I have moved around a lot, and I've lived in all of these different environments - that has affected the kinds of music and the range of music and influences I've had in my life. All of those influences - more subconsciously - play into the music I make.
For me, I don't really feel like I have any particular main influences or artists that I pull from; it's more of an underlying effect of such a big range of music that I love and I identify with - and all of that plays into what I do in minimal ways. I just really try to make music that reflects my identify, which is hard to pin down and is a lot of different things. I strive to make music that is hard to describe and meshes a lot of different genres, with the vocals being the thing that ties it all together.
It's the balance I'm trying to find - not being disconnected but giving myself some space to be in my world. I feel like I'm surrounded by friends of mine who are very different from one another but all care about similar things. We talk about this a lot, and I think that's probably the main thing - being surrounded by good people is the best way to stay in a solid head space. You want to be able to talk about these things, and be able to think things through and feel things through. That's helpful for me.
I think there is a misconception that when people are the face of something, or they're the voice, especially when they're young women, that they're being created or molded by someone else. I think more so than not wanting to be a singer I was afraid of being mislabeled as just a singer - not that that's a bad thing.
Having my Canadian citizenship is a blessing at this time, and there's a part of me that feels very much one foot in and one foot out, and I know I can go back to Canada whenever. There are a lot of things that Canada does really well are the same things that are very messed up in the U.S., but I know that's a pretty self-centered stance. I don't know. It can be pretty discouraging, particularly in a city like New York. It's hard to see so many of the issues happening in the country in an up close way, but at the same time, there's a sense of positive solidarity here.
I want every album and every year to be a period of growth - and exponential growth as to what I'm able to do the each time around. I hope that I can really take my music to a place where it's widely heard and I can be touring and playing shows to bigger audiences.
My ideal situation is to be able to call the shots and be able to work with whomever I want to work with, and really make something amazing. I'd like to crossover more to have mainstream appeal, but I recognize that the music I make isn't your typical top-40 pop record. Striking that balance is my long-term goal.
