Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: Absolutely! Geographically, I’m from Truro, Nova Scotia, but have been living in Montreal for the past few years – this summer I’m living in England, so I’ve been a bit all over the place! More personally, I come from an extremely musical family full of singers and instrumentalists going back at least 3 generations, so it was a very natural thing for me to get into – I grew up absolutely enveloped by music. As I got older, I started performing my originals more and more at open mics, high school talent shows, and later at a number of university events during my undergrad. I noticed people were really connecting with my music, and I was having the time of my life sharing it with them, so I decided it was worth a shot to take it more seriously. I’m also living a bit of a double life in addition to music, I’m finishing up a master’s in speech-language pathology: that’s why I’m in England this summer, I’m on my final internship. I come by this honestly, though, too: both my parents were musicians on the side in addition to their chosen careers.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: Lately, I’ve really been into Madison Cunningham. My sister introduced me to her initially, and when her latest album, Revealer, came out, I saved every song. She has a beautiful way with words and writes this really intricate, interesting music. I’ve also been loving Jon Batiste, who’s a bit of a new discovery for me too. When he won the Grammy for Best Album, I went right to Spotify and downloaded it, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to FREEDOM ever since.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Spirit of the West, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and ABBA, to name a few. I’m sure there’s a dozen more – my parents took my early musical education very seriously! – but those are the first ones that come to mind. There was always music on in the house, and I remember dancing around the living room to Sir Duke and Waterloo probably before I was even in school. I think once you’ve heard any of those artists, you can’t help but be influenced by them if you’re a songwriter. In addition to those, I’d say Sara Bareilles has been a huge influence on my music – I’ve always been a huge fan of hers, and in addition to her originals, I’ve always really loved the way she makes her covers her own. That’s something I’ve tried to do when I’ve covered well-known songs.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Flare’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Yes, there’s a story! There’s always a story. Without getting into details, here are the Cliff’s Notes: one day in the summer a few years ago, I had to drive to the city to meet someone to receive news I was anxiously hoping would not be what I was fearing. When we met, the answer was exactly what I’d been expecting. From then on, I was going to have to undertake a huge change in my life that was going to be really scary for me and hard to do, though the long-term outcome would be good. So, on the drive home I was trying to process the fear and worry I felt, and I wrote the first part of this song. The later part, the U-turn towards “hey, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” came a few weeks later, when I’d come to terms with making the change and was able to look more on the bright side – I was looking out my window at the tree in my backyard at the time, and that’s where the birds on the tree in the song come from. (The conclusion to the story, of course, is that everything turned out fine and I’m better for having made the change! But I like how this song is a snapshot of the thick of it with a little glimmer of hope peeking through.)
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: Yes! My debut EP is coming out late this summer, likely end of August. I’ve been working on it with producer extraordinaire Erin Costelo for the better part of a year and a half, and I’m unbelievably excited to put it out into the world! It features a team of totally incredible musicians – Jordi Comstock, Cassie Mann, Nick Maclean, Christine Bougie, and Andrew Jackson – and it’s the first time I’ve worked with a full band on my original songs. I’m in love with the arrangements and how the whole thing came together, and I absolutely can’t wait to share it!
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: It’s interesting – over the past few years of putting up my originals on the internet, I’ve learned that often what I’m trying to send out isn’t the thing that will speak the most to my listener, and sometimes things that speak the most to my listener are things I wasn’t even thinking of as I was writing. So I think my style differs a little depending on each individual perceiver, which I like. For me, I definitely try to write with honesty, with mercy, with depth, and never without at least a little joy. As for my sound, I’ve recently been describing it as “the musical lovechild of dodie, Sara Bareilles, and Norah Jones,” and that’s been a pretty accurate combo I’ve found so far.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: The answer to this definitely depends on where I am in a release cycle! I’m definitely
doing a lot more work on my music than I ever have done before, but all in all it’s been
extremely fulfilling. Especially since the Flare release, I’ve been feeling so extremely
supported by all my listeners – I’ve received lots of personal messages about the song
and how people have been connecting to it, and I’ve seen people resharing articles
about the song, and that’s the most special thing to me. The idea that people out there
are connecting independently with my music and my words and it means enough to
them to want to share it with others is complete magic to me, and it makes me so
incredibly grateful to be a vessel for that.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: It usually starts with a feeling, idea, or event – often something that’s been bouncing around my brain enough that I have to get it down. If I’ve got rhyming couplets, I’ll toss those into the Notes app on my phone, and if I haven’t, I’ll do a bullet-pointed list of ideas. It always goes: ideas and words first, then music. Then, whenever I want to finish it – or just when I’m caught up in that idea again – I’ll sit at the piano and workshop it til I’ve got a good body on it – couple verses and a chorus, usually – and then I let it sit if it doesn’t finish itself that day. I’m lucky as a writer in that I get to let my songs breathe for a long time before they’re finished: there’s tons of half-finished songs in my phone that only need another verse or a bridge to be completely done, but I’m waiting for the right moment. So far, thankfully, it seems to be working.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: I’d say just prioritizing and finding the balance between my musical career and the rest of my life. Recently, I’ve learned that at any given time, I can have three of the following four: success as a musician, success as a speech therapist, a fulfilling social life, or enough sleep. Right now, I’m in the middle of my speech therapy internship, doing a lot with my music, and seeing lots of people! So, I’m pretty tired – but I’m having a great time! I’m in my twenties spending the summer in England, so I feel like I’ve earned it. This release cycle leading up to the EP has been the biggest step in my musical career thus far, and I’m so excited about it and wouldn’t change a thing – and, I also know that if I want to keep this up long-term, I need to let a little more moderation and balance into my life.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: The first thing that comes to mind for me is last October, when I opened for Truro’s Brigid at their album release show – fabulous album, by the way. The venue was the Marigold Centre, where I’d performed music-festival piano pieces growing up, the Brigid band was made up almost entirely of family friends and old music teachers of mine, and my family and hometown friends were in the audience – during that performance, I was surrounded by people and places who’d seen me grow up, and there I was, playing a solo set to the warmest, kindest crowd I’d ever known. When I think about why I love performing, I think about that half-hour set: it’s the most comfortable I’ve ever felt onstage, and it was a thrilling, beautiful, full-circle experience to bring my music back home. Really, anytime people connect with my music, be it live performance, a cover, an original, what have you – anytime people are able to connect with me and what I’m sharing, I consider a significant moment, and something I’m very, very proud of.
