BeatRoute Magazine [AB] print e-edition - [May 2018]

ROOTS
JILL BARBER
her head and heart in the game
t’s the story of my life!” exclaims Jill Barber
“Iover the phone from the quiet nook of a
Vancouver public library. This reaction came
from discussing both the implications and
liberties of not neatly fitting in any box. The
singer-songwriter’s thoughts on the matter are
dusted with the wisdom of someone who has
unabashedly given their heart to their craft.
“At the heart of it all, I am a singer-songwriter.
I love to write songs. Across genres I am a
sucker for a hook, a strong chorus, lyrics, an
awesome bridge. I believe in the great three or
four-minute song that takes you out of where
you were before, and delivers you to a new
place at the end of it. It stirs something in you,
moves you, makes you want to dance or want
to call somebody. I think songs are amazing
vehicles for experiences. And much like my
record collection, which is not any one genre,
my body of work is reflective of different
influences and styles. I go through different
phases of exploring, but at the end of the day
I’m just writing songs. Songs that hopefully
can transcend genres.”
Overcome with a burst of creativity, Barber
injected her forthcoming album, Metaphora,
with the newfound energy and excitement she
felt pulsing through her veins. The record—to
be released in June—takes an unlikely, but
rousing turn into the realm of contemporary
pop. Her eighth solo album under her belt,
Barber continues to prove that there is no
expiry date on creative growth.
“The number one thing that was different
for me with the process of making this record
is that I worked with 100 percent new people.
Everyone that contributed to this record,
from the song writing to the production, is
BY ALIX BRUCH
someone that I’ve never worked with before.
So the spirit of new and different collaboration
was very much alive on this record. That made
things really exciting for me.”
One such collaboration was with Ryan
Guldemond, from the popular Canadian indie
band Mother, Mother. Those familiar with
each respective artist, this isn’t an obvious
pairing, but one that offered the excitement
and fresh approach Barber was craving.
“I really wanted to work with people that
were outside of my musical milieu,” explains
Barber. “In the last four years since my last
record came out, I feel the desire to be more
energetic in my music and I need it as an outlet
more than ever before. I wanted to groove
a little bit more, I wanted to dance, I wanted to
throw my body into it.”
As a result of dancing up a storm, the
spirited songstress has brought us new material
that is empowering, and well, downright
catchy. Metaphora is a marriage of the
head and the heart: a powerful combination
of strength and vulnerability. Barber has felt
a change in the winds, bringing into relief
the state of the world as pertaining to politics,
power, and sexuality.
“Over the last four years I’ve realized
there’s a lot that I want to say, and a lot of
the nature of what I wanted to say needed a
new musical vehicle. I wanted to get a little
political for the first time as a writer. Matters
of the heart have been my mainstay theme,
and as a woman living in 2018 I felt the urge
to start expressing myself and my beliefs in
my music a little bit more. I think there’s a lot
of good that can come of me just expressing
how my heart feels, but I think my head is a
little more in the game now.”
Prior to this new venture, Barber was busy
with a special project that saw her teaming
up with her older brother and fellow musical
comrade, Matthew Barber. The siblings released
The Family Album in 2016; an endeavour
that was always on the horizon and at long
last came to fruition.
“We are big fans of one another, and we
have a lot of mutual respect for one another,
so that was a good starting place. We had a lot
of fun making this record and touring together,
but I think we were also happy to return to
our own original projects as well. We’re both
creators, and at the end of the day we want to
do things our own way.”
Jill Barber performs at the Bragg Creek Community
Centre, Sat., May 5.
ROOTS BEATROUTE • MAY 2018 | 47