Hinterland was the first festival performance ever for self-identified indie screamo artist Saint Avangeline. Their very first live show was just last October in L.A., and it’s clear from their time in Iowa that they're on the way up.
Simply put, their show was riveting. The set was embellished with giant roses and an apple tree with a serpent slithering up the trunk. Saint Avangeline stalked the stage in a cream-colored ruffle dress, with baby’s breath flowers tangled in their wavy orange hair. During one song, they tied some gossamer around their eyes and faced out front, reaching to the sky. Some of their songs featured guttural screams; I’ve never heard someone bellow so beautifully or calmly. It’s like if Lana Del Rey hung out with Deftones and Flyleaf in a foggy cemetery.
Saint Avangeline's set made for a powerful display of music. It was also my first impression of the artist, so trust me when I say I was a bit starstruck when we sat down for our interview afterward. But Adeline Troutman, the person behind the persona, was a delight to get to know.
Music, colors and characters
The name Saint Avangeline comes from an original character Troutman created when they were in middle school.
“I used to do a lot of role-playing online,” Troutman said. “I’ve always been kind of an escapist, and the way I have always expressed myself, I think, has been a little different than other people. I think there were just a lot of parts of me that I was afraid to share with the world, so role-playing with all these different alter egos and extensions of myself were a way for me to explore those things safely.”
Those different extensions of Troutman include a rarer genetic inheritance, chromesthesia, which means they can hear color and feel sound. In Troutman's case, that has a direct impact on their relationship with music and how they experience what they create.
“I like using a lot of reverb because it kind of feels like gauze or silk on my skin,” Troutman said. “I try to use a lot of that imagery in my music to convey what’s going on in my head. And usually all of my stuff is very cohesive with the color palette that’s going on in my head as well.”
Their first album, Gardener of Eden, looks like pastel blues and greens with deep, rich cool tones. “I would describe it like one of Monet’s paintings, like 'The Water Lilies,'” Troutman said.
And Inferno, their sophomore LP, is bright reds, oranges and yellows. “I was expressing and exploring a lot of my anger and overcoming [of] abuse.” Troutman said.
Family roots
Born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Troutman’s unique upbringing stems from their Syrian/Lebanese heritage. Their mother was born in Japan (she has no Japanese lineage) and they quickly picked up the Japanese language after reading Japanese baby books and taking lessons.
“I don’t really speak anymore; I’d love to learn again,” Troutman said. “My mother is not Japanese, so I can’t claim that I have any specific ties to Japan, but I will say that Japanese artists and so much of the art that comes from Japanese creators have very largely influenced my work, who I am and how I express myself.”
They’ve been exploring their West Asian side of the family as well.
“My goal currently is to speak to more of my older relatives who have a little bit more of that family history, just delving deeper into those roots that way,” Troutman said. “We have a family reunion coming up next year, so I think I need to prepare a little list of things that I want to find out about my family.”
Religion's influence
As you may have picked up given their name and set design, religion was a large part of Troutman’s childhood. But despite their Presbyterian upbringing, Troutman struggled with the concept of God — they never felt like they ever had a true connection to the religion.
“Growing up, I always felt like there was something different about me and I just couldn’t pinpoint what it was,” Troutman said. “It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but something felt off. It just kind of felt like I was the only one awake in the room.”
Their atheist awakening overlapped with their discovery that they’re a lesbian. While they don’t see these identities as direct contradictions of each other, they created another feeling of divergence within Troutman’s life.
“Lesbian is everything to me. It’s not just a lifestyle for me. If I could say that my gender is lesbian, and that would be my pronouns, [then] lesbian would be my pronoun,” Troutman said. “I think [lesbians] embody every single shade of life. It’s such a diverse group of people, and there’s just such a deep pride that all of us have, and I think that’s so beautiful.”
What's next
Saint Avangeline teased their new album at Hinterland, but no official announcement has been released. They performed their newest single, “The Heart That Ate Itself” to a cloudy, grey St. Charles sky, and from what I can pick up, we might be in for some darker, colder colors — think blood red, charcoal grey and icy blue. We'll see if they agree.
