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Music

Let Quebec's Tamara Weber-Fillion Guide Your Spirit

Singer-songwriter Tamara Weber-Fillion fills us in on spiritual healing and the beauty of her new album 'Time, Wind & Fire'.

“I could say a lot in French, but I’m kind of wordless right now,” says 23-year old singer-songwriter,Tamara Weber-Fillion. On the phone from Quebec, the St-Georges de Beauce native is struggling to list the characteristics of her astrological sign Aquarius. Born in February of 1991, Weber-Fillion also identifies as a wind sign. These preordained traits may seem trivial to some, but for Weber-Fillion they’ve come to shape both her life and her music.

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Growing up seeking an outlet for her creativity, Weber-Fillion channelled her time and energy into music. Taking notes from the likes of Tracy Chapman, Pink Floyd and Avril Lavigne, Weber-Fillion began developing her craft at an early age. As fortune would have it, a high school performance of Good Charlotte’s “Christmas By The Phone” would solidify her fate. “It was life changing,” says Weber-Fillion. “I was just learning to play guitar when I did that. It was the first time I experienced the big scene and I really liked it.” Realizing her dreams of being a performer could become a reality, Weber-Fillion continued to devote herself to music. Little did she know that just a few years later, destiny would intervene again. While accompanying a friend to audition for La Voix, the French version of The Voice, Weber-Fillion ended up auditioning too. Performing an original song called “Let Me Be,” Weber-Fillion was ultimately selected to appear on the program. Although she describes the experience as stressful, Weber-Fillion maintains she has no regrets. “It’s like a big machine. I wasn’t sure about fitting into that kind of thing, but at the end it was a lot of fun.” Between that first high school performance and the events of La Voix, Weber-Fillion had been writing non-stop, hoping one day she could release an album of her own. Last year, Weber-Fillion released her debut album Time, Wind & Fire. A nod to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Sand, Wind and Scars, the album’s title also references a tumultuous relationship she had with a fire sign. It was this bond and many others that inspired the bulk of the album. “People are really inspiring. Everybody has a different vision of what’s happening and sharing mine is something really special for me. I’m lucky to get to do that.”

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Although quite bleak, Time, Wind & Fire is a brave compilation of a young woman’s perceptions of the world and a candid reminder that even when life is at its worst, music can still provide hope.

Noisey: Who did you listen to growing up?
Tamara Weber-Fillion: I listened to a lot of Avril Lavigne. I enjoyed the sadness in her voice. She really reached me with her words. I felt like I was understood.

When did you realize that you wanted to be a musician?
I think I always wanted that. I grew up listening to a lot of music. I wanted to sing like the artists I was listening to. When I got my first guitar I just started to write. I didn’t know it was going to be my whole life.

On “Let Me Be,” you sing about being left alone in your anger. How do you go about resolving negative feelings like that?
I do it by playing music. When I don’t feel good I just take my guitar and play. When I’m sad I do the same, and afterwards I feel happy.

“Falling Star” is the only collaboration on the album. How did that come about?
The song wasn’t meant to be a duet. When I was in high school, [Lawrence Caster] pushed me to share my talent with the world. He was always encouraging me. I wanted to give [that] back to him by playing a song on my album.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?
Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace. I don’t know why but I’m unconditionally in love with that band. He’s one of the artists I respect the most in the whole world.

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What song was the hardest for you to write?
That’s a good question. When I write it’s like therapy. It’s good for me. It’s not something that’s hard. It makes me feel better. Maybe singing “Let’s Face It.” It talks about suicide and every time I sing it, I get into these deep and sad emotions.

Have you personally been touched by suicide?
No not at all, but I’m an empathic person and I saw stuff happening in the world. Sometimes it just gets all over me, and the only way I [can] let it out is through singing.

The album’s opening track “Dorian Gray” takes its name from the Oscar Wilde character. Why did you choose that particular character to name a song after?
It’s a book I read that really got to me. There’s a lot of people in life who aren’t as extreme as this character, but are still very similar. I met somebody who was like him, but I didn’t want to name the song after this [person].

How did you meet this Dorian Gray?
He was my boss when I worked in the clothing industry.

What were your feelings towards him?
When I was there I felt like I was attracted to his character. He was really charismatic. But I know deep down he had a dark side.

Did you ever tell your Dorian Gray how you felt?
Yes I did.

What was his response?
His response was to continue like nothing wrong was happening. Smiling and everything, like the Dorian Gray character. He was really similar.

That must have made you mad.
Yes it did, but I moved past that and decided to continue my life. It still made a good song, so I’m happy with that.

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Did any other books inspire the album?
There’s a series of manga that I read when I was younger called Mana. It’s a dark manga that I really enjoyed. It inspired “The Breakdown” and “Unsettled Heartbeats.” I was attracted to it because it [focused on] music, and the dark side. I finished all the books finally. I really appreciate it.

What do you want your fans to take away from the album?
I want them to listen to it and feel understood, like I used to when I [listened] to my favourite artists when I was younger. Even though the songs are sad, I want them to feel better when they’re done listening to it.

What’s next for you now that the album is out?
A lot of promotion, a lot of shows. I just wish that more and more people listen to it. I want to continue to play music. I’m still writing. I’m always writing. What’s next for me is playing this one, and then having another one, and then having another one for all my life.

Aaron Morris is a writer living in Toronto. He is on Twitter.