 |
It seems like a match made in marketing heaven.
Two former Calgarians, now living on the West Coast, both enjoying popularity in the music business, collaborating with one another.
Kinnie Starr gets it.
But there's an entirely different reason she was pleased to work with Tegan Quin, from Tegan and Sara, on the song la le la la from Starr's new CD Anything.
"Tegan's just a friend," Starr says of the vocalist who provided back-ups on the song.
"Lots of people are excited about that because Tegan and Sara are quite famous right now and selling records, so that's good for me.
"But it's just nice when friends put their love into your record."
Even nicer when that love turns out so wonderfully.
The track, which is pegged for the freshly released album's second single, is a remarkable pop number, sounding like Feist fronting Men Without Hats.
It is one of the few collaborations on Starr's fourth album, a disc of moody hip hop, catchy sonics and dramatic prose, which is a noticeable change from her previous recording, Sun Again, which featured guest artists and writers such as Lily Frost and Moka Only.
"With Sun Again, I had kind of lost my faith in the music business, overall, and I just wasn't writing," admits Starr, who has had, and lost, major label deals over the years, seeing in it the negative aspects of the industry.
"So it was my friends that ended up writing a lot of music for that record because I was not writing music ... I was like, 'You know what? (Screw) this.' "
So does that mean her songwriting explosion with Anything signals a renewed faith in the industry?
"No," she says. "I'm very aware I'm being given a really good chance right now at getting some of the word out there about what I do.
"Even though I certainly don't have any faith in the music business, I do know it is an opportunity that can't be passed by.
Starr is in town Tuesday night on a double-bill with Buck 65 at the Grand Theatre.