Name: Terra Lightfoot
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Terra Lightfoot's Healing Power is out via Sonic Unyon. She is also currently on tour to support the album. Catch her live here:


If you enjoyed this Terra Lightfoot interview, visit her website for a deeper look into her world. She is also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

That is an amazing gift! I don’t have that. I definitely get hit with feelings when I listen: I can be stopped in my tracks by a song, and I won’t get sick of listening to one song over and over again if it really hits me.  
I listen with eyes closed or open, depending on how deep I want to go, I guess.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

My very first step was listening to my grandmother play piano and sing.

She gave me the most warm welcome one could want into music — it was safe and fun to sit on her piano bench while she played when I was very small.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Back then, I had strong feelings of dislike for pop music — which I don’t really have now. I was definitely starting to become addicted to The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel (thanks to a really great middle school music teacher).

Music wasn’t often played in our home when I was a kid unless I was playing it. Once I started driving, I had my own soundtrack in my car, which was the best sort of freedom I could imagine at that time.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

That has changed over time for me. There has to be an openness to the songs, where they can stand in a lot of different places and be presented in a lot of different ways. It doesn’t always have to be the exact same sound when we perform live. I don’t subscribe to the idea that recordings need to be emulated exactly onstage.

I am motivated to create because I just love doing it and I can’t see myself doing anything else with as much passion as I have for music and writing!

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

Usually discovered.

I believe in the “muse” or inspiration as a thing separate from ourselves. Sometimes it feels as if I’m not involved in the writing process at all, when it’s really fast; sometimes I have lyrical ideas that I can’t process as being about myself when I write them, and later, looking back, I find the deeper meaning that was always there.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I’m a rocker at heart. I also think I have a pretty unique voice as a woman, and that is a sound in itself!

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The wind in the trees is one of my favourite sounds. Same with ocean waves, birdsong …

But my favourite would have to be crickets or peepers — tiny frogs — in the spring and summer. We have peepers in the marsh behind our house and they provide an almost deafening and beautiful chorus on spring nights. It’s rhythmic but it’s also thousands of little voices creating one collective voice and I just love it.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I love loud and simple sounds — crashing cymbals and drums, electric guitar — and I really do love smashing my way through a song really loudly with my band.

But those huge moments aren't ever as impactful without the quiet ones, so I really enjoy those low and slow moments as well.  

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

This new record is my favourite I’ve ever made. I didn’t rush the process, nor did I present all the songs or record them all at once. We would record a song a day over a period of months. I really liked this relaxed way of working as it gave me time to reflect on each group of songs before I tackled the next few.

And I think because of that I was able to reach a new level of songwriting for me.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Oh sure. At a certain point, the experiment of a song becomes really similar to others, because a singular artist usually just wants to sound one particular way, i.e. to have their vocal sound great in a certain key, or to use your favorite chord voicings.

So for me, I have been working on perfecting the same experiment for decades.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I have tried to make music about having fun, loving each other and feeling our feelings no matter how hard it is. I believe music is created so others can heal or process what is happening to them.

The other thing of beauty is that music and songs can mean different things to the writer and the listener(s), so the ripple effect of multiple listeners ascribing a meaning that applies to them. If that helps them in some way, well …. that's the whole goal (and, I think, the purpose of music).

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Ha! Performing is like making a good cup of coffee. Because you have practiced so many times, it comes easily. Everyday tasks can be beautiful too.

This makes me think I should listen to music while I fold laundry, which is one of my least enjoyed tasks. Maybe I could at least dance through the process.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

Absolutely. Bill Evans “When I Fall In Love” is one of my favourites.



Also "Going Down" by Freddie King.



No matter what is going on, I can count on a physical reaction to that song. The groove is so heavy it just gets me right in the gut.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I would like to see people continuing to sing together, in any capacity. That's one of the things we have done for centuries that helps us come together and understand each other and feel a deep sense of connection. So I hope that keeps happening.

I notice a lot of folks singing on a screen by themselves and my hope is that they will collaborate with other musicians as well.