchained,’ ‘Stay Golden,’ and the innuendo-endowed ‘Pitt Stop,’ Not Your Cupid makes its way into the world almost exactly one year after 2022’s stunning debut album Venus Is Home. Belle’s first ever single, ‘Burning Heaven,’ released in October 2021, quickly established the ex-costume designer as a local talent to watch, and the independently released Venus Is Home delivered remarkably on that promise. Earning Belle nominations for both the Taite Music Award and the Best Independent Debut Award in 2023, Venus Is Home is quirky and winningly homely in its feel, and reflects its Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) heart as it dances between being equally emotive as it is filled with a wry, irreverent humour: “I like drinking in the morgue,” she sings in ‘Hell Hole,’ a standout single from the album. A bottle of red, perhaps?

Turning two albums around in the space of two years is no mean feat, and Belle shows a remarkable dexterity in her ability to not only meet the outstanding success of her debut, but to build on it in the impeccably produced NYC, a record she considers to represent her Te Ao Mārama — World of Light — era. Held between first phrase “Let’s give it a name…” from opening track ‘Bowman,’ and closing line “I’m not your Cupid” from the final, title track, is an entire, decadent world of Belle’s creation, in which the enigmatic songstress spins cryptic Cupid-infused tales of love and possibility. “It’s more about the future and imagining than painting scenes of life around me,” she says, speaking of the work. “Less narrative, more cryptic, less thought, more intuition.”

It’s the surprising dichotomy of earnestness versus a playful irreverence that makes Renata what she is as Erny Belle. Her work holds a deep sensitivity and vulnerability, but it’s hidden behind a clever veil that is apt to part mysteriously when least expected: a little side-to-side two-step shifting between two worlds, complete with devil-may-care shoulder shimmy. It’s reflected in her voice, too — a voice that is particularly sweet in its full and pure tone, contrasting with the cryptic and irreverent undertone to her lyrics. Warm and melodic, her songwriting holds those clear and focused vocals front and centre, and the combination of them with gentle rhythm and repetitive, catchy riffs is hypnotic: the pendulum swinging in a grandfather clock. Listening, you find yourself slipping into a reverie without realising, transported by the space between the vocals where layers of guitar, emotive strings, piano and even sitar add to the sense of being unwittingly ensorcelled by a midnight magician with a foot in dual spheres.

NYC's glistening first track, ‘Bowman,’ fittingly sets the tone for an album referencing Cupid, that mischievous manipulator of the bow string, and equally fittingly, is resplendent in opulent strings swirling around Belle’s voice as she sings, “I’ve made up my mind to shoot my shot.” If it is possible for a song to sound like dawn, this track is it, and it paves the way for reflective second track ‘Unchained,’ with its somewhat disquieting opening chord progression strummed unhurriedly on acoustic guitar. “Baby’s in the corner,” Belle croons, conjuring an image of a forlorn Baby who’s not where she’s meant to be in Dirty Dancing. “You know, someday … to be unchained.”

Following the album’s two opening tracks are a suite of seven others, shifting between sly wink of a single ‘Pitt Stop’ with its 60s pop-inspired shimmer and tick-tock rhythm, the mystical sitar of the hypnotic ‘Crypto,’ resplendent in lush harmonies, and the solidly grounded ‘Stay Golden,’ with its message of sticking to your course through thick and thin. A dark bass synth line sneaks in behind a kick-snare combo at the beginning of ‘Midnight Madness,’ a track infused with Belle’s drinking-in-the-morgue brand of lyrical suggestiveness: “Don’t close the casket on me,” she sings. “Midnight madness, I stay up.”

Twangy acoustic guitar introduces ‘Inertia,’ a song that tucks something of a playful wistfulness beneath a brush-snare beat, dreamy piano, emotive strings and Belle’s purity of tone: “They say someday we’ll be in motion … Inertia, stop moving / Prove to ya, not losing.” Penultimate track, ‘C’est La Vie,’ continues on a similarly wistful bent, a syncopated beat punctuating Belle’s vocals like a warp thread to the woven. “C’est comme ça,” she sings, a shrug in her voice. “C’est la vie.”

The mellow and reverie-inducing ‘Not Your Cupid’ is a gorgeous way to quietly close the album: it’s dusk, it’s the representation of a waning day and perhaps a wry hope, but also of a stubborn strength; gentle electric guitar wrapping around softly shifting piano chords as Belle winds up the track — and the album — with a returning reference to the bearer of bow and arrow:

“I’m living in the future if you can hear me now … I know what it takes to be loved … I’m not your Cupid.”

An outstanding album, Not Your Cupid is a delightful, playful and surprisingly poignant journey of love and loss, of humour in darker places, and of lightness to be found despite the murkiness of it all. If Venus was home in 2022, Belle is quick to assert that it’s Cupid’s moment in 2023 — only beware, because it’s probably not the moment you were expecting but something a little more complex: something bigger, bolder and better.

Because, you know, c’est la vie.

And all we can say is buckle up, Baby. You’re not in the corner anymore.

If you’re based in Tāmaki Makaurau, catch Erny Belle at her album release show this Friday 8th December at the Wintergarden at The Civic, supported by fellow Tāmaki artist Nicky By Nicky. It’s not to be missed.

Tickets available here.

Listen to Not Your Cupid and read our interview with Erny Belle, aka Aimee Renata, below.

Find Erny Belle on Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify

KATIE: FIRST THINGS FIRST, CONGRATULATIONS ON RELEASING A BEAUTIFUL NEW ALBUM! HOW HAS IT BEEN TURNING AROUND NOT YOUR CUPID SO QUICKLY AFTER YOUR DEBUT ALBUM, VENUS IS HOME? WAS YOUR APPROACH DIFFERENT?

Aimee: Thank you! With such a long time in the making of Venus Is Home, I felt I had done all the emotional work needed to feel secure in myself as an artist and being thrown into a second one with the signing of Flying Nun felt like a relief. For the first time, someone else was telling me I needed to make something rather than working with my own instincts. I’m just lucky the timing worked out and I was ready to spill into new work. My approach was different in the sense that the music didn’t come from a place of figuring myself out; less heavy and drawn out. It was freeing, I could just sit down to write and have some sense of trust in myself, and then it all poured out.

YOU DESCRIBE NOT YOUR CUPID AS BEING “LESS NARRATIVE, MORE CRYPTIC, LESS THOUGHT, MORE INTUITION.” DID THAT COME FROM AN INTENTION, OR A NATURAL UNFOLDING OF THE PROCESS?

A natural unfolding I would say. I think that’s how I create, it’s figuring out what flows and what doesn’t. Each song has a different style of being birthed. I think it’s a reflection of my relationship with myself at the time and what’s happening around me.

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT TE AO MĀRAMA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ALBUM - WHAT’S IT LIKE TO MOVE INTO THIS ‘WORLD OF LIGHT’? IS THIS SIGNIFICANT FOR YOU AS A FOLLOW-ON FROM VENUS IS HOME?

I think it just marks a place of where I’m at in my life and my inner growth, coming out of a period of self doubt, grief and change and learning to play with my darkness rather than be consumed. Celebrating that sense of achievement, not just with releasing music but learning to take care of myself, growing up a little, having found my musical soul mates and feeling accepted within the music community.

WHAT’S YOUR SONGWRITING APPROACH? DO YOU HAVE ANY RITUALS TO HELP YOU ALONG THE WAY?

I don’t tend to write at all until a project is released or if I’m feeling overpowered by emotions. For me that’s where the heart of the matter gets ripped out from the depths. I guess since Venus Is Home was released I haven’t had any sudden deaths, or extreme change or heart break. So it’s a new style of writing that I feel quite elated about, to be able to make something not based on external forces but just being in my thoughts and finding joy in melody. I walk a lot when I demo, especially on sundown. I write down my dreams and sometimes get lyrics that way. I love my singing bowl to clear the space sonically, burn palo santo and If I’m really desperate and fried from the computer screen, I step away and I pray.

YOU WERE WORKING IN COSTUME FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE BEGINNING TO RELEASE MUSIC AS ERNY BELLE - WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE ADDING THAT STRING TO YOUR BOW? HAS MUSIC BEEN IN THE BACKGROUND ALL ALONG?

Storytelling has always been a feeling of purpose within me, but making music didn’t come until later in life. Costuming on set was a part of my passion for film and storytelling and it fulfilled me for a while and made me a decent living. It was hard when I knew I was going to pursue music, because you have to give up one life for the other. Unfortunately within the art world, you give a lot and don’t get much back, in terms of surviving financially within society, unless you’re part of the big clog wheel machine. It’s a rebellion, and it's still worth trying. My experience in film has definitely reaped its benefits in the visual world of music.

WHAT ARTISTS WERE YOU LISTENING TO GROWING UP?

Oh god! It Depends on what era and there are so many eras of growing up… as a young child I was obsessed with Avril Lavigne, Nelly Furtardo and Shania Twain. I remember singing, ‘You’re still the one’ into my hair brush on my bed as a stage. In my father’s house it was always Miles Davis, Neil Young and touch of Beach Boys in his Ford pick up truck en route to the surf! My mother didn’t really listen to music, my aunty and nana would come around and play piano and she would sing Italian opera and theatre songs. If she did play anything, it was classical.

THERE’S AN INCREDIBLE VISUAL DECADENCE AND RICHNESS TO YOUR VIDEOS AND PHOTOGRAPHY. WHERE DID YOUR VISUAL STYLE (AND EPIC FASHION SENSE!) ORIGINATE? WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS?

The film/visual side comes from my father who’s a D.O.P, I think it’s just in our blood, the jobs we got weren’t from nepotism. My siblings and I, all from different upbringings, just ended up in the same industry, on our own hustle (in different departments). It’s wild! I’ve always loved it, I love the aesthetic of 70’s horror, I love documenting. I don’t know, I think I just gained an understanding from working in the costume department the importance of storytelling through clothing. I personally just love expression of character through how one dresses. I love Merata Mita.

DOES THIS VISUAL WORLD INTERACT WITH YOUR SONGWRITING?

Writing and the visual production are two very separate fortes for me. The music is very personal and spiritual, the visual aspect is just a side passion of mine that I want to express. I guess the correlation is that song feels like acting sometimes.

ARE YOU STILL WORKING IN COSTUME? HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT JUGGLING YOUR DIFFERENT CREATIVE PURSUITS?

No, there’s no way I could pursue Erny Belle whilst working in film with the hours and energy it entails. That’s why I’m in such a strange and intense part of my life. Music is full time, all most every day. At all strange hours, without financial remuneration. I’m currently writing to you and it’s past midnight!! I recently went back to a film set and felt a little part of me missing it after such a long hiatus. But the other part doesn’t want to go back because it would it would make me feel like I’ve failed. I’m so emotionally attached to that part of my life, all the memories on the last few jobs sharing my dreams with everyone of what I was going to pursue. But I realise now, even if you’re pursuing your dreams and doing a somewhat good job at it, it’s not enough. So I’ll probably be back soon. That’s okay, that’s just life. Surrendering & flowing.

WHAT’S BEEN BRINGING YOU JOY LATELY?

I think the biggest thing that brings me joy currently is the feeling of love and support that I get from my nearest and dearest. I’m very fresh to this new life as an artist and I wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of my loved ones and people that believe in me. Listening to music on walks and looking at the sky grounds me. My band members enthuse me. Playing live gives me a sense of purpose. I just want to do more of that. Whānau and friends, making sure we all support each other’s purpose.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ACTS CURRENTLY?

There’s no way I can favouritise in this article, there’s so many wonderful artists in Aōtearoa that I’m so excited about. So I’ll just say. Chlöe Swarbrick. Sorry Not Sorry.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST HOPE WITH YOUR WORK?

I can only hope that my work makes someone feel inspired to follow their calling and love it with all they have to give. Or just a feeling, that their feelings are felt. Humanize the experience & bring us together. Hope I guess, and freedom.

Find Erny Belle on Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify