Interview & Photos: Cat Clyde

Interview & Photos by Christina Morgan

You have a show tonight at Rough Trade, how has tour been so far and are there any specific dates you’re looking forward to the most?

The tour so far has been really fantastic! It’s my first tour with a full band so it’s been very different for me, in a really exciting and great way. All of the shows have been really awesome, and I’ve been met with some really warm, lovely people so it’s been really awesome. I think I’m really looking forward to playing in New Orleans, because I’ve been there once before for a few days, but- to play there is going to be, it’s gonna be a really good time. So I’m really looking forward to that, also just like the West Coast, I’m really looking forward to driving from Vancouver to Calgary, it’s just one of my favorite drives of all time- going through the Rocky Mountains. 

You were at Paste yesterday, how does it feel to have a shared experience with so many incredible artists?

I mean it was really cool, the vibes there were just really incredible. The fact that they had all those tapes of all those sessions and all of those artists, I got to see some Lightning Hopkins and Doc Watson reels, and listen to some of them and it was really really amazing. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a paste session before, so maybe I’m glad that I didn’t so that I didn’t really feel like nervous or anything. But everyone there was just super warm and inviting, and the vibes there were really good, and the lighting and the atmosphere- which I always find really important – so it was a really good time. 

As a folk artist, are there any other artists that people wouldn’t expect you have gotten inspired from? 

I find that you know even stuff I’ve previously listened to or have found, I think I’m always looking for gaining inspiration from artists but I primarily listen to older artists. There’s just so much to sift through and it’s so nice finding ‘new old stuff’. A few months- or maybe a year ago now, I found this artist called Connie Converse, and I’ve just been really obsessed with her, she’s like a ‘folk’ artist and she was kind of around Greenwich Village around the same time Bob Dylan, but her music was really taking off, and then she just kind of disappeared into the oblivion. No one ever heard from her again and I always thought that that was kind of interesting. 

Your music video for Mama Said has over 5 million views on YouTube, how does that feel as an artist to know that an insane amount of people have viewed your work?

That’s cool! I didn’t know that. That’s crazy, yeah I mean, that’s pretty cool. That location was right near the place where I grew up, so I spent a lot of time in that bus shack area. I think it’s kind of melting away now but it’s really nice to have that as sort of like a timestamp of that area. 

Do you think there’s a bigger community for folk/indie artists in Canada, than the US?

I don’t think there’s a lot of stuff around where I live, it’s kind of difficult in Canada, because I feel like everything’s so far away. Also, I don’t really feel like I’m really involved in the city too much. I literally moved just outside of Montreal so I’m looking sort of to get more into that scene. I know there’s a lot of great music coming out of there, but I haven’t really had too much of an opportunity to explore stuff like that. I found that playing the different places that I’ve been to, I think Europe has a really special appreciation for this sort of music, and it kind of resonates with them a lot more than I would say the US or Canada. 

What do you think is different about the music industry there, compared to here?

I’m not really too sure. When I do go home, I generally just like to be – I live in the country so I don’t really interact with a lot of people so I’m not really sure. 

Are there are artists you would love to tour with in the future?

I mean, I think a lot of the people are dead, but if I had to choose some alive people I’d probably say Neil Young, or Bob Dylan. It’d be sick to tour with those people. 

Do you think there is a certain image or sense of responsibility that you have to uphold/showcase as a female musician in the industry that is kind of overloaded with male artists? What advice would you give to any female/femme people who are pursuing music or who want to be musicians?

It’s definitely difficult to be in a male dominated industry, but I feel like probably most women feel like that. But I feel like the responsibility is just to be yourself, and not compromise the kind of artists or person that you want to be for anyone else, because that’s just not really ‘art’ to me. 

If you could describe your sound in 5 words or less, what would they be?

Five words....I’m gonna say: The moon, the seasons, water, the earth, and vibrations

Are there any songs of yours that you are most proud of? If you could have written any song by another artist what would it be and why?

Oh my gosh, there are so many songs that I wish I’d written by other artists. Oh jeez, there’s a lot. A newer song that I really love is ‘Dry your eyes’ by Kevin Morby, I wish I wrote that. Probably ‘I’ll be seeing you’ by Billie Holiday.