Soundbites: Indie Musician Christina Schneider on Moving to Vermont

A few months ago, I was down in Brattleboro talking with some local musicians and artists near the Estey Organ Museum. (No, it's not a museum full of livers and kidneys floating in jars. But yes, my brain went there as well.) The former factory for reed, pump, pipe and melodeon organs is something of a hangout, as area bands such as THUS LOVE live and rehearse in the apartments nearby. As happens often in my job, I found myself in a conversation about Vermont music, listing off new bands I was into or had heard buzz about. Someone (hell if I can recall who — there was cannabis involved) blurted out, "Locate S,1 is incredible!" Within seconds, "Heart Attack" was playing on a Bluetooth speaker, washing over me with synths, indie-disco beats and a velvet-smooth voice. I was instantly enamored of the track's vitality, its originality and the shifting genres blurring together into one weird, alternate-universe version of pop music. Having never heard of Locate S,1, I was gripped with that specific sort of excitement that happens whenever I'm on the cusp of a new musical obsession. I googled the band, already shaking my head at the realization that a record this good was from a Vermont artist. How had I missed this? My heart sank as soon as I found the info: Locate S,1 is the project of Christina Schneider, an Athens, Ga.-based musician who previously lived in Seattle and New York City. As I read about her being the partner of Kevin Barnes, the mastermind behind indie-rock staple Of Montreal, and signing to Captured Tracks, I felt a twinge of annoyance that I'd been given false hope. I thought I was listening to one of the best local records I had ever laid ears on. "She's from Athens, dude," I said, putting my phone away with a sigh of disappointment. "Nope," one of the artists replied. "She moved to Vermont this summer!" Some internet sleuthing quickly revealed that, indeed, Schneider and Barnes had departed Athens for southern Vermont. That alone wasn't so strange: It's become something of a trend lately for indie artists to relocate quietly to the Green Mountains, where solitude is abundant. Between Neko Case, Adrianne Lenker, Ryley Walker and half of Guster, we could stage a "We Are the World"-type benefit for maple syrup shortages at this point. But I was still curious…