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At just 23 years old, Scott Helman has established himself as one of Canada’s leading young singer-songwriters.
The platinum-selling artist started his journey making music videos for Youtube and now tours all over the world. He will perform at the Atha-B this Friday, March 8, and did some emailing with Fuchsia Dragon on Tuesday.
Fitzhugh: Are you on the road?
Scott Helman: Yeah. We’ve been on the road for about a week now. Our tour started last week in Winnipeg.
Fitz: How’s the tour going?
Scott: It’s been awesome. The fans have been really great and supportive.
Fitz: What are you touring behind?
Scott: I’ve got a single out now called “hang ups”. People seem to really like it which is great. The video for “hang ups” is nominated for a JUNO for Video of the Year which is really cool because I’m good friends with the director Ben Knetchel and we collaborate a lot and this is a validation of our work together.
Fitz: Have you been to Jasper before?
Scott: This will be my first time in Jasper. I’m really excited to get there. I’ve seen pictures over the years and it really looks beautiful. I hope that we get there early enough to have a good look around.
Fitz: What are you most looking forward to?
Scott: I always look forward to the shows to meet new people and make new friends.
Fitz: Where are you at with the music right now?
Scott: It’s a pretty exciting time right now. “Hang ups” is doing really great and I’ve been to Nashville and LA the past few weeks writing a bunch of new stuff that sounds great.
Fitz: Tell us about your style. When did you start?
Scott: I got a guitar when I was 10 and started writing songs a few years later. I got pretty lucky and was signed to my label when I was 15. They were really cool and let me develop my sound for a few years and learn the inside and out of a recording studio before I put out my first music. I guess people call me a singer-songwriter.
Fitz: Where do you find your influences?
Scott: I’m influenced by a lot of different stuff. I love the new album by The 1975 and I love Arcade Fire. On the other hand Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen are big influences but so are Nirvana, Pink Floyd and Bob Marley. Confused yet?
Fitz: How have you changed over the years?
Scott: Getting to play concerts all over the world and meeting people and musicians from other cultures has opened my mind to all different kinds of sounds which help open the possibilities of music for me.
Fitz: What can we expect from your show?
Scott: First and foremost we have a ton of fun on stage because the fans are awesome. We’ll play everyone favourite songs from both my records and hang ups and a few choice covers. We like to surprise the audience whenever we can.
Fitz: Is it the same performing in cities as small towns like ours?
Scott: Small towns are nice because it feels like everyone knows each other and it’s sort of like playing in someone’s living room. I’m from Toronto, which I love, but in big cities you have to work a little harder to bring everyone together. That being said, it’s an incredible feeling when you do bring everyone together and everyone is singing together.
Scott Helman performs on March 8 at the Atha-B. It is an 18+ event and tickets cost $10.
