Le Ren

Interview by Sienna Edwards

Photography and Editing by Loren Armstrong

At Home with Le Ren

How did growing up on Bowen Island influence your music? Is there anything in particular around the Sunshine Coast and Gulf Islands area that inspired you?
I think growing up on Bowen [Island] definitely influenced me because it was like such a small community of 4000 people, a lot of artists, and we were definitely encouraged to let our freak flags fly. I went to my dad's independent school, it was like 50 kids – and there were coffee houses where all the kids were definitely encouraged to perform. So I performed a lot for the local community when I was young, and everyone was just so supportive. and it felt very doable to get up on a stage and sing in that environment, but it also kind of gave me a twisted idea of what the real world would be like. I had a duo with my friend, and the first show that we played in Vancouver, we were like, “they don't want an encore?”
I also wrote a lot about the natural environment growing up. I had a song about the ocean, and trees, and deer, and stuff. My first duo was actually called Fawnfair. When I was a teenager, it was very “in vogue” to have West Coast themed bands, like Hey Ocean and Said The Whale. We were definitely trying to be in that realm.

I’m curious about the contrast between rural and urban in your music between the gulf islands and Montreal. I’m wondering how that difference affected your music and writing. Would you associate some of your songs with the Sunshine Coast and some with Montreal, or do you find inspiration from all over?
It’s definitely a mix, but I find when I'm in Montreal I go more inward because of the environment. When I'm on Bowen, I feel like I'm forced to kind of get out of my own head because everything is so much bigger than me, like the mountains and the ocean. But in Montréal, I'm in my apartment and I spend a lot of time indoors, and [there’s] the winter, so I find myself writing about my own life or the lives of my friends.
When I was out [on Bowen] I wrote a song called “I Already Love You.” It's about motherhood, and I wrote it in my family home. So I think about those kinds of bigger life concepts, in that environment I zoom out a bit more.

Is there a past song of yours that you think about differently now that time has passed from whatever inspired you to write it?
For sure. I feel like all of my songs change shape as the years go on, which is really interesting. Because, when I'm writing it I'm so in my feelings, and as time goes on, I'll have love songs where it's about somebody from my past, but then if I'm in love, I'll picture the person that I'm currently in love with and sing it for them.
I think there are songs that have revealed different meanings to me over time. There's a song called “Your Cup,” which is a love song. When I was writing it, it was talking about the beauty of becoming intertwined with somebody, and now that I'm looking back at that song, I think I see that it's also about the danger of becoming too intertwined with someone and not being able to see yourself as separate.
I definitely feel like I have insight, looking back. I've also written songs that were breakup songs and I didn't realize. It's not released, but I had a song that I wrote that I showed to a partner of mine, and he was like, “are you gonna break up with me?” And I was like, “no, how could you hear that from this?” But now, looking back, I was like, oh, yeah – some songs can be premonitions, and I didn't realize that.

I know you’re a big fan of older folk and country artists, but are there any contemporary country/folk artists you like nowadays?
Yeah, I've been really, really into pop-country. There's this girl named Carter Faith that I'm obsessed with. She's just dropping singles, she hasn't released an album. She's just done a ton of singles and they all are smashes. I love her. There's this woman, Carly Pierce, whom I adore. Her album 29: Written in Stone was one of my most listened to albums last year. One of my friends, Erin Rae. She's incredible. Yeah, and the list goes on and on. Oh, also S.G. Goodman, whom I opened for.
I definitely love listening to contemporary music and I’m really excited about who's playing out there right now. Which is great, because I feel like I know a lot of people that are kind of done with new music and only want to listen to the oldies, but I love it all.

How was forming a music community in the city and getting into the scene? And what advice would you give to newer musicians trying to break into the Montreal scene?
I think, when I first moved here, I took a while to find my feet. I went to Grumpy's Bar every Wednesday and played bluegrass music, so that was scratching that itch. I didn't find a huge bluegrass and folk music scene 11 years ago, when I moved here. [Back then,] Grimes and Mac DeMarco were coming up, so it was a very different world of music than I knew – and it was so exciting.
But I also had grown up playing folk and bluegrass, so I didn't feel like my influences fit in. One of my first bands here was more electronic leaning. I sang and pressed a sample board, something that I would never do now – I felt like I was an impostor, because I was – that's just not what I was used to.
I think, honestly, over the last five years, I started being more proactive about reaching out to people that I admired and making friends [with them]. I think only now [do] I feel like a part of the community, and it's so rewarding to be able to see what everyone's doing, support each other, and play in each other's bands.
But, for advice, I would say just play shows. Play whatever shows. I can't even count how many shows I played in the city, and just like random, random stuff. I would play anything that I could. I think that's the best way to do it. Because then you start meeting people who are like-minded.

Where have you been on tour that has been the most receptive audience of your music? Or a favourite show you’ve done?
I just went on tour with Devendra Banhart, and it was incredible, he was so sweet. I felt like Vermont was a really good show. I don't know a ton about Vermont, but everyone was just listening so sweetly. I played Chicago on that run, and I played this venue that I was really looking forward to doing a show [in], called Thalia Hall. Everyone was just talking and talking, and it's hard when I play such quiet music to have people pay attention, especially when I'm opening, because they're not there for me. So that can be really discouraging. But, in Vermont, for whatever reason, they were really silent – like scary. I was terrified. I wasn't expecting it, I was really grateful.

What other mediums of art do you like doing besides music?
I grew up being an art nut, I love arts and crafts. I actually went to Emily Carr for a year, and then I ended up getting a degree in art history. So art runs through my veins, for sure. Photography, I think, is my favourite and most consistent practice, even though it doesn't feel like a practice. I just like taking portraits of my friends, and recently, I like taking photos on tour. There was a time where I wanted to be a photographer.
I’m taking a pottery class. I write pretty consistently, so I'm excited to do something that has nothing to do with words, and I can kind of get out of my head a bit. It's easy to overthink a song, and what I'm saying, and what is being said, so I'm excited to just do something very tactile.

Who is your dream musical collaboration?
Erin Rae, my friend. I hope we collaborate at one point. I was a fan first, and then we became actual friends. But I still feel like such a fangirl of hers. I love her writing, I love her voice, I love her as a person. She just glows, she's definitely up there.
And then there's Bonnie Raitt, and Gillian Welch. I mean, there's like a billion people that I adore that don't seem within reach. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince Erin to sing a song with me one day.

Any details you can share on any upcoming music?
I'm writing a new record. I've kind of overwritten it – I've written too many songs, and now I'm trying to figure out how to scale it back a bit. I’m excited about what I’ve written, I feel proud of it, and I feel like I'm being intentional about this collection. With my last record, I was just writing to write, and then was given the opportunity to put it out, and I didn't have an awareness of an audience, it was very much for me. Now that I’ve experienced being able to write songs and connect with people, I want to be more intentional about what messages I’m talking about. I just feel like I'm taking it seriously, and I feel very fortunate to be in a position where I’m able to share corners of my life with people. So yeah, I'm excited about the next record, it's what I'm most proud of – and it has not been made yet.