A show of her own

By Erica Eades, Assistant Arts Editor

As she speaks by phone from Los Angeles, the latest stop on her cross-country tour, Toronto-born singer/songwriter, Basia Bulat, says she is “nervous, but very excited” for her upcoming performance at the Halifax Pop Explosion.

While Bulat is no stranger to the Canadian music scene, her upcoming show at the Rebecca Cohn will be something entirely different for the young folk musician. Bulat is set to play with Symphony Nova Scotia, with arrangements being orchestrated by her dear friend and fellow artist, Owen Pallett.

“It’s a real honour,” she says. “(Firstly), to be able to perform with Symphony Nova Scotia, and (secondly) because Owen is doing the arrangements. I think it’s going to be a really special show.”

In high school, Bulat played upright bass in numerous orchestras, some of which had up to 150 members. But this will be her first experience performing her own music with a symphony. “It’s obviously going to be very different,” she laughs.

Differences aside, Bulat has fond memories of playing with such a large ensemble.“I just remember this big envelope of sound,” she says.

While Bulat shies away from putting a label on her personal sound, she cites an oldies radio station she listened to as a child as being a major influence on her music. “It was all the Stax and Motown stuff,” she says. “That classic era of pop songwriting is something that I’ve always loved and I still do love.”

Growing up in Toronto, Bulat was surrounded by music. “If it wasn’t on the radio, we were listening to tapes, or playing it ourselves,” she says.

She began by learning piano from her music-teacher mom, and has since picked up a wide range of instruments, including the banjo and the autoharp—the latter becoming a signature sound in many of her songs. “It wasn’t really calculated,” she says of her incorporation of the instrument, “my mom just found it and I loved the way it sounded.”

Bulat’s songwriting process is similarly spontaneous. “It’s not like making an espresso,” she jokes. “Like I need these ingredients and all of a sudden a song will come.” Bulat says she has a love of stories, and her interactions with people always find a way into her music. “I don’t think of it as a process,” she says. “It just sort of happens.”

While Bulat avoids looking at her music as “work,” she appreciates how lucky she is to making a living doing something she loves. “It’s something I hope I can do for my whole life,” she says.  It’s something I love to do. It’s something I’ve chosen to do and I absolutely adore this path that I’m on right now.”

Basia Bulat and Symphony Nova Scotia will take the stage at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on Oct. 22 as part of the Halifax Pop Explosion.