A Chat with Vikki Gilmore (25.10.23)
With the intimacy of Joni Mitchell and the sincerity of Phoebe Bridgers, singer-songwriter Vikki Gilmore brings her own blend of indie-folk to audiences. We speak with Canada-based Gilmore about her self-released album Mental Backroads, being a musician in the 21st century, future plans and more!
OSR: Cliché, but what drew you to music? Why did you decide to become a musician?
Gilmore: Growing up, my family introduced me to some incredible musicians. My mom was a Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Genesis girl. One of my aunts was a Neil Young, CCR, Bachman-Turner Overdrive girl, and my other aunt was a Charles Aznavour, The Cure, and Leonard Cohen girl. That gives you a good intro to my intro to music. I loved singing (alone in my room) and knew I wasn’t very good at it. In high school, I played clarinet in the concert band, developed some music theory knowledge, and applied it to the song lyrics I would write for fun. I got a guitar, learned from YouTube and UltimateGuitar.com and things started falling into place! It became a therapeutic hobby of mine and the rest is history.
OSR: Mental Backroads is a self-produced and released album. What challenges did you face when creating it?
Gilmore: Funding was definitely a big challenge – taking a big chunk of money you’ve worked hard for and putting it towards something that you can’t guarantee will ever pay off is really scary but I have absolutely no regrets. It’s always been a goal of mine and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share these songs with whoever wants to listen. I’ve gained so many skills from being an independent artist and I love being able to apply them to projects like this. I love editing my music videos, coming up with fun social media marketing ideas, booking live performances, and having full creative control over my music. It’s both empowering and isolating because I end up spending hours alone at home just trying to get it all done. Collaborating with friends makes it super fun and worthwhile and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped contribute to Mental Backroads!
OSR: If you could change one thing about Mental Backroads, what would it be?
Gilmore: I would add more songs if I could! I have dozens of songs that are written but probably won’t ever see the light of day. I had to limit myself due to budget restrictions but if I could’ve added 3-4 more songs, I definitely would’ve!
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Gilmore: I hope people find comfort! I like the idea of my songs being the background music to important moments in people’s lives – dinner parties, road trips, getting work done. I hope this album offers people some sort of warmth, an opportunity to reflect on life experiences, and maybe even a guiding light during difficult times.
OSR: Do you believe Mental Backroads is a good representation of where you are as a person and musician?
Gilmore: I believe it is! I’ve been on this musical journey for about a decade, starting with posting covers on YouTube to now releasing my very own album. It was a long journey of developing different skills and developing a community of support. I think I’ve finally found my sound and my voice with this album being the most representative of my songwriting. My goal is to tell stories through song and I think this album does a good job of weaving 8 different stories together.
OSR: What is the best and worst thing (for lack of a better word) about being a solo artist in the 21st century? What benefits and challenges do you face?
Gilmore: The best thing is the creative control I have over my music. Without a label, I’m not even sure how people released music independently beforehand. Now you have everything you could ever ask for at your fingertips online: do-it-yourself distributors, video and photo editors, digital audio editing software, and more. I would say that’s such a cool perk about the 21st century.
I would say having to be a full-time social media marketing specialist is pretty difficult – it feels like you’re often chasing virality to legitimize your work. Stats are public and I used to be really fixated on Spotify streams and YouTube plays to feel validated that my work was any good. But I’ve grown away from that mentality and I’m so proud of any and all milestones and happy to share them on social media. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to own my music, call my shots, and share my art.
OSR: Would you rather be reincarnated as a dog or a cat?
Gilmore: I would say a dog because I’d probably be allergic to myself as a cat!
OSR: Pick your favourite decade and tell us why you chose that one.
Gilmore: From a musical standpoint I would probably say the 70s because people were getting pretty experimental with music and the technology that was developing. It’s also the music I grew up with so a big part of me wishes I could’ve heard that music live in concert when it first came out! I went to the Pink Floyd experience exhibit a few months ago and all I could think about was who our generation’s Floyd would be. Not in the sense of having a replica band, but which artists would have exhibits outlining their musical journeys, big tours, inspiration, and more.
OSR: What do you think makes you unique?
Gilmore: Honestly, I’m not quite sure what makes me unique as an artist and I love the fact that my musical style and influence is made up of little parts of all the artists I’ve ever loved. I adore that my songwriting is somewhat based on bits and pieces of songs that I’ve been attached to since I was a kid, songs that I associate with different people in my life and more. Perhaps what is unique about me is how observant I am of the world around me. I try to see beauty in the mundane around me and incorporate that in my songs. Leonard Cohen’s ‘Bird On A Wire’ does that for me – every time I see a bird on a telephone wire I think of that song! I want to create music like that as well.
OSR: Do you have advice for emerging artists?
Gilmore: Always keep learning! All the little things you learn along the way will add up and save you money over time. When I first started out, I knew nothing about web design and development and I forked out a lot of money that I saved up from working odd jobs for someone to add a template to WordPress and do nothing else. Now, I maintain my own website, I can do basic coding for quick fixes and it has helped me tremendously. Keep honing your craft, write wacky things, try odd-sounding harmonies and melodies, because all of this will help you go beyond what you think you’re capable of doing. When I started out I pretty much only sang in falsetto and over the years I feel more comfortable singing in a lower register. It’s fun to see how you can grow by pushing the confines of your own self-defined box!
OSR: What can we expect from Vikki Gilmore in the future?
Gilmore: I will be having an album launch show on December 10th in Montreal at Le Ministère and I can’t wait to start performing this album live! I’d love to do more shows and collaborate with more artists in the future. I will always be writing and I look forward to the future music I release.
Many thanks to Vikki Gilmore for speaking with us! For more from this talented musician, check out her official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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