michelle bellerose: new cover song demo, cry me a river...

ABOUT THIS ARTIST

Michelle Bellerose is a self-produced musician, visual artist and writer. She worked as a feature film production coordinator for ten years before turning her hand to a one-year organic vegetarian project that was named Restaurant of the Decade (2000-2010) by Toronto's NOW Magazine. An innovator whose multidisciplinary work touches all human senses through her ongoing investigations into intuition, creativity, and health, she has independently and persistently produced original music, visual art, and provocative commentary in support of spiritual quest, alternative medicine and holistic science.

In all of her endeavours, her trailblazing approach invites us to hone our relationships with our bodies and minds in order to experience enchantment and wonder. From pioneering a new form of yoga, to her award-winning work as a gourmet chef, Michelle continually breaks ground with her work and play.

As a musician, an eclectic mix of sounds blends into Michelle's own unmistakable style. In 2008 she was nominated for a Niagara Music Award, in the category Best Female Vocalist, and her music has featured in three Antero Alli films, a Reality Sandwich podcast, and on CBC radio and numerous North American college stations. Unique vocals along with her skilled treatment of both improvised and recorded arrangements contribute to her growing reputation as a leading musical talent. She has performed at numerous venues, from the famed Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires to Toronto's Lula Lounge, C'est What?, Cameron House, Comfort Zone, Bambu, Ontario Place, and Distillery Jazz Festival, James Street Supercrawl in Hamilton, Ottawa's Mercury Lounge and Elmdale Tavern, and BC Place in Vancouver, as well as numerous shows in coffee shops, stores, lofts, galleries, libraries, restaurants, parking lots, private homes and nature areas.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

new cover song demo, cry me a river...

performed and produced by michelle bellerose 31 Jan 2014 toronto

based on material recorded in 2010

i always feel constrained to point out, i don't publish tracks to send subtle messages out or to express personal sentiments, that's not my thing. i love directness. hiding behind art to endlessly reprocess personal glamour, bias and drama doesn't come naturally to me and i don't admire examples of it. to me, art and music are liberal, sometimes abstract technical explorations, opportunities to put on a theatrical mask and become someone else. in short, its freedom to be impersonal not confessional. i save confessions for my non-fiction writing.

so when it comes to covers, its usually the case that i've recently heard something by chance on the airwaves and then it pops into mind when i'm listening to a new instrumental groove i've created... when the lyrics make a natural fit i develop it further, but i never set out with an intention to cover a particular song. i'm as surprised as the listener to hear what choices my imagination makes.

finally, as with this track, sometimes i loose interest along the way and set things aside. recently i was going thru some of my discards and found stuff that sounded more appealing to me after a few years had passed and my inner critic calmed down. this is one example of a throwaway i gave a second chance to.