Veda Hille
Encyclopedia
Veda Hille is a Canadian
singer-songwriter
.
, British Columbia
, Canada
. She started playing piano when she was 6 at her own insistence. Her family moved around a lot, from the city to the country and back again. Veda ran around in the woods and the streets, practiced piano, read books and used her Junior Scientist Microscope.
First she played classical music. Then came pop music, and a few years of jazz. There was the ill-fated year as an inept lounge musician. She attended art school studying sculpture, film, and performance art. Veda began writing music in 1990.
She put out an indie cassette, 'Songs About People and Buildings', in 1992. People liked it and she started playing around town. She slowly started the business of touring Canada, and also began a long relationship with the Canadian modern dance scene. In 1994 she released her first CD, 'Path of a Body', and has released an album roughly every 18 months since then. By the time she started working with her current band (assembled in 1997) she was regularly touring Canada, the US, and Germany.
Veda plays piano and tenor guitar, dabbles in banjo, accordion, and protocols, and has a new love affair going on with a nord electro keyboard and a handful of casio
s. She writes about the natural world, the trickiness of love, the constant threat of tragedy, as well as very Vancouver
subjects such as the late painter Emily Carr
('Here Is A Picture') and the missing women of the Downtown Eastside
('Return of the Kildeer's 'Liza Jane').
Veda is also a member of two new bands: Duplex!
(rock music for kids) and The Fits (vaudeville duets). She continues to make her own records, and does so in cahoots with Ape Records, run by XTC
’s Andy Partridge
. Veda is now the in-house composer for Theatre Replacement and collaborates with them on at least one show per year. She recently scored Bonnie Sherr Klein
’s new NFB
film Shameless: The ART of Disability
, and has been producing records for other musicians as well. The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
in Vancouver commissioned part of the writing of Veda's next album, 'This Riot Life', which was released in 2008.
She is married to Justin Kellam of the bands P:ano and No Kids
.
(guitar, organ, French horn), Peggy Lee (cello), and Barry Mirochnick (drums, xylophone, singing saw, whatever happens to be lying around). She has recently added Patsy Klein (vocals, flute) to the mix. These people have toured and recorded together in various formations, playing hundreds of shows and festivals and have collaborated on 5 records.
In 1999 she joined forces with Oh Susanna
and Kinnie Starr
for the "Scrappy Bitches Tour".
Field Study has a specially designed formal show for small theatres and art spaces. In 2000 Veda commissioned Vancouver video artist Shawn Chappelle to make a 50 minute video that accompanies the music from Field Study. The video, constructed from footage shot in the northern landscapes of Canada
, is projected on a large screen behind Veda as she plays the music on a grand piano.
Veda performs solo on tenor guitar, piano, and assorted keyboards. She plays a survey of her own work as well as a few covers.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
Biography
Veda Hille was born in 1968 in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She started playing piano when she was 6 at her own insistence. Her family moved around a lot, from the city to the country and back again. Veda ran around in the woods and the streets, practiced piano, read books and used her Junior Scientist Microscope.
First she played classical music. Then came pop music, and a few years of jazz. There was the ill-fated year as an inept lounge musician. She attended art school studying sculpture, film, and performance art. Veda began writing music in 1990.
She put out an indie cassette, 'Songs About People and Buildings', in 1992. People liked it and she started playing around town. She slowly started the business of touring Canada, and also began a long relationship with the Canadian modern dance scene. In 1994 she released her first CD, 'Path of a Body', and has released an album roughly every 18 months since then. By the time she started working with her current band (assembled in 1997) she was regularly touring Canada, the US, and Germany.
Veda plays piano and tenor guitar, dabbles in banjo, accordion, and protocols, and has a new love affair going on with a nord electro keyboard and a handful of casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
s. She writes about the natural world, the trickiness of love, the constant threat of tragedy, as well as very Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
subjects such as the late painter Emily Carr
Emily Carr
Emily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a post-impressionist painting style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until later in her life...
('Here Is A Picture') and the missing women of the Downtown Eastside
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
('Return of the Kildeer's 'Liza Jane').
Veda is also a member of two new bands: Duplex!
Duplex! (Canadian band)
Duplex! is a children's music band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that claims influences from urban folk to punk rock. The members range in birth years from 1967 to 2002; both toddler Abe Caruso and noted Canadian musician Veda Hille played on the debut album.-Members:Ages given are as of...
(rock music for kids) and The Fits (vaudeville duets). She continues to make her own records, and does so in cahoots with Ape Records, run by XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
’s Andy Partridge
Andy Partridge
Andrew John "Andy" Partridge is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has been known as Sir John Johns and Melchior and rose to fame as a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was raised.Partridge also...
. Veda is now the in-house composer for Theatre Replacement and collaborates with them on at least one show per year. She recently scored Bonnie Sherr Klein
Bonnie Sherr Klein
Bonnie Sherr Klein is a feminist filmmaker, author, and disability rights activist.-Film-making career:Klein worked for the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal as a director and producer in the late 1960s. Between that time and the late 1980s, she made dozens of films there...
’s new NFB
NFB
The acronym NFB may refer to:* National Federation of the Blind, organization representing blind people in the United States* National Film Board of Canada, Canada's public film producer and distributor...
film Shameless: The ART of Disability
Shameless: The ART of Disability
Shameless: The ART of Disability is a documentary film by Bonnie Sherr Klein about persons with disabilities. Produced in 2006 by the National Film Board of Canada, it is Klein's first film since a catastrophic stroke in 1987 left her a quadriplegic...
, and has been producing records for other musicians as well. The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is held in Vancouver, British Colombia each year. Produced over 20 days each January, the PuSh Festival presents work in the live performing arts: theatre, dance, music and various hybrid forms of performance...
in Vancouver commissioned part of the writing of Veda's next album, 'This Riot Life', which was released in 2008.
She is married to Justin Kellam of the bands P:ano and No Kids
No Kids
No Kids is a Canadian indie pop band. Based in Vancouver, the band was formed by Justin Kellam, Julia Chirka and Nick Krgovich following the departure of Larissa Loyva from their earlier band P:ano....
.
Live shows
Since 1997 Veda has been working with Martin Walton (bass, lap steel, ukulele), Ford PierFord Pier
,Ford Pier is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He resides in Vancouver. In addition to his solo albums, he has been a member of Jr...
(guitar, organ, French horn), Peggy Lee (cello), and Barry Mirochnick (drums, xylophone, singing saw, whatever happens to be lying around). She has recently added Patsy Klein (vocals, flute) to the mix. These people have toured and recorded together in various formations, playing hundreds of shows and festivals and have collaborated on 5 records.
In 1999 she joined forces with Oh Susanna
Suzie Ungerleider
Suzie Ungerleider, who writes and performs under the name Oh Susanna, is an American-Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Born in the United States, she was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and is currently based in Toronto.-Bio:...
and Kinnie Starr
Kinnie Starr
Alida Kinnie Starr Pierre is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Calgary, Alberta. Her music, which blends hip hop and alternative rock, has been described as "hip hop aggro groove". Her songs have been included on the soundtracks for the TV series The L Word and the movie Thirteen...
for the "Scrappy Bitches Tour".
Field Study has a specially designed formal show for small theatres and art spaces. In 2000 Veda commissioned Vancouver video artist Shawn Chappelle to make a 50 minute video that accompanies the music from Field Study. The video, constructed from footage shot in the northern landscapes of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, is projected on a large screen behind Veda as she plays the music on a grand piano.
Veda performs solo on tenor guitar, piano, and assorted keyboards. She plays a survey of her own work as well as a few covers.
Discography
- Songs about people and buildings (1992); independent cassette; out of print.
- Path of a body (1994); Veda’s first full length CD made with Stephen Nikleva, Steve Lazin, and Martin Walton
- Spine (1996); Veda’s dark pop record. Made with a fine cast of Canadian musicians.
- Live at Women in (E)Motion (1997); a document of two performances in Bremen, Germany
- Here is a picture (Songs for E Carr) (1998); a song cycle about the Canadian painter Emily CarrEmily CarrEmily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. One of the first painters in Canada to adopt a post-impressionist painting style, Carr did not receive widespread recognition for her work until later in her life...
. Commissioned by Mascall Dance as the score for their choreography "The Brutal Telling". All the lyrics on the record were taken from Ms. Carr's journals, letters, and published writings. This is one of the most beautiful musical journeys. - You do not live in this world alone (1999); an epic band recording. A collection of fairy tales for adults.
- Field Study (2001); A solo album of songs about science and nature. Half of the album is entitled 'YukonYukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
Suite', written about a 3 week journey to the Canadian territory. - Silver (2002); song cycle written for the Vancouver Folk Music FestivalVancouver Folk Music FestivalThe Vancouver Folk Music Festival is an outdoor multistage music festival. It takes place annually, on the third weekend of July. Founded in 1978, this annual festival uses eight outdoor stages, located at Jericho Beach Park on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia.In the past it has...
's 25th anniversary. Performed live July 20, 2002, with video by Shawn Chappelle and many guests. Made as a limited edition of 500, out of print. Hille re-released each track one at a time on her official website in 2007. - Auditorium (2002); live recording of Veda and her band and guests, taken from two nights at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.
- Escape Songs (2004); minimalist computer manipulated album of tiny songs, made with Christof MigoneChristof MigoneChristof Migone is an experimental sound artist and writer, formerly based in Montreal, now living in Toronto.He is the Director/Curator of the Blackwood Gallery and is a lecturer at the Centre for Visual and Media Culture at The University of Toronto's Mississauga campus.Migone's solo recordings...
, at yearly meetings in their homes between 2000 and 2004. - Return of the Kildeer (2005); with guests Dan Goldman, Nick Krgovich and Larissa LoyvaLarissa LoyvaLarissa Loyva is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Based in Vancouver, she has released material and performed as a solo artist under the stage name Kellarissa, as well as with the bands P:ano and The Choir Practice....
of P:anoP:anoP:ano was a Canadian indie pop band formed in 1999 from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band's members consisted of Larissa Loyva, Justin Kellam, Julia Chirka, and Nick Krgovich...
, John Millard, Patsy Klein, Kim Barlow, Suzie UngerleiderSuzie UngerleiderSuzie Ungerleider, who writes and performs under the name Oh Susanna, is an American-Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Born in the United States, she was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and is currently based in Toronto.-Bio:...
, Cam Giroux, Ford PierFord Pier,Ford Pier is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He resides in Vancouver. In addition to his solo albums, he has been a member of Jr...
, Brian Traver-Smith, Ida NilsenIda NilsenIda Nilsen is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and musician. She has been a member of the bands Radiogram, The Violet Archers, The Beans, The Gay, The Buttless Chaps and The Choir Practice, and has appeared as a guest musician on albums by P:ano, Jerk With a Bomb, Montag and Veda Hille.She...
, Barry Mirochnick, Selina Martin and Christine Duncan. Hille's first release on Ape Records, helmed by Andy PartridgeAndy PartridgeAndrew John "Andy" Partridge is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has been known as Sir John Johns and Melchior and rose to fame as a founding member, guitarist and chief songwriter of the pop/new wave band, XTC. He lives in Swindon, Wiltshire, where he was raised.Partridge also...
. - This Riot Life (2008); released in Canada March 9, 2008, released worldwide in May 2008. Studio recording with a full band. Composed mainly around edited Christian hymns, and reflecting on personal tragedy. The song 'Oh, Come On!' is composed entirely of the first lines of hymns. This album was on the long-list for the 2008 Polaris Prize. The instrumental section in "Lucklucky" uses the melody from an earlier song, "Where Am I From?" Two other songs, "The Laboratory" and "Song of the Moldau," were also recorded as part of the project, but were dropped from the CD at the last minute despite forming part of the live shows associated with the album.
- Do You Want What I Have Got? (2009); a small independent release, a collection of songs from 3 different theatre pieces Hille scored: "Do You Want What I Have Got?: A Craigslist Cantata", "Yu-Fo" (both directed by Amiel GladstoneAmiel GladstoneAmiel Gladstone is a Canadian playwright and director. A graduate of the University of Victoria, Gladstone is a founder of Theatre Skam, an alternative theatre company in Victoria, BC and is the former Artistic Associate at Caravan Farm Theatre and the Belfry Theatre...
) and "The Raft of the Medusa" aka "Bone In Her Teeth". They are all live recordings.
Collaborations
- "Wayward" (1995) with Cate Friesen
- "A Recent Future" (1995) with James KeelaghanJames KeelaghanJames Keelaghan is a Juno award-winning Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Born in Calgary, Alberta and now based in Winnipeg, many of his songs, such as "Kiri's Piano", about the internment of Japanese Canadians, and "October 70", about the FLQ crisis, are inspired by events and figures in Canadian...
- "Silence" (1996) with Tara MacLeanTara MacLeanTara MacLean is a Canadian singer and songwriter...
- "Brandspankin'" (1997) with Michael O'Connell
- "While You Slept" (1997) with Andy StochanskyAndy StochanskyAndy Stochansky is a songwriter living in Los Angeles who was once signed to RCA U.S. He first started out as one the most wanted drummers in the Canadian music scene. His popularity caught the attention of songstress Ani DiFranco. Living just south of the border in Buffalo, New York, she asked him...
- "Johnstown" (1999) with Oh SusannaSuzie UngerleiderSuzie Ungerleider, who writes and performs under the name Oh Susanna, is an American-Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. Born in the United States, she was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and is currently based in Toronto.-Bio:...
- "Live for Today" (2000) piano with Kelsie Olivia Love
- When It's Dark And It's Summer (2002), album with P:anoP:anoP:ano was a Canadian indie pop band formed in 1999 from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band's members consisted of Larissa Loyva, Justin Kellam, Julia Chirka, and Nick Krgovich...
- The Den (2004), album with P:ano
- Champ (2007), album with Kim BarlowKim BarlowKim Barlow is a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, based in Whitehorse, Yukon.- Biography :Born in Montreal on March 10, 1969, and raised in rural Nova Scotia, she studied classical guitar at Florida State University before moving to the Yukon....
- Piano and accompanying vocals on Dan ManganDan ManganDaniel Mangan is a Canadian indie folk-rock singer-songwriter.-Early life:Mangan was born in Smithers, British Columbia. His family moved a fair amount, residing in both the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia - and primarily in his current home town of Vancouver...
's song The Indie Queens Are Waiting (2009)
External links
- Interview in Being There magazine, January 2007
- Review of Return of the Kildeer album Blogcritics magazine, May 2007