Music Beat
Shaela Miller has been a familiar face in the Southern Alberta country music scene for many years during which she has explored a variety of styles of music in including alternative rock and alternative country to traditional country music.
She won first prize in the 2022 Project Wild competition and took home $100, 953, some of which she put towards her new album and new sound — synth heavy ’80s dark Wave on her brand new album “ After The Masquerade. which has been released on Neon Moon Records.
In addition to releasing new music and playing shows, she mentors young musicians through organizations like Lethbridge Girls Rock Camp and through her other eneavours.
She is in the middle of a tour for the new album which kicked off with two of three sold out shows at the Owl Acoustic lounge and the Slice plus a special all ages special matinee. She took some time to answer some questions over e-mail.
I’ve followed your career basically since you’ve started and you have explored a variety of sounds from Neko Case alt country, traditional country for the past few albums and now a more ’80s pop for the new music. What made you decide to explore this new sound for the new album? You’ve said on the Neon Moon Records website that you have been waiting to do this for a long time? Why now?
I bought a synthesizer a few years ago with the desire to start a side project in the new wave/dark wave sonic realm. After writing a few songs and recording demos creating the new sound, I determined with my band and peers that it didn't make sense to have a side project. And I knew once we got started, I had no desire to record another full on country album. New wave music has always been the dearest to my heart and making a record like this has always been a goal of mine.
You’re with Neon Moon Records. How did that relationship develop? How’s it going?
Neon Moon Records was co-founded by my manager Jessica Marsh, whom I've been working with for the last 5 years. Together, she and I explored multiple label options for the release of After The Masquerade, but the amount of creative control I wanted to have wasn't in the cards for the other labels we were looking at. The Neon Moon model of label agreement aligns with my wants and needs as an artist, and since I already have a strong and trusted relationship with Jessica as my manager, it was an easy decision for me to get further involved with her in this way.
Tell me about the songwriting and recording process for “After The Masquerade.” What inspired the lyrics? How long did it take to write the songs and record the album? Who did you record it with?
I lost a very dear friend of mine in 2021. A lot of the songs on this record were written during my sorrow and grief surrounding that. Learning to build my life around it and pick myself up and soldier on. Some of the songs were written over a couple years even before this loss. For example, "Station" was written when I was 19. I had been wanting to re-record and release it for some time , and when we started to rework it for this record with the synths, it came together beautifully.
We recorded in Calgary at the National Music Centre - Studio Bell recording studio with Graham Lessard as the producer. It was my first time recording with a producer and I was a little nervous going into it, how much creative control he would want to have, but we talked for hours about our shared love of new wave music and I knew he understood my vision. I couldn't have been happier about how that pairing turned out.
Do you have any favourite tracks on the new album. You’ve played a lot of them live. Which ones are the most fun to play live?
Mourning Tonight is really fun to play live. It gets the dance floor grooving every time. But I honestly love playing them all. Even the slower songs like "I Can't Love" and "Sunglasses". Some of the songs make me choke up a bit and I have to work hard to not let that happen so I can sing. And as for favourite tracks - “Of Roses”, “In My Dreams” are very dear to my heart, but I truly love every single one of them.
