Helena
Deland
Meet Canadian singer-songwriter, Helena Deland! On her solo tour of the UK, Helena performed at St Matthias Church in London; A divine setting for a divine set. Olivia Kaplan opened the show with an act that entranced the audience within the Church and perfectly set the reverent tone for the evening. Helena Deland then took the floor and delivered an intensely captivating set with various tracks from her established discography as well as a few that are yet to be released. With a presence that demanded and recieved undivided attention from the audience, Helena and her guitar resonated through the mood lit, gothic revival architecture of the Church leaving all in awe of the scene. After the show I had the chance to talk with her and find out a little of what makes her who she is...
How are you?
I'm good, thank you.
I'm really happy with the show;
I've been tired these days and really nervous about playing solo for an hour
but tonight went really well.
What do you do?
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I write songs and perform them... record them as well!
Why do you do what you do?
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I think music is a very, like, important space; Not all music does this, but I think that it really is like a space for... us to tap into emotions that might not be so easy for us to kind of expresss in social settings and I think it's just a beautiful, accessible art form essentially.
Can you describe what it’s like to perform live? What are some of the thoughts and emotions you get as you’re about to
walk on stage,
when you’re on stage,
and when it’s all said and done,
walking off stage?
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It depends on the night but, like, I try to put myself in a good mindset before obviously, and just think of, like, the fact that I'm ready and that it's just a moment that's shared more than, like, a display or something... and yeah!
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During you just stay hyper-focused. I get shy sometimes but you gotta, like, stay focused.
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And then after, when it's gone well, it's a very specific feeling, yeah- especially solo like this! It's, like, so weird how intense it is.
What excites you most about your future as an artist?
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Hmm, good question. I dont know- The songs I'll write I guess. That's what I prefer doing and um.. as much as, like, sometimes I cringe at old songs I've written... I think they're pretty efficient in kind of marking a time and that time being accessible for me afterwards, you know? So that's a very special thing, yeah.
What is your greatest obstacle?
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Insecurity. But like, personally I guess, but I mean... that's me and myself, really.
Um... yeah!
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[Laughter] It's something you can work on, so I'm lucky in that way, you know?
If you could speak to the person you were 5 years ago would you say to you?
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I'd like, you know, it's pretty personal- I would, like, just point towards some patterns that I've identified later. But I guess all the good things come in time but it would have been nice to know! [Laughter]
What would you say to you 5 years from now?
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Oh! Really good question I've never thought about... um... good question. 'Have you figured it out?' [Laughter]
What would you say to you now?
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Enjoy!
Who are you?
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Oh... just.. alive right now [Laughter] with everyone else! Yeah it's- the 'who are you' question is a good one; Miles Davis always says it takes so long to know your own voice, you know? I feel like a lot of people feel that way
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I definitely feel that way.
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It's normal. That's what you realise; it's like, everyone's kind of, like, 'everyone else has got it figured out!' but noo..
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That's what it feels like!
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Yeah, I don't think that's true..
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Hopefully someday.