Errunhrd to make her dream pop debut
Niagara Falls artist to brings her live eectro-acoustic show to The Warehouse
Shirin Ghoujalou is so softspoken she can barely be heard as she chats over coffee at a downtown café.
She’s the first to admit she isn’t brash or flashy. She doesn’t seek attention. It’s partly why music took a back seat as she pursued other things her family didn’t frown upon so much.
But at 25, music is no longer Plan B. And whether she’s ready or not, her alter-ego Errunhrd may bring her plenty of attention soon.
After releasing a handful of dreamlike, electro-acoustic tracks, the Niagara Falls musician/singer plays her first live show Thursday at The Warehouse Concert Hall in St. Catharines.
“When you’re younger, you’re taught music doesn’t really pay anything,” she says. “My family kind of wanted me to practise law or be in medicine or something.”
A trip to Scotland and a short stint at Seneca College in Toronto prompted her to pursue what she actually wanted: To get the music she always wanted to hear out of her head and onto her keyboard. And prove her doubters wrong. “It’s kind of like motivation to keep going and push yourself further,” she says. “I always think it’s like a lesson. If everyone were supportive of you, maybe I wouldn’t be trying as hard. It’s good to have a bit of both.”
Errunhrd’s dream pop has touches of Grimes, Dido and ’80s influencers New Order and The Smiths. What it isn’t, Ghoujalou insists, is EDM (electronic dance music). While it may be made electronically, it has little in common with the likes of hometown stars Deadmau5 or REZZ.
“That’s totally the opposite of what I do,” she says. “It’s been a struggle, still, to convey that.
“It’s more of like a mellow, relaxing, more emotional electronic (sound), I guess.
“If that’s a genre.”
With nearly an album’s worth of her own material, her biggest challenge was finding a way to play it live. She refuses to be someone on stage pushing buttons instead of playing actual instruments.
“That was a big issue for me,” she says. “My friends who do electronic, they’re all different. There’s no manual for it, it’s not like a guitar where you can just pick it up and say ‘OK, these are my songs.’ But I did research on different synths and stuff, and actually found one that will work in my set.
“I think the whole point of going to a concert is so you can connect with the musician. That’s why I needed to find a keyboard or something physical that could say the message I want to say.”
Local bands Moonfox and Glass Apple Bonzai are also on the bill for her live debut.
It could be an eye-opener for friends of the A.N. Myer grad who’ve wondered what she’s been up to.
“I’ve always wanted to perform live and get myself out there,” she says. “I don’t feel as comfortable being on stage, but it’s a good push. I have a lot of anxieties about that, but I know it’ll help me in the long run.
“When you’re performing, doing what you love, all the anxiety you have will eventually fall off.”