Juno winner pours passion into her work
"I'm using you to have a cigarette
break," laughed Halifax folk
artist Amelia Curran over the
phone before going back to a full
day of meetings. It's the limited
free time she now gets since the
release of her 2010 Juno awardwinning
album, Hunter Hunter.
On tour promoting it, Curran will
be performing at the London
Music Club on November 26.
Her voice doesn't resemble that of a smoker's, though. More often it ranges from a Patsy Cline-like sweetness to the sound of a sultry Joan Baez. And though her songwriting bears the classic folk and country trademarks, Curran insists any direct link to her predecessors is coincidental.
"I think that emulation is kind of dangerous," she said seriously. "I list influences because I've heard other people say it. I'm never thinking of another writer while I'm trying to write. I don't think it should be (done). It's a bit of dishonesty."
Curran's own voice was discovered on the streets of St. John's, Newfoundland, where she was born and raised. But after spending more time busking than in school, Curran left her home for greener pastures in Halifax. Four albums and several tours later, she has made something of a name for herself in the insular scene of Canadian folk music.
"It's a small community but it's very tight knit. (Fellow folk singers) Rose (Cousins), Jen (Grant) and I live within a twoblock radius of each other and we've all been on the scene for several years in Halifax. We've sort of grown together in that sense."
And though support from her peers has helped Curran immensely, receiving industry recognition in the form of a 2010 Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year for Hunter Hunter has been a career highlight.
"It does feel like a validation. It feels like an encouraging pat on the back," she said. But it's not enough to make her retire just yet. "It's not the end of a sentence by any means. It's just something that happens along the way, and then you go have a party then you go back to work just like anybody else. But I mean, I'll be delighted about that my whole life. It feels good."
It's especially satisfying for Curran, knowing that Hunter Hunter took three long years of laborious work, recording at home, in St. John's caves, studios and even an abandoned building that was formerly owned by the CBC. And as a writer, Curran has become more deliberate in her maturing years, both in terms of the music and production itself. The album's title, Curran asserted, is indicative of this.
"I think the idea of Hunter Hunter is that everything is with absolute intention for every specific word for every specific phrase. I did a lot of tearing my hair out proverbially, because I don't think things have to be perfect but I think things have to be correct, and the deeper I get into writing with as much intention, as much on purpose as I can summon. It's quite like hunting something that doesn't necessarily exist."
And though the production of the songs is quite often minimal, Hunter Hunter's songs exude a sense of nostalgia, tenderness and even fun that makes Curran's writing one in a million.
So check out this award winning singer-songwriter as she performs at the London Music Club on November 26. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
Her voice doesn't resemble that of a smoker's, though. More often it ranges from a Patsy Cline-like sweetness to the sound of a sultry Joan Baez. And though her songwriting bears the classic folk and country trademarks, Curran insists any direct link to her predecessors is coincidental.
"I think that emulation is kind of dangerous," she said seriously. "I list influences because I've heard other people say it. I'm never thinking of another writer while I'm trying to write. I don't think it should be (done). It's a bit of dishonesty."
Curran's own voice was discovered on the streets of St. John's, Newfoundland, where she was born and raised. But after spending more time busking than in school, Curran left her home for greener pastures in Halifax. Four albums and several tours later, she has made something of a name for herself in the insular scene of Canadian folk music.
"It's a small community but it's very tight knit. (Fellow folk singers) Rose (Cousins), Jen (Grant) and I live within a twoblock radius of each other and we've all been on the scene for several years in Halifax. We've sort of grown together in that sense."
And though support from her peers has helped Curran immensely, receiving industry recognition in the form of a 2010 Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year for Hunter Hunter has been a career highlight.
"It does feel like a validation. It feels like an encouraging pat on the back," she said. But it's not enough to make her retire just yet. "It's not the end of a sentence by any means. It's just something that happens along the way, and then you go have a party then you go back to work just like anybody else. But I mean, I'll be delighted about that my whole life. It feels good."
It's especially satisfying for Curran, knowing that Hunter Hunter took three long years of laborious work, recording at home, in St. John's caves, studios and even an abandoned building that was formerly owned by the CBC. And as a writer, Curran has become more deliberate in her maturing years, both in terms of the music and production itself. The album's title, Curran asserted, is indicative of this.
"I think the idea of Hunter Hunter is that everything is with absolute intention for every specific word for every specific phrase. I did a lot of tearing my hair out proverbially, because I don't think things have to be perfect but I think things have to be correct, and the deeper I get into writing with as much intention, as much on purpose as I can summon. It's quite like hunting something that doesn't necessarily exist."
And though the production of the songs is quite often minimal, Hunter Hunter's songs exude a sense of nostalgia, tenderness and even fun that makes Curran's writing one in a million.
So check out this award winning singer-songwriter as she performs at the London Music Club on November 26. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
