Superstars Only

Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Montreal, but I hold 2 nationalities because my father was from Budapest, so I was able to obtain my European passport for Hungary. It came in handy when my daughter decided to live in France.

What are some of your earliest memories of art?

My earliest memory of art is when my mother bought me a children's nursery rhyme poem book. Since I was a very, very shy child I had trouble expressing myself outward, so I went inward for the most part. That book gave me a way to express myself. The first poem I wrote was right after my mom told me like everyone else, she was going to die one day. I had a mini meltdown and then I wrote a several pages long poem about a frog and an old lady that become friends and when the frog finds out that the old lady is going to die and he gets so upset he cries a pond of tears around him and drowns in his sorrow. I did the cover 3D by using macaroni elbow noodles in the shape of the characters. After my parents' divorce my father used to take us to the drive-in theater and since my wasn't there to exercise maternal control, he'd expose us to movies that were not really made for children like David Cronenbergs' Shivers. Later on I became a huge fan of his work and I would go see his films in repertoire theaters and watch them over and over - films like Scanners, Videodrome which is an absolute masterpiece.

Did you have any favorite artists growing up?

When I was 12 or 13 years old I was invited to a friend's house to listen to some of her albums on her record player. She was much older than me. She put on an album by the B-52's. I was like "what is this". It blew my mind right out of this world and onto Planet Claire and there was no turning back. I cut off my hair and bought some stilettos. Within the same year I found and got very attracted to the chaotic political anger of punk music. So much energy gets burned moshing to punk music. I loved the social commentary and criticism of the institutional and industrial world we live in. I was down for it. I started writing my own political poetry. Then I was swept away by the dark ethereal wave of poetic underground electronic music movement with groups like Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus, Fad Gadjet ... As a teen I really loved Altered States by Ken Russell with William Hurt. It was very inspiring to think we can travel so deep with our minds even though it was drug induced it was a window. Cronenberg's film were really quite intriguing and inspiring for me. He guiltlessly goes to the dark with provocative imagery.

From your music, films, to your presence online, there is a mysterious quality that is common among your work—they all feel like a dream. Was that something that came about naturally or was it a quality that you were seeking to achieve. If so, why?

I've always been an avid daydreamer and a vivid dreamer when I sleep. My dreams are so real that I frequently wake up from talking or screaming aloud in my sleep. I scare my family sometimes! I'm ultra fascinated by this language coming out of my subconscious mind that speaks to me in metaphors. The subconscious mind stores all your information, fears, desires, dreams, your past. In my twenties I really desperately was searching for answers to the inner turmoil I was living with, and the answers seemed to be in my subconscious mind and I wanted to desperately understand and therefore delved into the deeper parts of the mind to get answers. I'm fascinated by how dreams play a part in multiple realities we exist in. Like where we actually go to get the energy to continue our existence. There is no way it cannot affect my work. There is definitely a thread in a lot of my work that's for sure.

What is the origin story behind your song New York Grief?

I was invited to a party in New York City in late 1985. It was a huge party for a collective of photographers. It was held in a massive industrial loft filled with hundreds of people. Some artists, a lot of artists. I had met Alan Golay a Swiss French painter that lived and painted in New York from 80 to 90. We were chatting when a photographer from NYC named Michael walked up to us and snapped a few pictures of us. He was quite an interesting character. Very intense and charming. He whisked me out of that party and led me into a portal of an underground world. Back alleys with back-alley doors with makeshift bars. Like a scene from Clock Work Orange. Then he brought me to a boat attached to a dock called the purple Barge and then he disappears. It was a large boat with felt like hundreds of people on it. I couldn't find him and I was inebriated and exhausted the sun was rising so I walked back to the hotel, and it was morning by then. I got to see NYC wake up. Looking into the haunting eyes of the working class. It was really stark contrast. I crashed in my hotel and woke up and penned out NYG. Just came right out of me. So yes, I wrote NYG in NYC. I got back to MTL I was invited to an after hours and introduced to a young man named Jean Mineau. I had been single for a long time, and I wasn't interested in being in a relationship but when we looked at each other and the world around us melted away. We went back to his place and for a tea and to continue conversation. He asked me what I wanted to do with my life. At the time I was writing and acting in theater. I said I'm flying I don't know yet, but I write poems. That was my constant. He asked to hear one and I just happened to have NYG in my purse. I pulled it out and read it and he said that sounds like a song and he went to get his guitar out. I told him I don't know how to sing, and he said just sing it in your regular angelic voice. NYG was born, our first love child.

When you started to write poetry did you always envision them as songs? When did the idea of making music come into play?

No, definitely not. Maybe for a little while in my teens. I was writing politically charged poetry. Maybe there was a little while I envisioned being in a punk band. I had actually started one with my sister but It didn't work out and I met someone straight out of high school and we moved in together and he was very mentally abusive. He convinced me that I was worthless when in actuality it was what he believed in himself. But he had a grip on me for many years. Till I escaped his clutch.

What's your relationship to New York? What was New York like in the 80s? Have you been to the city recently?

I started going to NYC in my teens to get vinyls mostly but also, to get some crazy bad ass clothing from thrift stores in Greenwich Village impossible to find in MTL. NYC had a wild nightlife. I truly believe the best in the world. You could go wild and be yourself and no one would judge you. I felt so free in NY. I felt I could be myself and the people loved it. My mother was an 18-wheeler truck driver and her route was mainly MTL/NYC. I hitched a ride with her all the time, so I was in NYC frequently. The last time i was in NYC was 2013. I was with family, and we did the tourist New Year Eve ball drop. We were sardined in times square with thousands and I really did not enjoy myself. I felt totally disconnected from NY. I'm a traveler but then felt like a tourist. I'm never doing a tourist trip ever again.

What do you define as underground? Would you say you were part of a scene?

It kind of defines itself by being out of the mainstream and not popular. Its music and art that is to either to challenging or original for commercial media to invest in it. Not bankable or a safe bet for the investors. I was totally immersed in the underground working mostly in underground nightclubs and doing shows with other underground artists including drag queens for years. Brought me even closer to other artists with like minds that also craved the bohemian underground lifestyle. I'm not against pop but have never and will never try to make music to become popular but I am not against my songs getting recognized and appreciated. I love connecting to people through art.

Did you ever live in New York for a period of time/ consider moving to the city?

No, never lived in NY but I had friends who did so I could stay in NYC. I felt at home in NYC. I was and always will be in love with NYC. I considered and still consider living in NYC or London England. My daughter Lua has recently moved to Lyon in France and if she doesn't come back, I'm definitely going to be living in France. I'm already planning it.

When did you move to Montreal?

Never moved out.

What did the art scene in Montreal look like compared to NYC?

MTL and NY influence each other. But Mtl is a tamer version. There's less crime, less struggle, that being said there's less of the level of intensity that often inspires artists. I needed the intensity that NYC could provide. So many eccentric artists live and roam the streets of NY. Anything goes and anything can happen at any time...its magic. There is also a greater appreciation and respect for artists in NY. Its to easy in MTL to survive but there isn't as big a support system and appreciation for the arts that's for sure.

Has the art scene in Montreal changed since when you first started?

The art scene has changed everywhere since the digital era. With the WWW you can connect to anyone anywhere. Anyone can make a film even with a cell phone. Music is so much easier to make with DAWS. The artist is free and its time for them to take power and some are. The power is at the fingertips. Clickety, clickety, click were all connected.

How did you come up with Princess Demeny as your stage name? Is it a stage name?

Princess Anita Demeny is my birth name. The story my mom told me was the reason she called me Princess was because my 2 sisters born before me had closed fists like little fists ready to fight whereas I was born with pinkies in the air like a royalty. Like a Princess. Much to my father's dismay she went ahead and named me Princess.

What are your thoughts on personas in performance? Is Princess Demeny a persona?

I think it takes a lot of courage to stand on a stage and bare your soul. You have to bring your light and shine it. Princess is a name that almost demands a persona. When I decided to take my first name back it was not welcomed by anyone around me. Princess is associated with Royalty and Disney characters. They knew me as Anita but I was no longer her. I had done an enormous amount of soul searching. She was dead to me. Anita was broken by years of being bullied in school, then years of mental abuse in bad relationships, ridiculed in public for my clothing choices and then worst of all I turned on myself and became self destructive. I didn't want be her anymore. I started to love myself in the right way – spiritually. The minute my foot got on the stage Anita died. When I was in university it took me a bit longer but then I started to win outstanding awards and my courage kicked it and I used my first name for my film work as well. Princess is my phoenix name and my persona but, it's just who I am. It is my name.

When did you start to upload your work online?

In 2011 I uploaded a children's book I wrote, illustrated and narrated onto YouTube. Its called The Very Very Shy Butterfly. I wrote it for children that suffer from social anxiety. Then in 2016 I uploaded NYG music video because my best friend Garth passed away and I was overtaken by grief. We had worked together on many projects for years and I loved him deeply. I wanted his family to see his beauty. Finally, my husband pestered me to uploaded some electronic danse music I did in the late 80's. The MeC3D EP. So I uploaded that in 2017. I'm really a physical person so I'm not really good with social media. I'm trying really hard to embrace it. Its not because I'm old I have a lot of my friends that are amazing at it. Its just every time I want to post something I get conflicting feelings. I'm working on it.

When did the Seance Centre discover your work?

Brandon Hoccura from Seance Centre contacted me in 2018 he said he had heard NYG in NYC! That's really felt like a real sign! He saw that I had other electronic music as well. So, I guess it was a good thing I posted it on YouTube. When he found out about the 1986 version and his big brain lit up and he sent me digging in boxes that were buried in my basement for decades. He got NYG and other music I did with the late and great Jean Mineau transferred in a studio in TO and him and Naomi Hoccura came up with the idea to do a single first. Then later this fall they will be releasing an extended EP!

Was any of your work digitized before then?

I had uploaded my demo of Distant Voices and then the Me C3d EP on music platforms through Distrokid but when SC told me we were doing an EP with all my music from the 80's and 90's I decided not to continue paying Distrokid for distribution and I think they removed it.

How come your other EP Me C 3D aren't on Spotify?

I haven't put the music on Spotify because it will be released by Séance Centre on vinyl and download and streaming platforms.

You mentioned that you're working on a documentary. Is there anything you can tell us about that project?

It's a bit about my artistic journey but its also about what happened with Seance Centre. They came into my life, and I was in the middle of casting for my second feature a psychological horror called Virginia. In 2020 I was ready to shoot then the pandemic came along and my production was shut down and I slid into darkness. Finally in 2021 the single came out and it was kind of a healing experience. Its almost a miracle in a way. It's also about my experience with Jean Mineau. Last April, Gary the Tall, a DJ from London, UK, on his NTS radio show called Reign called NYG the greatest love song of any era prior or going forward because of how Jean and I birthed that song. He included NYG in a brilliant tracklist.

What were some of the themes you enjoyed exploring in your work? Was there one that was always consistent no matter what the medium was?

Nothing is one dimensional for me. We come from energy that connects to the vast and powerful Universe. Nothing is what it seems. Everything is mutating and evolving and everything is connected to everything. My work is frequently multi dimensional. I want it to go to the deep and I'm not afraid to explore the darkness within myself and within humanity. It's asking to be explored and I don't have the truth and I don't search for it anymore. My work is just the meaning I'm finding as I'm exploring on this journey. I grapple with the issues of life and death.

What got you into filmmaking?

I was making a music video for The Dance Rats from the MeC3D EP and I just completely fell in love with the process and a friend suggested I go to University to study film. In my mind there was no way that could be possible because I barely passed in high school and I didn't go to college. I decided to give it a shot. I shot a short film called Hogtied. It was about a girl that had been drugged at a social event and later raped. It was based on a true story, but I wrote with an alternate ending where she is able to hogtie him and insists they play charades so he can try to guess what she has in her hands. I had written it as a theater piece and performed it on stage and it had a very positive reaction, especially with women. When I presented the short film in the audition to the faculty selection committee, the reaction was quite positive. Months later I got the answer by letter that I was accepted into to do a BFA in The Film Production program - it was a transcendental moment.

Your film Isolation feels just as poetic as your music. There is a fever dream quality to it. How did you get started on that film?

The idea came to me right after I had completed Surface In 1992. One of my favorite films is Birdy directed by Allan Parker with Nicolas Cage. It had deeply moved me the way our minds can get broken, but we can fix them. I wanted to do a film that reflected my personal journey of healing. I couldn't tell it as a regular linear story. Because it happened on multiple levels of existence. It happened in my mind and in my body and then in my soul. I had to reach to the depth of my experience. I couldn't stay on the surface of reality. I felt that it had to be shot in an altered state of reality. But the problem was I had completed my final film in Concordia and finished the requirements to obtain a BFA. The head of the film department Deborah called me into her office and said your finished your degree what do you want to do. Most, if not all students were in a rush to get out but I didn't want to leave. I hadn't done all the courses in film study I wanted, and I wanted to do another film. And furthermore, I needed the film equipment. I wanted to shoot it in film. I mean video was out there but it was ugly as shit. Because I had excelled in my program and won a few awards they gave me an extension and called it a specialization. I was ultra passionate about Isolation and completely obsessed. The University had a strict rule that the film could not go beyond 20 minutes so I had to continue working on it outside of the University. I managed to get a pafts grant at the NFB and they helped me finish it. It took me 2 years and I was pretty burnt out.

Are you still making music/films today?

For the time being I have finished a few songs with my daughter Lua. She Produced a few songs for me to encourage me to get back into it. Then she took her space back to do her own thang. She working on her own EP. She does music and DJ's under the name Lune Dit. She persuaded me to learn Ableton and I finally did so right now I'm exploring and experimenting. Its incredible how technology has freed and empowered artists. On the other hand I'm not classically trained so I'm really hoping to work with other artists eventually. At the same time my daughter is writing an even lower budget script in her spare time for me. Even lower budget than the last one since I sank all my money in it. She finished a BA in Literature and film studies so she's quite capable. I gave her a short treatment of an idea for a dark psychological sci fi thriller, and she is working on the first draft. I'm hoping to go into production with it in mid 2024.

I read that you made paintings online, but I couldn't find any images of them. Do you have any of them? What did your paintings depict?

In the 90's I was only painting on objects I found along the road side. Like I found an old TV and I turned the inner tube around and attached it to a mannequin's face with a vacuum hose. I called it TV OD and I painted the tv tube as a target. I wasn't a huge fan of television for the most part. I guess they were more like painted garbage. I painted on windows and did sculptures out of take-out pamphlets. But now I'm painting acrylic on cavas and and water ink on paper. Right now I'm fascinated with things we cant see with the human eye like - cell mutation, dna, germs. I call this series mutation and I mostly use sushi take out containers to mold and texture the paint sometimes even crawling off the canvas at times.

What do you listen to these days?

Because of NYG I'm being exposed to an enormous amount of new and really interesting music. For example, I recently discovered the music of a NY electronic experimental artist called Brian Degraw. I really love his latest album called Sum/One. He's really talented at layering electro acoustic sound. What is really the most interesting since the SC release of NYG Is the different types of tracklists it's been played on from DJ's all around the globe. Im discovering music I would never have found. I listen to the tracklist NYG is mixed in with and I relisten to a lot of them. These DJ's are passionate and take time to find music that is sometimes buried in boxes in basements and would never be heard if it wasn't for them. Its a new world and simply awesome and amazing for artists right now. I listen to tracklists all the time and everyday. Some are for car rides, bath time, exercising. I hate exercising so I decided to do it through dancing. Which is the best because you're moving your whole body. NYG is mixed in with so many different genres of music style from Punk, soul, electronic, dark synth to ethereal wave. They created so many genres and sub genres that my head is spinning but what's amazing is that NYG mixes well into so many different genres.

What else do you like to do when you're not writing poetry?

I have 8 cats and they all have different personalities, so they all have different needs. They take up a lot of my time. I believe if an animal shows up and needs help, they're God sent. You must let them in. I also upscale cloths out of used cloths by sewing pieces together from different dresses, shirts, pants so on. I also make jewellery made from natural elements. Like driftwood and stones wrapped in CND copper. I brought some gifts for you.

What do you do for a living?

After my studies were completed, I met Daniel at the premiere of Isolation. We instantly fell in love, and we've been together ever since. He loved my film and wanted to work with me as well. We tried to break into the film industry together. He's a very talented script writer and he absolutely wanted me to direct his scripts so I developed the scripts he wrote. It lead us deep into the dark side of the filmmaking industry for a least a decade. It was hell. Finally one day I told him, "I'm done, I'm never meeting a producer again. I'm going to rely on my spirit to manifest." He laughed at me and said" where's the money gonna come from your back yard". At that moment I was looking out to my backyard from my dinkey teeny tiny little cottage. I decided to sell my house and buy some rental properties until I had enough money to survive and make a fuckin film! It took a decade. I had been working at some pretty hard jobs, so I had had enough! I wanted to be my own boss. It worked out. I have a enough income to stay at home and do art or music. I show up in my home studio everyday, ready to be inspired.

What makes someone a superstar?

I'm not a superstar so from my perspective I see them as very brave souls that believe in themselves. Just like the tarot card of the star in the THOTH deck which means the recognition of the light within from yourself which is then seen from the outside. I don't have that kind of confidence yet. Maybe one day. I'm working on it.