Adaline

By: Debbie

popYOUlarity: Is there a song on the album you regard as pivotal — a song that pointed to the sound you wanted, or said what you wanted the album (“Famous For Fire”) to say?
Adaline:I think a lot of people will find the album to be quite eclectic sounding; there are a lot of different styles and variations going on. So, as far as one song telling the direction of the album, I wouldn’t say so much. I think there are songs on there that depict where I am planning on going in the future. A song like “Chemical Spill,” which is a little more electronic and experimental, is where I am planning on going in the future.

popYOUlarity: Where does a song start?
Adaline:It is weird, it starts in different places. Sometimes it starts with me in an enclosed place, in quiet. Often times I get melodies when I am working and I work at a restaurant. It is weird because I will be serving food and I will get melodies in my head. Then, I have to find some way to get the melodies onto paper somehow so that I don’t forget them. I just started carrying around little music sheets, so that when I get them I can just quickly score them out when I am at work. I don’t know why food is inspiring (laughs), but it seems to be something that is.

popYOUlarity: What are you trying to open people’s minds up to exactly?
Adaline:I guess I am trying to open people’s minds up to humanity, and that we all go through things and experience things. We seem to think that those experiences are unique to us, but I think that a lot of the time feelings are universal. I think that a lot of the time when you write music you are just expressing the way that you think, and the way that you feel. I think that is why we all connect. It is something we all have in common. I am not trying to change the world through my music; I am just trying to relate to people.

popYOUlarity: What was the hardest part about recording this record?
Adaline:We were in there for a really long time. That is what was hard. A lot of artists go and write the songs, and then go in and record them. We spent about a year and a half in the studio, so that was great in a lot of ways, because it gave us time to experiment, but it also meant that the songs started to feel a little stale to me. What I have been trying to do is get back into the song. When you’re in the studio you’re constantly thinking of the sound, and not why you wrote it. When I finished the album I listened to it and tried to remember when I wrote each song, to get back into the songs, and it actually worked. It made them feel fresh again.

popYOUlarity: What is the best advice you’ve ever received from a song?
Adaline:That is really tough. There are songwriters that I really love, and I guess one of the things that I really love from a song, that is not necessarily advice, is I am a big fan of Ron Sexsmith. I love the way he writes. I’m not a big love song person, so I tend to hear them and be turned off by them. What is exciting to me, and what I really get into, is when people can write about subjects that are considered to be corny, in a thoughtful way. Ron Sexsmith has this song called “Wasting Time,” and basically the idea is ‘where is the crime in wasting time with you,’ so I think it is smart.

popYOUlarity: How did you, when you had a collection of songs, know you had reached the point where you say okay, this is the record?
Adaline:When we first went into the studio, we were just planning on doing a six song EP. When I was in the studio, I was just inspired by the recording process, and that brought on a lot of the songs that are my favourites on the album. We just kept recording. We finished the album, and I had an eleven song album, and I wrote this song called “Meaningless Meeting,” which is on the album. I wrote it just before I had this big show with Holly McNarland at the East Cultural Centre in Vancouver. I remember calling my producer and saying that I had just written this and it really needs to be on the album. He thought I was crazy, and my friends were telling me that I just had to stop writing. After that, it just felt like it was finished. I didn’t go in with twelve songs. I just went in and kept inventing as I went along.

popYOUlarity: What is your most vivid recording studio moment?
Adaline:The most vivid was recording Chemical Spill. That came to me as a melody. It was very much a studio song. My producer put a beat on and I started writing melodies and lyrics, and by the end of the day we had a song. It was really different from the other experiences, like other songs we had to do one hundred thousand times. “Chemical Spill” was just so organic and happened. This guy came over to the studio that was a friend of my producers, and asked if he could plug in and try the bass for it. He plugged in, made these bass lines, and the next thing I knew we had the song.

popYOUlarity: Can you talk a bit about the artist growth that you have had since the start of the recording process?
Adaline:The artistic growth has just been ridiculous. I think it is impossible to not grow when you’re in the studio for over a year. My knowledge of recording, and producing; I didn’t really know much about those things before I started. I feel so much more comfortable now. I have been doing some session work for other producers, and it just feels like a second home now. As far as song writing, just the experience of writing on the spot and creating as you go along has been a huge growth experience for me. Now it is my preferred way to write.

popYOUlarity: Nobody is perfect; people often make mistakes. What do you think on of your biggest mistakes has been so far?
Adaline:My biggest mistakes so far have actually been business mistakes, so just learning and growing. I have made some errors in judgement about situations and people. It is a business, and I think that is what people need to know. You need to be really prepared. I did my homework before I started, and you can never be fully prepared for what life is going to throw at you. Artistically I don’t feel like I have made mistakes, because it is what I created, but I have made some business choices that haven’t been wise so far. You learn from them, and you move on.

popYOUlarity: At this point, what do you fear most?
Adaline:I used to be really afraid of people liking the songs, but I am not anymore. I haven’t actually gotten a real review yet, as we just started handing out CDs. I just had this moment that I realized that I don’t care anymore, but it used to really worry me. Sometimes I think that if you get too worried, you’ll run out of juice, but as long as you’re around creative people and in a creative atmosphere, you’ll be okay.

popYOUlarity: In the big picture how would you like people to view your music?
Adaline:I want people to view my music as music that is intriguing, and lyrically moving. I want people to be able to listen to the music and feel something. Not all music is meant to do that: some music is fun, or for going out on a Friday night. I love music that uses instrumentation, and thoughtful lyrics and chord structures and musicality to stir something in people. That is my goal as an artist.

popYOUlarity: Do you have anything you would like to say to the readers of popYOUlarity?
Adaline:Buy my CD (laughs). Be constantly open to the reality that there is more music out there than what is presented to you. Constantly be hunting for it, because there is so many amazing artists that are creating music, and make that part of your life. There are so many websites now where you can go hear new music and artists. Allow yourself to be educated and grow through other people’s experiences in music.

+ April 17, 2008
Photo: Debbie Gebert

Links:
Official Site