Colleen Brown: Young heart, old soul

Singer-songwriter Colleen Brown is a young woman with an old soul.

You may have heard the young Edmonton singer-songwriter on CBC Song Quest where she was a finalist, or on CBC Radio 2 where she received a lot of airplay on Rich Terfry’s Drive.

She has become well know for her retro brand of folk-pop, inspired by the likes of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Heart, and was recently awarded the Alberta Emerging Artist Award.

Colleen not only plays keyboards, and guitar on her own but also plays in two side projects, rock band The Secretaries, and retro show band The Kit Kat Club. Brown put out her debut album A Peculiar Thing back in 2004, sophomore album Heart in Foot in 2007, and re-released Heart in Foot on Dead Daisy Records in March of 2010.

In her youth she studied dance, piano and musical theatre. She also attended Grant MacEwan College where she studied vocal performance.

“From there I started to perform live at coffee houses around Edmonton and eventually around Alberta and B.C. I put out my first album in 2004 and since then it’s been trying to make something out of it as a career,” says Brown over the phone from the road.

“More of the original material that we’re doing now is a little more poppy and less folky, we’re kind of moving away from that. More a full band instrumentation for a lot of the new stuff, except for this tour which is just a duo thing. I play piano and the guitar and I’m with my electric guitarist.”

Brown says over all the music has gotten simpler over time.

“I think we’re moving away from the complicated, singer-songwriter, piano stuff. There was a lot more parts on A Peculiar Thing that were a lot more intricate, there’s a lot more moving about the chord progressions and probably now I’m playing and writing simpler music,” says Brown.

“We always try to find the colour with different parts and different kinds of sounds. We really try to simplify it so it’s easier to connect with the music.”

Brown says fans can expect a new album from her as she will be going back into the studio in November and December to record her next album. She says there are likely to be more collaborations on this record (including one with Peter Marchand).

“Recently I’ve been really influenced by Kate Bush, so I won’t be so surprised if there’s a bit of a Kate Bush vibe on this new record, but that’s the only secret I’m giving away!”

You can see her at the Burton Cummings Theatre October 9th opening for the Crash Test Dummies. Find out more at www.colleenbrownmusic.com.