From: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org (trajectory-digest) To: trajectory-digest@smoe.org Subject: trajectory-digest V2 #6 Reply-To: trajectory@smoe.org Sender: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk trajectory-digest Monday, February 9 1998 Volume 02 : Number 006 Today's Subjects: ----------------- veda hille article [woj ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 08 Feb 1998 23:06:38 -0500 From: woj Subject: veda hille article hey all, i was digging through some of the old files i have scattered across the net and found the following. as you can see, it was oroginally sent to me by neile a while back. since i didn't see this article on meredith's wonderfully revamped veda pages, i thought i'd post it. it's not like there's been a lot of traffic here lately. ;) woj ps. euphony.com seems to have disappeared. anybody know where? >From neile@u.washington.edu Mon Mar 13 18:28:16 1995 >Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 15:27:39 -0800 (PST) >From: Neile Graham >To: goya! , jmg@rocket.com, art@cs.sfu.ca >Subject: Veda Hille article > > >Though you might be interested in this. Ripped from: > >alt.music.alternative.female >From: pitzel@cs.sfu.ca (Brad Pitzel) >[1] Veda Hille feature >Organization: Faculty of Applied Science, Simon Fraser University >Date: Mon Mar 13 11:31:00 PST 1995 >Lines: 127 > > EUPHONY MAGAZINE > http://euphony.com/euphony/ > > Running Up That Hille > > Feature story on Warner recording artist Veda Hille > By Heather Ramsay > Vancouver, BC, Canada > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Veda Hille, eclectic singer/songwriter/pianist, lives in a Commercial >Drive walk-up. On her wall is a framed certificate highlighting the five >Brownie badges she earned in her youth. > >"They are all for things I'm still doing now," she laughs, explaining each >one. "Music..., writing..., reading..., cooking... and the magnifying >glass. I can't remember what exactly it was for but to me it signifies >'investigation.'" > >She doesn't have much time for anything but the first two these days. >Although Hille has been playing piano since she was six years old, and >even had a short lived career as a lounge singer at 18, she is now coming >into her own. At 27, she has released two independent recordings, the >first on cassette, Songs about People and Buildings, (1992), and a CD, >Path of the Body, (1994). > >After overachieving in Brownies, Hille says she dropped out of Girl Guides >"because it became too militant." Obviously, she is not someone who feels >comfortable following any strict "guidelines." > >Her music may be described as a calamitous hybrid between jazz, pop and >classical piano. Sometimes it challenges the intellect and provokes all >manners of introspective thought. There are so many layers to peel back, >so much texture in terms of sound and verse that it is easy to become >immersed in her muse. Alternately, Hille's music has a subtle disarming >quality about it. At times her material appears deceptively simple in >terms of its' structure but that is probably a ruse. Hille's songwriting >could not possibly be the result of anything but hard work. She can soothe >the soul or emote strong emotions with a deft turn of a phrase or the >addition of a pretty melody. Imagine a string of chaotic notes with words >that start and stop in cacophonic and euphonic harmony! > >"The band was an integral part of putting Path of a Body together >especially Steve Nikleva, the guitar player," says Hille. "They were >instrumental in putting the songs into the places I wanted them." Nikleva >is a veteran player well known in Vancouver's music community for his >enormous musical talents and supportive personality. He has most recent >credits include recording and touring with fellow Vancouverites Mae Moore >and Sarah MacLachlan. Hille also recruited one of this city's finest >rhythm sections in bassist Martin Walton and drummer Steve Lazin. This >band has chops galore. > >But Hille's obvious strength as an artist has drawn praise from many of >her contemporaries. Her lyrics are vibrant and intelligent: she is a >storyteller, an observer of life's endless details. The kind that produce >honest images and relay common truths. > >"Path of a Body was quite chaotic," remarks the tunesmith. "The songs go >between extremes. I hit both ends of the spectrum. On my next album the >songs still do this but people will notice it less. I'm getting more >subtle as I get older. I feel like I'm aging, which is nice. The further >you can get from being a teenager, the better." > >Although she's been writing since Brownies (she got a badge, remember), Hille >was never ready to be labeled a wordsmith. > >"It was only recently I realized that I have to consider myself a writer >if I'm working with words," she says with certain humility. "When I was >21, I found a book of poems I wrote when I was 11. That started me >thinking about writing again. Now I take more responsibility for what I >read. The potential of working with words has really opened up, and I find >it very exciting." > >Like her favorite authors, e.e. cummings, Rilke and Annie Dillard (a >philosophical naturalist), Hille pours a lot of passion into her work - >"for better or for worse." > >"I occupy my mind a lot," explains Hille, "That's where I hangout, which >is not always great. I get insomnia at the drop of a hat. But when I do >sleep I find great images and metaphors in my dreams, which I use in my >writing." > >She has just completed a video of "Precious Heart," and the visualization >of this ballad was a collaborative effort with dancer and independent >choreographer, Deborah Dunn. > >"There is a strong creative connection between us. She's a very strong >woman. I was initially intimidated by her. But we found we could disagree >and not feel we had endangered our relationship. It's really hard to find >someone like that and we can really push each other that way." > >The concept of the video is that they would both represent the same woman >in different spaces. Hille becomes the conscious representation, aware of >the camera, slightly awkward; while Dunn is the unconscious, moving with >the fluidity and passion of a dancer. > >She's heading to Toronto and Montreal this week on a ten day tour where >she hopes Much Music and Music Plus will be interested enough in the video >to put it on rotation. > >A new CD produced by Warner Brothers is due early next year. She is now in >the process of recording those songs. Guest players included Andy >Stochansky (Ani Difranco's drummer) and celebrated cellist Anne Bourne >(Jane Siberry, Barenaked Ladies). "I'm bringing in other instrumentation," >says Veda. "I'm really into men singing back-up too," reversing a common >stereotype that sometimes serves to diminish the contributions of >background vocalists. She's an equal opportunity artist who treats the >people she works with, with the kind of respect reserved for close friends >and family. What a nouveau concept! Just another example of Hille's rep as >a rule-breaker par excellence. > >Veda Hille opens for Ani Difranco at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on >March 3 and at the Spectrum in Montreal on March 5. She performs as the >headling act at the Alley in Montreal on March 6, then returns to the Wet >Coast and the Railway Club, her home away from home, on April 18 and 19. >Do yourself a favour and take in some of this woman's work and whimsy. It >could help cure those mid-winter blues 'cause Veda's Spring has definitely >sprung! > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >Euphony Magazine >http://euphony.com/euphony/ > >General info: euphony@euphony.com Business: pitzel@euphony.com >Submissions: csmith@euphony.com Music/Arts: jhatch@euphony.com > >fax (604) 879.6627 ------------------------------ End of trajectory-digest V2 #6 ******************************