A Chat With Haley Blais: “Wisecrack”
Words & Photos by EugEnie Durocher
Canadian singer and songwriter Haley Blais made a stop in Montreal while supporting indie pop duo Tommy Lefroy on their Le Trashfire Tour. While having a background in classical music, Blais also got their start on YouTube, where she still currently uploads vlogs, chatting videos, and music videos. Since then, Haley has come out with multiple personal projects, like her sophomore album Wisecrack, recently released on September 15th. Before performing stripped-back versions of her songs at Pop Montreal, Pleaser had the chance to chat with Blais about all things Wisecrack, directing, and perfume!
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PLEASER: To start, can you introduce yourself — your name and your big three if you know them!
HALEY BLAIS: My name is Haley Blais, I’m a virgo sun, aries moon and capricorn rising.
P: Okay, wow!
H: News to me!
P: Well, my best friend is also a virgo sun, and I’m a capricorn sun!
H: Oh there’s some connection here, I was feeling that!
P: Well first of all, congrats on your new album [Wisecrack]!
H: Thank you!
P: So beautiful by the way, I really loved it!
H: I’m so glad!
P: It came out September 15th, so it’s been two weeks now. How does it feel to have a new album out in the world?
H: It feels really good! It’s nice that we’re on tour immediately so I can perform a lot of these songs in a different way — it’s a duo set so it’s very stripped back — but it’s nice to breathe a new life to the songs even though they’re new to everybody else, they’re kinda old to me, because I’ve been sitting on that album for a while, but it’s really nice. It’s nice to have new things out into the world (...) and they can relate to it in their own way and I love that.
P: That’s so fun, I love that. About the album, can you talk about a great memory you have from making it? Whether it’s fun or inspirational, during a writing session?
H: Yeah! Well, when we recorded the album, I recorded it at the studio of the co-producer — John Anderson — it’s his studio and it’s in the country and it was just the three of us. It was John, my producer Dave and myself the whole time. So it was very intimate, really quiet and super fun. It was just a very cozy, quiet experience and I feel like I had a lot of control, which is very nice and I learned a lot, which is great.
P: You started singing from a young age, especially classical music. How was it to go from classical music to creating your own thing — your own personal project?
H: It was, in insight, very freeing, because there’s not a lot — maybe I’m wrong for saying this — not a lot of freedom in classical music, because you’re singing someone else’s music, it’s a technique. Just, kinda a lot of constructs and so, it just felt really more me to write my own music — I guess I needed to do that.
P: Oh, that’s interesting! Going from something completely different to your own [thing].
H: Yeah, singing someone else’s music from 1789 or 1830, and yeah, it’s cool. I still love opera! Like, Mozart’s my guy.
P: Who was your first concert you’ve been to?
H: I think my first concert was The Barenaked Ladies.
P: How was it?
H: I remember being on my dad’s shoulders, on the floor and there were a lot of drunk dads. Like a loooot of drunk dads. I think I had a good time. I was probably like six or seven.
P: More about your album, you created some music videos for this album. Which one is your favorite and why?
H: I love them all, but the first three, [Coolest f*cking b*tch in town], Survivor’s Guilt and Matchmaker were all made by me and my partner in some way. He directed me in Coolest b*tch, I directed him in Survivor’s Guilt and then we collabed for Matchmaker. So I think those three are near my heart because they’re very sentimental — But maybe Survivor’s Guilt because I got to yell at him a lot and he just danced and hurt his knee. So, he has a little souvenir to remember me by, forever.
P: How was it to direct each other in two different projects and then going into a collab for one?
H: Pretty good. I feel like we work as well as any partner/collaboration: you get annoyed. It’s easy to be annoyed, but it’s cute! It’s cute, right?
P: Yeah, I really think it’s cute! Now, a little fun question… If you had a Ted Talk, what would it be about? It can be something silly, something very specific if you want to.
H: Maybe at this time right now I would talk about perfume and how scent memory inspires my songwriting as well as my daily life. Scents are so important to me and I feel like the way a perfume can make you feel is kinda the same way a song might make you feel. There’s something there! So I feel like I’d talk about that.
P: I’d be there!
H: Okay, it’s this Saturday!
P: Perfect, I’m already on my way! Well, alongside doing music, you also do a little bit of Youtube. I saw vlogs, talking videos... What do you like so much about Youtube? How does it make you feel?
H: It makes me feel happy. I’ve been doing it for a long time, I haven’t really been as active, because I’ve been focusing on music and being more of a serious artist. But I like that Youtube, I can really home any creative outlet that I want. I can put music on there, I can put music videos, any sort of other video format, I can direct anything, edit anything — Maybe I like being in control. I might be a control freak! Maybe?
P: I get that! Well, I saw in one Youtube video where you were talking about scent, actually, and your songs as perfumes. If you had to give a perfume to your album, overall, [what would it be]? Or just a scent, not necessarily a perfume! A vibe.
H: A vibe, it would probably be something earthy, maybe saline, kinda oceanic. Like a coastline, but it’s not tropical coast, it’s more like rocky beach mist fog. Something like that. With a little bit of sweetness, like a little bit of herbaceousness.
P: That’s kinda what I had while listening! Another question about scent: If you were to create a perfume, the “Haley Scent”, what would it smell like and what would it be called?
H: To me, I really like clean scents. I like scents that smell like, almost like lotion, unscented lotion. That kinda powdery nostalgic like thick cold cream, if you know what I mean. Something that smells like kinda baby powder-ish, kinda floral. Just like something soft, fabric-y cotton. And how would I call it… Well my mom once had a weird dream where she created her own perfume and she called it Two B*tches and I feel like I would honor her, honor that dream and name my perfume Two B*tches.
P: I really love the vibe, I love the vibes we’re getting here!
H: Yeah, like a baby powder, white floral, bitchy, smells like a hot girl.
P: My last question! What kind of feeling, or impact, do you hope your music has on people?
H: Well, I think since this album is so specific and personal to me, I would love for other people to have it relate to them in that way too. Like, be super specific to a situation — I don’t know, have it relate to it in their own personal way that maybe has no connotation to what I wrote the song about. I love that it can become something completely different to someone else. Yeah, and I just hope they like it and makes them feel happy, or sad, or angry, or embarrassed… Like “Wait, why am I listening to this? This is embarrassing.”
P: Well, thank you so much for answering all these questions, and once again, I loved your album! I haven’t felt embarrassed, but I felt really like — all the good vibes, just something I was searching for if that makes sense and something that I really wanted for this fall!
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Listen to Haley Blais’ new album Wisecrack and catch her on tour supporting Tommy Lefroy until October 6th as well as in Europe/UK this fall 2023!
