Former country singer Laine switches to lo-fi, bedroom pop
Indie musicians have long followed the mantra that necessity is the mother of invention.
So when singer-songwriter Julianna Laine’s graphic design studies at Mount Royal University took her to a partner school in Austria, it was necessary to change her approach to music.
Up until recently, the Calgary native would probably be best known as a finalist in 2018’s Project Wild, a radio competition that tends to focus on Nashville-ready mainstream country artists. Of course, being a Nashville-ready artist specializing in mainstream country is rarely a low-cost endeavour. So Laine’s musical language took an abrupt left turn as she lived and studied abroad on a tight budget.
“I grew up with country music so I have a strong appreciation for it, especially with the emphasis they place on songwriting and storytelling,” says Laine. “But as far as making stuff for radio and following specific guidelines about what you have to sing about, I just felt what I was writing was a bit more quirky and personal in a way and I didn’t quite fit with that. And to do budget recording, that’s not going to end up on the radio.”
So Laine became a disciple, and enthusiastic proponent, of bedroom pop, a lo-fi genre made up of artists who specialize in quirky and personal songwriting while
embracing fiercely DIY production habits. In a way, it’s the antithesis of mainstream country, which tends to operate with the aid of name producers, songwriting committees and formidable marketing campaigns.
So as Laine explored Europe and studied graphic design last year — which included soaking up the coffee house music culture not just in Austria but also Denmark, Portugal and Sweden — she also took it upon herself to learn Logic Pro recording software for her home computer.
“It did kind of come from necessity, of just wanting to record and making those sounds,” she says. “The way that I learned how to produce was just through trial and error and getting familiar with the software. It takes a while to understand it but, once you do, it’s like ‘OK, I get that.’ Last year, I dove into it and this year it’s gotten a lot more serious.”
That includes the release of Eighteen, a new single based around a simple guitar riff and Laine’s breezy vocals that tells a story about pining for the carefree days of teenagehood. It was co-produced by Calgary’s Ethan Burke, but still carries the hallmarks of intimate bedroom pop. Laine also made good use of her recently earned MRU degree in graphic design by producing a charming, low-budget lyric video for the song.
“Like other artists, I’m just sort of starting out and I really don’t have money to pay other people to do this,” she says. “So, to be able to do it myself and have full creative control is great. I didn’t really know how well (music and graphic design) would work together, but my parents were like: ‘You have to do a degree.’ It’s actually kind of worked out.”
Eighteen is the first in a series of singles Laine hopes to release over the summer, building to her first EP. She has also become a major cheerleader of the fledgling bedroom-pop movement in general. Bedroom Pop Canada is her Spotify playlist that features not only her own music but songs from other like-minded artists from North America including X Lovers, Alt Bloom and Christian French.
Of course, while the low-budget, do-it-yourself mechanics of the genre are pragmatic at the best of times, the approach is only gaining more traction as musicians self-isolate. Lo-fi home recording is nothing new, of course, but the COVID-19 pandemic is making these stay-at-home studio wizards seem almost prescient.
“If we’re trying to look at the positive, being unemployed and staying at home gives you a lot of time to write and make music,” Laine says.