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.

APPEARING NEXT...


ComScore

ANIMAL POWERS spring 2011

ANIMAL POWERS spring 2011

Thursday, February 13, 2014

record label interest...!

for the first time in my life i got a tweak of interest from a pretty major american record label founded by a talent-spotting producer with a roster that includes quite a few big names. i'm a little gobsmacked! if nothing further comes of this, i'm cool, the message on its own made me feel so positive! its about the significance of the sign... as a sign it means i'm getting out of my own way enough that opportunities can finally reach me.

i've always wondered where i could take things, how much differently i could manifest this music in me if i finally had recourse to a guiding supervisor to help separate out wheat from chaff, bring out the best that i'm capable of, and the opportunity to work with other musicians instead of endlessly self-referencing in an abstracted digital arena. i'm old enough now to have long since neutralized those parts of me that were seeking approval and fame as a cure for my insecurities... at root i simply love to create and am keenly curious about what i could contribute to music culture given the opportunity. maybe my time has come? if not with this label, its still an encouragement tweak to keep open to possibility as  never before... i've learned its no good to keep alive past disappointments as it attracts more of the same, so i only have good feelings about this message from very big fish indeed.

the song i submitted for consideration was thousand ancestors wide...




A&R Department — 02/12/2014 04:50PM EST

Powerful song. I'm marking this to send up to the guys. One thing about this song, A listener may not like it but he can't ignore it. Let's see what they say. I think the lyric might need a bit of truncation but it is a memorable song. Has much the impact of "Nico" (who's probably before your time :) all best, ****

UPDATE
I got the final verdict and I can't find a way to feel poorly about this conclusion to be honest. I think it tells me that my work has quality, that it captures the ear of a lot of people, but because of its unusualness business men don't know how to sell it as easily as they do other genre-faithful material and straightforwardly commerical artists. this gives them pause that for now takes me out of the running, but it also buys me time and understanding. ah yes how lovely they art, time and understanding, the keys to good musicianship.


While the industry professional did not choose your song for this opportunity, they did leave you the following message in regards to your submission:
  1. Great submission. Made it through two rounds of review! Thank you for sending.
  2. Good candidate but regretfully it doesn't make the final cut

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.



Tuesday, January 7, 2014

inquiries...

email: maudeworks at gmail dot com

Sunday, September 22, 2013

*NEWS*

Antero Alli's newest film, "THE BOOK OF JANE" (which features three of my musical compositions in the soundtrack), has its world premiere Thursday November 21st, 8pm at Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Ave, downtown Berkeley, CA. This screening is also a fundraiser to help offset final post-production expenses.... http://www.verticalpool.com/beyondthegods.html

Saturday, July 20, 2013

sensitivity of things...


“We did a test, we took an analog recording of a bird sanctuary. We went to another bird sanctuary and we played the recording and the birds responded—they heard all these other birds and they started making all this noise and getting all excited—something was really happening. And then they played a digital copy of the same recording and they did nothing. Like they didn’t hear anything. It’s a little revealing of the sensitivity of things.” [David Mancuso & Danny Krivit]

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

news...

i'm pleased to report that another track from ANIMAL POWERS has been selected for the soundtrack of the forthcoming film THE BOOK OF JANE by Antero Alli due for release at the end of this year...!




for more information about THE BOOK OF JANE visit this link...

Monday, June 24, 2013

eastern influences...

i've long been a lover of eastern music, particularly indian, tibetan, middle eastern and persian varieties. i was lucky to have occasion to study with many local luminaries like gauri guha (hindustani classical ragas), suda and som naimpally (bhajans and kirtans), and dr. hussain khan (harmonium). given my spread out and profligate interests i knew from the outset that mastering these highly specialized musical forms was out of the question, such an enterprise would take a minimum ten years exclusive devotion. i understood that at most i could pick up a flavouring and an inflection from these sojourns... many of the orthodox in the local world music scene had some issues with my borrowing liberally and as i cared to from cultures people were at pains to preserve in the details, but i felt and i continue to, that the rich heritage of this planet is for all of us to enjoy and play with to the extent of our choosing...













Monday, June 17, 2013

cover songs...




i love to add my own twist to songs i didn't write. this can involve altering the melody, even transposing the lyric into an entirely different musical or rhythmic context... its rare indeed that my cover versions go anywhere near keeping the faith of their originals... instead i think they play up the high degree of plasticity available in any re-interpretation of the form.




















Sunday, June 9, 2013

recent work on paper


gravy train

keeping to the effort of closing out my archives before starting some fresh projects, this is a remix of a little sketch i did a few years ago where i gave myself the exercise to channel my inner little girl. the results were interesting... the lyrics, like all my lyrics, came unbidden, and tell the non-biographical story of a disappointed puppy love, and the voice that came forward when i hit the record button sounds about eight years old, even though i was in my forties when i produced it... ♥




spaceship radiant gray



contributions to soundtrack

an original song from 2008 and one from 2012 which will both appear in a new Antero Alli film currently in production entitled 'The Book of Jane'... for more information, please visit... www.verticalpool.com/bookofjane.html





saigon storm

i felt inspired to explore some jah backbeat in this new release with a splash of spoken word thrown in for good measure...


radio play...!

i will be getting airplay in Hollywood, CA this month on ULTIMATE UNDERGROUND, Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 9am/9pm on KLED Live FM.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

radio play....!


MY MUSIC HITS INTERNATIONAL AIRWAVES TONIGHT!!! THANK YOU MARTIN OF NTB RADIO....!!!

"Not only an incredible dream pop musician but a cool artist as well is Michelle Bellerose who joins the NBTMusicRadio stream featured rather heavily at 6 PM Berlin Time (5 PM UK/ 12 Midday New York) and for our USA/Canadian Audiences at 9 PM New York time) Highly recommended..."

http://nbtmusicradio.playtheradio.com/

TuneIn (for Windows Phone, Blackberry and Android):NBTMusicRadio
iTunes: Click on 'Advanced' then 'Open Stream'
and paste: http://listen.radionomy.com/nbtmusicradio.m3u
or search Under 'radios' /'eclectic'
stream thru your Media Player: http://listen.radionomy.com/nbtmusicradio.m3u

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

framed originals for sale

starting today until second last week in june, a selection of my watercolours are on display and available for purchase at BLUEBIRD, a fabulous boutique curated by Crystal Silden filled with beautiful things for the home and body... if you're in the neighbourhood, please stop by and take a look... ♥

BLUEBIRD
758 Queen Street West
Toronto ON M6J 1E9
416-535-3232

Store Hours
Monday-Wednesday 11-6
Thursday-Friday 11-8
Saturday-Sunday 11-7


Tuesday, March 19, 2013

recent work on paper...



**SOLD** 花鳥風月 kachou fuugetsu, 9x10" watercolour on paper **SOLD** 

Friday, March 15, 2013

recent work on paper...


the wish, 9x12" watercolour on paper

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

recent work on paper...


be like a child looking, 9x12" watercolour on paper, 2013

Friday, February 15, 2013

recent work on paper...


contessa of street animals, 9x12" watercolour on paper, 2013 ***SOLD***

Wednesday, October 17, 2012



the elder, watercolour, acrylic on canvas


Saturday, October 13, 2012




self-portrait october 2012



*TONIGHT* don't miss the screening of SOCKEYE at the Royal Cinema
directed by Ben Roberts with Rick Roberts and Michelle Bellerose

feedback: "Awesome work on Sockeye. Sexy, natural and wicked......"

with poet Kathy Figueroa following a performance in Bancroft, Ontario

Saturday, September 8, 2012


imperial pub, toronto, september 2012
photo henry martinuk

Thursday, August 30, 2012

recent work on canvas







Tuesday, June 5, 2012

self portrait june 2012

Tuesday, May 29, 2012


*NEW* HAMILTON GIG FRIDAY JUNE 8 
>> my showtime is 7p <<

THE UNDERGROUND, 41 Catharine Street North
tickets $22.50 online at TicketScene.ca

this gig is the pre-show party for Gilby Clarke's appearance at Club 77 as part of Spring Music Festival... tickets are for the headline show which includes the pre-show at the Underground... its the only way to get in...

"Gilby, along with a selection of local up and coming independent artists, will be performing on Friday June 8th at Club 77, 77 King William Street, Hamilton. Tickets are $22.50 in advance and available at Dr. Disc and online at TicketScene.ca..."



MICHELLE BELLEROSE showtime 820-850pm


Monday, May 14, 2012

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

feedback

"Michelle Bellerose put on a phenomenal show this evening at The Craftsman Restaurant, in Paudash. I'm going to have to invent some new ways of describing music to adequately convey how amazing she was. The best thing I've come up with, so far, is to say that her singing and songwriting abilities are to music what the storytelling and magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez are to literature. Amazing and brilliant... It's like her voice and instrumentation (including all sorts of recorded tracks) combine elements of Laurie Anderson, The Cocteau Twins, and Loreena McKennitt. I even thought of Grace Jones, at one point... The music is really complex and makes a lot of other stuff seem weak or diluted, in comparison. Amazing, amazing, amazing... Everyone was just raving about her show and I think she might've sold out of the cds that she brought." [Kathy Figueroa]

feedback

"I had so much fun opening for you. And you are soooooooo amazing live! It's all my friends and I could talk about Saturday heh, how much you blew us away and how big your voice was and how awesome you sounded." [KA]

Sunday, March 18, 2012

feedback


♪You were amazing! I hope you have more concerts coming up!
Beautiful haunting melodic spiritual earth grounded music that gets you moving deep inside .. :-)
-JM

Sunday, March 4, 2012

feedback

"Thank you Michelle for bringing such a great show to St. Catharines. It really was one of the best events Aina and I have attended this year and far surpassed in quality a lot of other musical events on bigger stages with big audiences." [DF]

Monday, February 14, 2011

the toltec agreements

1. Be Impeccable with your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

[from The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz; all artwork on this page by Michelle Bellerose]

anny maux 2011

warrior of tenderness 2010

warrior of tenderness 2010

‎"Mythology IS the song. It is the song of the imagination, inspired by the energies of the body."
[Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers]

spirit portraits by michelle bellerose



a new project, this series of totemic illustrations are done within an hour and with no special art supplies, just contact cement, photocopy paper, a pencil, sometimes ink, watercolours, and images from old magazines people have put out for free circulation.