I am YEG Arts: Billie Zizi

Now on her third studio album, singer-songwriter Billie Zizi is an exciting voice in contemporary music. Her gorgeous voice and evocative lyricism are in full effect on her new album Levitate, a celebration of life’s little joys. In this week’s I Am YEG Arts story we catch up with Billie ahead of her January 24 performance at Winterruption YEG and find out which artists are inspiring her right now, how she overcame her inner critic to write Levitate, and what’s next for her.

Coming from an artistic family, have the arts (and music in particular) always been an important part of your life? 

I was lucky to be really supported by both my parents. My mom is Marianne Watchel, who is a visual artist and my dad is Cam Neufeld, a fiddle player, writer and composer. 

I started my first band when I was seven. We were called the Rotten Socks, and I didn’t know any chords, but I guess that didn’t matter. We wrote a lot of songs, like ​“Stinking up the Highway” and ​“How Dare You, Bob”. 

Recently I was thinking about what music is to me. I feel the most like myself when I’m listening to music. Music really delineates those big moments in life for all of us. And it’s a community-based art form, so there’s reciprocity that happens with it. I feel really lucky to have been really supported to be creative growing up.

You’ve developed a distinct sound that could be described as a tapestry of genres and influences. Tell us about some of the top inspirations behind your music. 

Gillian Welch as a songwriter would be my top inspiration. She paints such a poignant picture — very visceral imagery. She writes about the hardships of real life and does so beautifully. I’ve always really been drawn to her music. I also love Lucinda Williams; Medium Build, which is like an indie sad boy guy from America; Boy Golden from Winnipeg; and Chapelle Roan — like everyone does — her beautiful party anthems and introspective love songs are my jam. I listen to a wide range including a lot of heavier music at the gym recently, but I love pop and definitely singer-songwriter stuff is my top love.

Congratulations on the release of your third album, Levitate. Tell us about the writing and album creation process.

It’s been incredible to put this record out. It’s really important from a personal catharsis standpoint. I wrote the bulk of the music in 2020 – 2021 during the pandemic, with the exception of the tune ​“Everything Between” that had been written previously. I was part of a few writing groups where we would write songs every week. With the massive international crisis happening I really had the feeling of, ​“Who cares what I think.” In a sense that was very freeing because it’s easy to be self-critical and put everything we do under the microscope before we even finish a song. 

It took a long time to dream this record into being, but I had a vision for it for many years. I feel really happy that I was able to enact that vision and do the full thing; everything from the marketing, touring, and imagery to the live video work we did. I had a massive, amazing group of people to work with and I felt very lucky to be supported in that process.

I’ve probably been thinking about doing this for seven or eight years. Certainly, grant writing for about seven or eight years to get the funding together, but then actively working on it since 2021. I feel very supported by the Edmonton Arts Council; they funded part of the recording process. The EAC is a very big help to Edmonton artists, the funding can be pretty life changing.

Tell us about the sound, ambience and mood that you’ve created with Levitate.

I see the whole album as a love letter to the mundane. There’s this intersection between the mundane and the profound. It’s always oscillating between these two things and sometimes they’re running concurrently. The whole record is about dreaming: the big dreams we have in our hearts, the dreams we have at night or on the edge of reality in transcendence or dissociation. In the creation of it, we tried to write or try to make the music a dreamscape. We have the pedal steel [guitar] and there’s an ethereal element to the sonic landscape that we created. 

The song ​“Hope” is just about riding the train laughing with your friends and eating hot dog delicacies. I really think the essence of life is those moments that at the time seem like we’re just eating hot dogs and laughing; but really, it’s the most beautiful thing in life. I wanted to make a mental note to myself to celebrate those moments because the brevity of life is alarming, it all goes by so quickly. 

Tell us about people’s response to the record so far. How about while out on tour? 

It’s been awesome. We’ve had a really positive response and played some great rooms and shared the bill with some amazing artists. It was an incredible joy to witness all these artists from across Canada, be involved and connect with the community across the country. I really appreciate anyone who has listened to the record, watched the videos, and has come to our shows.

It’s hard to replicate that band gel you get from playing so much together — we played sixteen shows across Canada, as far west as Vancouver and as far east as Montréal. Everyone in the band is great and it’s always fun to play together. Getting that synergy was a big purpose for going on the tour and obviously to get the record out to people.

Tell us about what characterizes a Billy Zizi performance. What can people expect at one of your shows?

Definitely some guitar stuff. I play guitar and I also have been working with Austin Parachoniak from Winnipeg, who plays in a band called Boy Golden and he co-produced the record. He’s a fantastic musician and a fantastic guitar player. We definitely bring guitar. It’s just a guitar festival over here. And the singer-songwriter thing as well. We have a show coming up on January 24 with The Secret Beach and Rosina Cove as part of Winterruption at CKUA in Edmonton. We’re very excited to play. Tickets are available at this link. 

Edmonton has an amazing music scene, which up and coming artists would you recommend folks check out?

We have an incredible scene. It’s just a very supportive scene and very creative and interesting. There are a lot of amazing young people who are creating in Edmonton, we’re very lucky. Kija Lado, Kaylin Kowalyshyn, and Kaiya Kodie are the three people who come to my mind in terms of being beautiful singers and songwriters with gorgeous voices and nice guitar work.

What are you currently working on and what’s next for you? With your record out and recently winding up your tour, are you taking a little time for yourself now? 

I’m really luxuriating in the moment a little bit right now. With the release, I think it’s good to celebrate everything. Any accomplishment or any fruition of a dream, I try to celebrate. We’re going to Ireland in January to do a showcase. I’ll be releasing a three-song live EP with ​“Midnight Sun”, ​“Neon Dream” and ​“Levitate”. These are recordings we did in Winnipeg. Then we’ll also be going on tour in Japan in April. I’m excited to experience Ireland and Japan and connect with the musical communities there. These will be my first international dates. It feels like a big deal. I definitely have some things to look forward to and I’m feeling very grateful to have the continuation of the work. 

About Billie Zizi

Effusive and thoughtful, without pretense yet still above board, Billie Zizi carves a distinct path marked by sonic abandon and a wild spirit. Now on her third studio album [Levitate, Oct 2024], she continues to prove herself as an exciting emergent voice in contemporary music. The album dances gently through illusions of kaleidoscopic colour with Zizi’s masterful vocal prowess in full bloom. Fans of musical alchemists can expect melodic charms rife throughout the ten-track run time. Listeners are treated to decorative and unpredictable cadences, poetic prowess and tasty mid-tempo rockers, creating an airy, indie-Americana atmosphere that feels ethereal and whimsical.