FROM THE ROOTS OF VINE
Though her musical career began on the now-defunct social network, Ruth B is proving she deserves more than six seconds in the spotlight,
Even if you’d never used Vine, that now-dead, six-second-video social network, you have heard the musicians that started there; it was very good to a few Canadian artists.
Shawn Mendes has been the poster child for its star-making ability, but Ruth B is ready to take her piece of the spotlight.
Since first posting snippets of herself writing the song that became the hit “Lost Boy” as a teen in her bedroom in Edmonton, B (short for Berhe) grew an audience while working at a Marshalls, then signed to a label, won the Breakthrough Artist Juno and just released her first proper pop album, Safe Haven. Now she gets ready to properly tour, which brings her to the city this week as part of the CBC Music Festival.
The now 21-year-old admits that it has been a whirlwind, and understands that she’s not far removed from many of her fans.
“It definitely can feel busy sometimes, that things are moving fast, but I just try to live in the moment and kind of enjoy everything. It’s all very new still and a different life, but it’s fun. It’s cool,” she says on the line from Nashville, in the midst of ninestop tour of the U.S.
“It’s been really cool to transition from just a Vine artist to an actual artist with music out. It’s been really nice to be able to connect with people with more than just the six seconds.”
Safe Haven is full of ballads about love and heartbreak, all with a confessional, conversational lyricism that speaks to B’s youth. All the same, she had been working on songs for years so, she says, she was ready to hit the studio when everything broke. It was recorded with Grammy-winning producer Joel Little, best known for working with Lorde, and B enjoyed the collaborative process.
“I learned a lot from Joel. He was awesome and really cool to work with, and he just does such a great job helping a new artist get to where they want to get, instead of putting his own stamp on it and making you something you are not,” she says. “I learned a lot about how a studio works, how ideas evolve from just thoughts you have to bigger picture songs and just a lot of little things.”
She says the title track is one of her favourites to perform, as it reminds of her home, family and friends in Edmonton, which is where she still lives.
“I love performing ‘Safe Haven,’ the song, because it’s probably the most nostalgic for me; I have memories in that song. Every time I perform that, it takes me to the same place,” she explains. “The past couple of years are wrapped up in that song. When I wrote it, a lot of my life had changed drastically, but the one thing that remained the same was my family, my friends and my love for music, and it just makes me feel really safe.
“Every time I sing that it takes me back, I’m in my bedroom in Edmonton, writing songs.”
B, who has described herself as “shy, with a social side,” admits that she was signed before ever really performing and had to get over some stage fright, but she now relishes the opportunity to perform, especially when she sees people singing her songs.
“Yeah, I love that. I love people so it’s great to meet people and hear about their stories and connect with one another through song,” she says.
“That’s probably my favourite part, establishing a real live connection with people.” Ruth B performs at the CBC Music Festival at Echo Beach on Saturday, May 27. See cbcmusic.ca for information.