Singer, composer, and Juno Award winner Chantal Kreviazuk’s music comes from a deep place inside of her. And it’s her emotions that make her the impeccable composer she is and allow her to, as she puts it, “sponge out” her music.
“I came from a musical family and had many influences growing up and felt music so deeply,” she says. “Music expressed my feelings so much that when I wanted to express my own feelings, I did it through music.”
Kreviazuk wants to evoke the greatest triggering emotions that she feels when she hears music, and she strives to give back what music has given to her.
“Songs like ‘Surrounded’ are my life and soul,” says Kreviazuk. “Those are the songs that gave me life as a musician and are indicative of what I’ve always wanted to create with my music.”
“Surrounded” was a song Kreviazuk wrote about her friend who committed suicide; she says she found that writing it helped her release her emotions.
“Most of my songs genuinely come from personal experience, and I don’t like writing songs for myself anymore unless they come from sincere experiences or feelings,” says Kreviazuk.
Kreviazuk is at a place now in her career where she isn’t trying to please everyone. She knows her music falls into a certain category where it needs to be authentic and she wants to wait until she has a plethora of songs that will affect her and her listeners in a profound way before she releases another album.
Her upcoming performance with the Victoria Symphony is something different that she’s looking forward to.
“The symphony to me is authentic and that’s the amazing thing about performing with them,” says Kreviazuk. “It’s ‘holy crap’ music and it transforms me. It’s bigger than me, and when I perform with them I really go on the same ride as the audience.”
Kreviazuk and her husband Raine Maida (lead vocalist and songwriter for Our Lady Peace) had a riveting experience when they went to Iraq in 2000 before the war broke out.
“We had an orchestra perform for us that were playing strings that had been under sanction,” says Kreviazuk. “They don’t allow strings to come into the country, so they only take out their instruments on special occasions so the instruments don’t deteriorate.”
The 50-piece orchestra performed together and that’s when Kreviazuk recalled really taking in all of the magic that happens when numerous people collectively use their skills to create something huge.
“To me, I realized at that moment that that is what life and being free and civil is about. I feel that these performances with huge ensembles are the ultimate symbol of peace and understanding,” explains Kreviazuk.
Kreviazuk writes for other musicians, movies, and TV shows and creates music with Maida. When Kreviazuk and Maida are in their space of creative flow they push and inspire each other’s creative juices; when one of them gets overwhelmed they step back, have a cleansing period, and end up producing something better as a result, she says.
“Raine makes me better in every way and I hope that I do the same for him,” she says. “That’s the thing about partnership we work on everything together about ourselves as people, parents, partners, and because we’re both artists we help each other in that aspect as well.”
The biggest lesson that Kreviazuk has learned in her career is the aspect of authenticity; she believes there’s another currency in life that goes beyond money and fame.
“There are many different currencies in life,” says Kreviazuk. “One is money, another is notoriety and fame. There are all sorts of ways of feeling validated and fulfilled. The currency that pleases me is being true to myself and having authentic expression. To me, there is just no replacing that.”
Chantal Kreviazuk
8pm Saturday, December 15
Royal Theatre
rmts.bc.ca