Interview: Bella St Clair
Interview: Bella St Clair
Interview By: Emily May
Vancouver based actor, singer, songwriter, dancer and artist Bella St Clair was drawn to music from an early age, with a Casio keyboard gifted to her by her mom at the age of 8 leading her to try to teach herself songs by ear. She later upgraded to a Roland electric piano and after learning the chords to every song on The Killer’s Sam’s Town album, she started writing her own music. She describes her early songs as cringy but has since developed her songwriting skills. Over the past few years, she has come into her own musically and has found her writing style, the process of which has her imagining a conversation. 2020 saw the release of her debut single “Not For Want of Trying” and earlier this year she released the single “Don’t Take My Man”, which she describes as a modern-day “Jolene”. In addition to pursuing a career as a singer, St Clair graduated from the BFA Acting Program in theater from UBC in 2017 and also sings as a part of the Gracenote Vancouver choir. A love for collaborating with other artists on their music led her to star in music videos for the artists Ekke and Mennov, with plans to release music videos of her own. She has most recently released her latest single “High”, the perfect blend of her choral and theatrical backgrounds. She gracefully weaves detailed, evocative, and often heart-wrenching narratives into soulful, fluid melodies. “High” is a sad, psychedelic exploration of cocaine abuse and toxic love,” states Bella. The main character can be found in “euphoric denial, stuck in an endless loop of lust and delirium that feels warm like sunlight.” Later, the analysis shifts into a “frantic, almost paranoid tone, as the production glitches” the character begins to question her decisions, worth and very existence. Bella describes the final tonal shift as feeling like an “intoxicated surrender”. Her character decisively “succumbs to elation and the desperation of her addictions.” She then closes the storyline with a sampled “you get me” and the cycle begins again. She also released a music video for the track, becoming a one-woman show in the visual conception of “High” and easily filled in the roles as director, producer, hair and make-up artist. Bella will be performing with the Gracenote Vancouver Choir next month for the first time since the start of the pandemic and has plenty of exciting things coming up! Bella St Clair is definitely an artist to watch, so make sure to connect with her via the following links to stay up-to-date on all upcoming music, music videos, and tour dates.
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | SPOTIFY | ITUNES/APPLE MUSIC | YOUTUBE
As a singer, songwriter, actress, model, and filmmaker, you draw inspiration from your choral and theatrical backgrounds. What can you tell me about your childhood and discovering your love for music? As a member of Gracenote Vancouver Choir and a 2017 graduate of the BFA Acting Program at UBC, how have those influences shaped your vision and sound as an artist?
Bella: I discovered my love for music when I moved to a small town in BC called Nelson at 8 years old. Before that, spending the first chunk of my life in England and South Africa, I had done dancing lessons, been in musical Christmas Pantomimes, and taken guitar lessons, but nothing had inspired me yet. When I got to Nelson, which is an incredibly artsy town, I was fully immersed in music and performing. Within a couple of years of arriving I had joined summer youth musical theatre productions where I was surrounded by the most talented kids and the directors; I joined Corazon vocal ensemble, a 60-piece mixed youth choir; I started dancing dozens of hours a week, all styles, at a dance school; I joined my school’s concert and jazz bands (playing the alto saxophone) and learned to read music; and, probably most importantly of all, my mum bought me a little Casio keyboard. Being surrounded by all that talent gave me standards to strive for in terms of skill, work ethic, and confidence, and catapulted me into my journey as an artist.
When I moved to Vancouver to refine my craft as an actor further at UBC, I saw music as a tool in my toolbelt, but not something that would ever take center stage. Serendipitously, a bunch of the girls who had sung in Corazon over the years had ended up in Vancouver at the same time, and three of them decided to create their own choir. It started with eleven of us meeting up to sing in a living room, and quickly developed into what you see now as Gracenote. Singing with those women weekly for years has had a direct impact on the music I write. I don’t feel like a piece is complete without harmonies, and my voice is better conditioned for singing with them. They also expose me to different styles of music that I’d never seek out myself but also end up woven into my songs.
UBC is also where I met Sound of Kalima. A classmate of mine in the acting program was a rapper and wanted a female vocalist on one of his songs. He took me to the studio, where I met Sal and Peter and we go along like a house on fire and started meeting up weekly to write music together at their college house in Marpole. And, as they say, the rest is history.
You grew up in Vancouver and have talked about how the Vancouver music scene has a diverse range of styles and that artists support each other regardless of the music they make or where they come from. How have you been influenced by the Vancouver music scene and what kinds of support have you felt as an artist?
Bella: I’ve been in Vancouver for 8 years now. The musicians that I’ve met all have such a collaborative spirit. I’ve written keyboard licks for indie-pop artists like Chris Clute and sung backing vocals for rappers like Pavy and Ekke. Conversely, a drummer from Clute’s band has tracked drums for one of my songs, and a guitarist I know through a producer/engineer is now in my band. Everyone I meet in music wants to support other artists, by putting together shows, sharing information on grants that are opening up or contests happening, and by promoting other artists’ music when it’s released.
The community of artists I know here behaves a lot like the community of artists I knew in Nelson. They push me to work hard, they inspire me to be creative and stretch outside of my comfort zone, and they pump me up as if I’m bigger than Lady Gaga.
You released your debut single "Not For Want Of Trying" in August of last year. What have you learned about yourself as an artist and about your vision over the past year and how do you feel you have grown? What are some goals you have accomplished and what do you hope to achieve going forward?
Bella: Wow, what a journey. I’ve changed so much since then, and so has my music. In many ways that song was timid and right inside my comfort zone. I’d written the song a couple of years prior, had played it to death, and knew I could sing it, and the production is kind of the same. Don’t get me wrong, Sound of Kalima obviously did an amazing job, but it isn’t out of the box in any way. And in truth, that’s just not who I am. But I knew I needed to release something to break that seal, see that it isn’t that scary, and then start to evolve the music into a sound that’s authentically mine.
I really feel my music deserves visuals to heighten the listener’s (viewer’s) experience, so that’s something I committed to doing for high. That video is the first of many and was the next step towards creating both my sound and persona. I’ve also started rehearsing with a band so I can get out there and do live shows, so that’s the next goal: playing in front of a live audience for the first time in years.
You have talked about how over the years you have come into your own musically and have really found your writing style. What can you tell me about your evolution as a songwriter? How would you describe your songwriting style and process today?
Bella: I always have and continue to write from the perspective of a character. I think it allows me to tap into an unencumbered mental space and tell big stories without second-guessing myself or getting too hung up on if something sounds real or cheesy or whatever else. But looking back, it was also a way to protect myself. If the music wasn’t about me, I wasn’t revealing any part of myself to the world and it didn’t matter how people responded. High is the first song that actually taps into inspiration from my life. While the story has been exaggerated and the singer is a caricature of myself, it’s still about me. And that’s something different.
Upon graduating from college, you have said that you have found yourself gravitating more towards film and shooting film projects. What can you tell me about some of the film projects you have done in the past and ones you have planned or hope to do in the future? Do you see yourself combining your love for acting and film with your music videos?
Bella: The most exciting film work I’ve done is with some filmmakers who came out of VFS (Vancouver Film School). I started working with them as film students but we loved working together so much that we’ve continued to do projects over the years. I’ve done everything from short films based on the knights of the round table to educational programs for Chinese ESL students.
My love for acting and the visual arts absolutely combines with my music. The “High” video is the first manifestation of that. I’m so proud of that video, and so grateful I got to work on it with some hometown friends who were part of that Nelson arts community that pushed me into this field to begin with. That video is just the beginning.
You recently released your new single "High", a sad and psychedelic exploration of cocaine abuse and toxic love. What can you tell me about the song and what inspired it?
Bella: I wrote this song coming out of a tumultuous relationship with someone that was an addict - to alcohol, definitely; to cocaine, maybe; and probably to love and short-term gratification and other highs in life as well. I realized that the relationship this man had with drugs was very similar to the relationship we had with each other. And that was interesting - the whole, “I won’t do it again, I’ll be better,” after a big fight or a binge, then the euphoria when it feels like it’s all going great in the relationship or when you let yourself do the drugs or get drunk or feel happy and in love again, the denial when things start to go badly again in either scenario, and finally the rock-bottom feeling of desperation when you realize what a mess you are and you’ve fallen victim to the roller-coaster again.
So I wrote high from his perspective, sort of. This character is the one moving through all those emotions and experiences with love or drugs or anything else we can be addicted to or dependent on.
You also released a music video for "High" for which you self-directed and produced. What was it like to have complete creative control and what did you learn in the process? What was the idea behind the video?
Bella: That was such an amazing creative experience. Having total creative control is incredibly freeing. I’ve worked on a lot of other projects where I was just playing the one part of actor, dancer, whatever, and I’d always envied a director’s ability to shape everything to their vision. Obviously producing my own video was the best way to give myself that opportunity. Working with such talented videographers like Dallas and Phil from Pool Service helped me bring this vision to life so quickly. They built the world I had in my mind and made sure it materialized through the shoot and editing.
The idea was for the video to be a really simple, physical manifestation of the story behind the song. I wanted this song and video to be inextricably intertwined, feeding off each other, influencing one other because is a meta sense that’s what this story is all about. So it starts with a sad, broken version of the main character - kind of at neutral, emotionally, but with dark circles under her eyes that indicate something more sordid is afoot. Slowly, this girl morphs into the pearl character. She represents euphoria, temptation, and being blinded by the glitter in your eyes. She eventually melts into the bloody monster who was really there all along. Telling the main character she’s nothing and trying to consume her. By the end of the video, the main character manages to claw her way back to the forefront, but we realize at the last moment that she’s stuck in an endless loop.
How was your Halloween? What is Halloween in Vancouver like? Do you have any favorite Halloween activities and movies?
Bella: Halloween was wonderful! Not my most creative costume this year, I have to admit (my boyfriend and I wore matching giraffe onesies) but I had a lot of fun. I’ve done it all in Vancouver on Halloween - I’ve done the costume events at different bars, Rocky Horror at The Rio - but nothing beats a good house party. With the COVID situation easing up I was lucky enough to attend a house party for the first time in years for Halloween, and it was a riot. My boyfriend did a drunken keg stand and, as our friend put it, “folded like a lawn chair” and ended up crumpled on a porch in between the wall and the keg. It was hilarious.
As someone who loves to travel, have you been able to travel at all since travel restrictions have been lifted?
Bella: I haven’t been able to travel much internationally, but I’ve made the most of local travel. I’ve been to Kelowna probably dozens of times (my parents live there, so that is very convenient), then to places like Pemberton and Pender Island. But the US/Canada border did open up again recently and so I am very fortunate to say that I am writing the answers to these questions from sunny Paradise Valley, Arizona. I’ll be heading to Kelowna and Calgary over Christmas, hopefully Arizona again in the new year, and then to the UK and Spain in the spring!
You will be performing with the Gracenote Vancouver Choir next month for the first time since the start of the pandemic. What are you most looking forward to and what can people expect from the performance?
Bella: I absolutely will! I’m so excited. It’s been such a treat to get back together with a bunch of my favourite people and make beautiful music again. We have such an incredible repertoire for the show. There are a few pieces we were actually working on pre-pandemic, but the first round of restrictions came just days before our scheduled concert that of course had to be canceled. So I’m very excited to give those pieces a new lease on life. One of them is written by a local artist that a bunch of you would know, and the song itself is about Vancouver. Then we have some really interesting new pieces that have never seen the light of day. A little Lorde, a little Swedish and French choral, a little angsty Romanian folk song, a little Scottish witchy cursing. And we’re going to be performing along with Gracenote’s “sister” mixed voice choir, Kor. We’ll even be performing one mass choir piece together! You don’t want to miss the show.