Edmonton Journal: April 21, 2011
Complicated songstress
BY ROGER LEVESQUE
Somewhere in the world a singer-songwriter puts out an album of love songs.
That’s where the predictable part of this story ends.
Despite its uncomplicated title, Edmonton’s Lauren Busheikin has brought a surprisingly complicated, eclectic approach to creating and performing the all-original tunes on her debut CD, We Love.
“With the exception of one song, Blackberry Blue, I didn’t want to make them so straightforward. I guess I wanted to present a more mature view. If you’ve been there, you know things aren’t always so clean and simple.”
It makes for a more sophisticated set of songs than you might expect from a singer in her mid-20s, on a maiden voyage. Most songs are directed to past loves, while one track is from a mother to the daughter she put up for adoption years before. It’s ironic that Busheikin’s work feels so honest because she uses a lot of creative liberties in her writing.
“There are a few songs that I took from observing things around me and from other people’s stories. Nothing in there is a song about me specifically but some are things I twisted and stretched from my own experience.”
Her vocal style covers a lot of territory too, with a seemingly effortless sound that draws you in, while the arrangements touch on jazz, folk and pop. She has absorbed many influences but mentions Ben Folds as a favourite.
Calgary-born Busheikin followed several other family members in joining the performance company The Young Canadians at seven, only to get a grounding in singing, dancing and theatre with more vocal lessons on the side. After moving here to attend Grant MacEwan University, she took an extra year in songwriting and composition. Since graduating in 2007, Busheikin has been putting in regular trio and quartet gigs.
Busheikin and her band mark the release of We Love on Friday at the Haven Social Club (15120A Stony Plain Road). Mandy Reider opens and the $10 cover is in effect at 8 p.m. Get advance tickets from www.yeglive.ca or from Blackbyrd Myoozik.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal 2011
BY ROGER LEVESQUE
Somewhere in the world a singer-songwriter puts out an album of love songs.
That’s where the predictable part of this story ends.
Despite its uncomplicated title, Edmonton’s Lauren Busheikin has brought a surprisingly complicated, eclectic approach to creating and performing the all-original tunes on her debut CD, We Love.
“With the exception of one song, Blackberry Blue, I didn’t want to make them so straightforward. I guess I wanted to present a more mature view. If you’ve been there, you know things aren’t always so clean and simple.”
It makes for a more sophisticated set of songs than you might expect from a singer in her mid-20s, on a maiden voyage. Most songs are directed to past loves, while one track is from a mother to the daughter she put up for adoption years before. It’s ironic that Busheikin’s work feels so honest because she uses a lot of creative liberties in her writing.
“There are a few songs that I took from observing things around me and from other people’s stories. Nothing in there is a song about me specifically but some are things I twisted and stretched from my own experience.”
Her vocal style covers a lot of territory too, with a seemingly effortless sound that draws you in, while the arrangements touch on jazz, folk and pop. She has absorbed many influences but mentions Ben Folds as a favourite.
Calgary-born Busheikin followed several other family members in joining the performance company The Young Canadians at seven, only to get a grounding in singing, dancing and theatre with more vocal lessons on the side. After moving here to attend Grant MacEwan University, she took an extra year in songwriting and composition. Since graduating in 2007, Busheikin has been putting in regular trio and quartet gigs.
Busheikin and her band mark the release of We Love on Friday at the Haven Social Club (15120A Stony Plain Road). Mandy Reider opens and the $10 cover is in effect at 8 p.m. Get advance tickets from www.yeglive.ca or from Blackbyrd Myoozik.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal 2011