Out of the vibrant music community of greater Vancouver, British Columbia, the same scene that gave the world Diana Krall and Sarah McLachlan, is another female vocalist who's been influenced by both but has forged a style of her own. And unlike the other two, she is waiting to be discovered. Her name: Heidi McCurdy.
Heidi is a talented singer-songwriter, but behind that broad categorization, there are a lot of nuances. As a singer, Heidi possesses a sultry, soulful voice that is more than capable of turning to coy and playful when the situation requires. Heidi's learning path has combined formal training with self-teaching and she now trains others to sing. She knows how to hit the notes right, phrases wisely and never over-emotes. She's not trying to hit you over the head with vocal histrionics like a few of those pop divas out there; her voice is an instrument meant to sooth and seduce you in moderation.
Her songwriting draws upon a surprisingly broad palette of influences with which she paints an aural picture. Lyrically, she sticks with tried and true romantic themes and often renders it in the context of clever wordplay; it didn't hurt that she holds BFA in Creative Writing. Listening to her music, you hear her inspiration coming from artists as diverse as Stevie Wonder, The Police, Bonnie Raitt, Erykah Badu, India Arie and Bjork. Sometimes she sounds like a present-day Laura Nyro to me. Overall, her music appeals to fans of adult contemporary, jazz-pop and neo-soul.
While making living performing diverse tasks such as teaching singing for the last 4 years, juggling single parenting and school and tutoring kids with dyslexia for a number of years, Heidi slowly built up her repertoire of originals. Over a period covering nine years, Heidi laid down ten tracks of her own compositions. Finally, about a year ago she compiled these tracks and released them on a self-distributed CD, entitled Fickle Mind. Perhaps cobbling together an album this way means there isn't a common theme that you get with an album that's all recorded at once. But listeners do get tracks with distinct personalities and completely thought out ideas in the bargain. I could use the fine wine analogy, but I think you get the idea.
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites.
2 - Diane
ALRIGHT ! I just checked this girl out, she is amazing, what a refreshing change. Even though the critic compared to her style to a number of different people, she sounded very original to me and the people listening around my desk. Give her a record deal!! What a talented songwriter, arranger, performer and more. I hope I get to hear her live at some point.
3 - Pico
Diane, I'm glad you agree with me, thanks for the comments! And yes, she is indeed an original; I was just trying to provide some touchstones that readers can latch onto. But the best way to get a feel for her music is to listen to it, which you wisely did.
And I appreciate the forward, Connie :&)