Entertainment

THE INSIDER: GRIMES

“i never sleep, so I do a lot of my stuff in the middle of the night.”

by liza darwin

Grimes has already made a cameo in our It Girl issue, scored the #1 spot on our Top 10 singles list of 2011, and wins bragging rights to being the current most-played on our iTunes with her new album Visions (seriously- it's that good). Let's just say Claire Boucher is on a roll... and she's not stopping anytime soon. A few weeks before the album release she phoned in to tell us about her D.I.Y. loft days, the Montreal music scene, and why nobody's finding out the meaning behind her name.

Hey Claire! Where are you calling from right now?

Hey! I'm actually at my parents' house in Canada. It's funny, because I'm staying here and crashing between shows. It's a lot of family time [laughing].

I bet. Were you into the music scene here growing up?

I was, yeah. There were tons of DIY spaces in Montreal, where I was when I was a teenager. Me and my friends would perform, until some of the spaces got shut down because they were illegal.

Why were they illegal?

[laughing] It's not as crazy as it sounds. Just for like, underage drinking, some weed, and stuff. Noise. Those types of things.

Visions is your fourth release in only two years. How do you stay motivated to keep releasing new material? If you count my EP and stuff, it does sound like a lot. Most of my material is recorded by me in my house, so that makes it easier. But Visions is probably the most cohesive thing I've done. I also never sleep, so I do a lot of stuff in the middle of the night.

Last question- what's the story behind your name?

It's actually a secret. The reason isn't really that profound, but I've never really told anyone so I can't start now!

Buy Visions here.

Grimes - Oblivion by Arbutus Records