On Oct. 29, I had the pleasure of attending Folk U’s first session, “The Nuts and Bolts of Sound Equipment and Backline,” at the Calgary Folk Music Festival’s Festival Hall. It was at the open mic session afterwards that I became acquainted with the extremely talented, passionate Vincent Christianson, a young musician working to achieve his dreams as a Calgarian artist. Earlier this year, he won first place at the Calgary Folk Music Festival’s composition competition, and is making great strides in establishing himself musically.
After his performance of two of his compositions, I caught up with him to ask him a bit about his music, his inspirations, and his thoughts on how others can work to achieve their musical goals.
Carol: Who are you and what do you aim to achieve with your work?
Vincent: I’m Vincent Lee Christianson and I’m 16 years old. With my music, I aim to express myself and make it heard. I hope to really touch people, and thats why I focus on lyrics, as that’s what I think can really speak to a person.
C: What makes music important to you?
V: Music is important to me because of how strongly it affects me. I get so touched by music, and I can’t think of anything else that really does the same thing. It makes anything enjoyable for me, and I just hope to make music that can do the same thing to other people.
C: How would you describe your style of music?
V: My style of music would be relaxed and melodic folk, centred around the storytelling style lyrics that got big in the 60s. Im also hoping to introduce some unique elements music wise into it, as I produce electronic music and sing classically. I’m hoping to find and interesting mix where I can involve all the areas of music that I love.
C: Can you describe your creative process?
V: For me, when I’m writing songs, usually I have to be inspired by something. It can be another song that I absolutely loved, or just a simple phrase that stood out to me during my day. Usually I have a phrase or idea that I want to the song to be centred around, and then I’ll just play around and experiment until I have something melodically that I think will work. Once I have the main idea for both the lyrics and music, it just flows.
C: What keeps you motivated?
V: I don’t really have to do anything to stay motivated. I love music and I love making it, and once I have an idea I am determined to make something out of it. Really, when I make music, not only am I doing it for others, but I am also doing it for myself.
C: What advice would you give to other young musicians hoping to make music their career in Calgary?
V: I would say to never be shy. I can’t really speak with a ton of experience but I feel like so many opportunities can be lost if artists don’t have the nerve to stand up and promote themselves. And also, every little thing is exposure, no matter how small.
Thanks once more to Vincent for stopping by and sharing his thoughts!
