Artist Bella St. Clair Talks Vancouver, Musical Theater, And New Self-Directed Video “High”

This electric singer always has a new bop at the ready!

Singer-Songwriter Bella St.Clair just reached a new milestone for her music career. Not only is her new release “High” one of the most catchy songs we’ve heard this week, but she directed the entire music video herself.

We had the absolute honor of interviewing Bella on her music journey, her favorite artist, and the inspiration behind her new release.

Q: When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in music?

B: “I started performing as a kid in musical theatre shows, dance, and choir recitals and I loved it almost right away. I had stage fright when I was young – when I’d come on stage I’d go deaf and get tunnel vision – but I still remember the moment, when I was 10 years old, that it went away. I was performing a lip sync performance of Joan Jett’s I love Rock ‘n’ Roll in my hometown theatre in front of about 450 people at our annual Lip Sync competition and during the breakdown of the song I got the audience to clap along. My fright dissolved and for the first time I was really up there, in the moment, feeding off the crowd’s energy and giving it right back. That’s when I was like, “yep. This is it. This is what I want to do.”

Q: Tell us about your new single “High”.

B: “High is a sad, psychedelic exploration of cocaine abuse and toxic love. Coming out of a pretty tumultuous relationship I realized how my ex’s behavior around drugs mirrored his behavior in the relationship. In a way, this song is written from what I see as his perspective. The whole, “I won’t do it again, I’ll be better,” then the euphoria when it feels like it’s all going great, the “This time is different” when it starts to sour, and then the rock-bottom feeling of desperation when you realize what a mess you are. Then it happens all over again. 

You can hear that in the song. In the first verse, the main character is in euphoric denial, stuck in an endless loop of lust and delirium. In the second verse, the song takes on a frantic, almost paranoid tone, as the production glitches the singer begins to question her decisions, her worth, and her very existence: “What am I without you? (nothing)/ Am I water or wine?/ If this isn’t good for me, would you let me know?/ God, give me a sign.” Then at the end, the singer succumbs to the elation and the desperation of her addictions and with a final, sampled “you get me,” the cycle begins again.”

Q: What was it like being able to both direct and produce this music video?

B: “That was such an amazing creative experience. Having total creative control is incredibly freeing. I’ve worked on a lot of other projects where I was just playing the one part of an actor, dancer, whatever, and I’d always envied a director’s ability to shape everything to their vision. I wanted this song and video to be inextricably intertwined, feeding off each other, influencing one other because is a meta sense that’s what this story is all about. Obviously producing my own video was the best way to give myself that opportunity.

Working with such talented videographers like Dallas and Phil from Pool Service helped me bring this vision to life so quickly. They built the world I had in my mind and made sure it materialized through the shoot and editing.”

Q: If you could feature on a song with any artist, who would it be and why?

B: “Oh MAN, what a question. Honestly, if I could pick anyone, it would be Lana Del Rey. She’s a huge influence on my music and she’s got this magnetic voice and personality that I would just love to be around, let alone get a chance to sing with her.”

Q: What is the Vancouver music scene like?

B: “There are a ton of really talented artists in Vancouver. The Vancouver music scene isn’t as loud necessarily as bigger cities like Toronto, but it’s full of artists. What I love the most about the music scene here is the sheer variety of styles you see. You get everything from west coast folk to bedroom pop to this amazing hip hop contingent and they’re often playing sets together at the same shows and on the same stages. It feels like Vancouver doesn’t know genre boundaries and artists support each other regardless of what kind of music they make and where they come from.”

Q: Can we expect more music from you this year?

B: “You sure can. I’ll have a video out to you for another song, I don’t know how to love you, by the end of the year. I hope to drop a single in between this release and that one, too!”

Q: What are your biggest goals for your music career?

B: “My biggest goals are: #1 to make and release a music video. So, yay! And #2 to play a gig on a famous stage. The Troubadour in LA or The Bowery Ballroom in NY would be absolutely earth-shattering.”

Q: Where can we follow your amazing journey?

B: “Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @thebellastclair, and on Facebook and Youtube (Isabella St Clair)!”