Meet Vikki Gilmore - Doubt Of My Mind out now: an organic mixture of melodic guitars, percussive rhythms and luscious vocals.
Friday's massive influx of new music can sometimes leave you lost in a sea of audio sensory overload. Trying to listen to it all is like trying to eat at every McDonalds in the world. Never-the-less; over here at For The Love Of Bands, we always give it our best shot - the listening part, that is. And with that, meet Vikki Gilmore. If you missed this great Friday find, her latest single, 'Doubt Of My Mind', is out now. Give it a listen below. The song is an organic mixture of melodic guitars, percussive rhythms and luscious vocals. Written by Vikki in March, it was entirely recorded and produced remotely with long time colaborator and friend Mathieu LeGuerrier. Being one of my personal Friday favs, I reached out to Vikki in the hopes of learning more about her and her music.
Read our interview with Vikki below.
FTLOB: First off, how are you and how are things in your world?
Vikki: I’m doing quite well, I’m on my first week of vacation in over a year so that’s nice! I’m in Monetreal, Quebec and things have been seemingly okay - I’m just cooped up at home to be extra careful.
FTLOB: I read that 'Doubt Of My Mind' was done entirely via remote recording.
Vikki: Yup this was completely written, recorded, and produced during lockdown. I wrote it in March and I reached out to Mat (Mathieu LeGuerrier) soon after to start working on it. From there, I recorded the vocals at my house, he produced it at his - and we went back and forth until it was ready to go! Mat produced my 2018 Someone EP as well and he’s been a great collaborator for live performances too. But at that point I was visiting his studio which was definitely a lot more fun that this current situation of singing alone in my basement.
FTLOB: Speaking of home/remote recording, what kind of set up do you use?
Vikki: I have a decent mic with an interface that I set up with my laptop, which allows me to record vocals and basic acoustic guitar. It’s not the most extensive set up but it definitely helps get the job done. When I used to do a lot of EDM collaborations and would have to send vocal stems at a moment’s notice it helped me out a ton! Also when I've needed to travel and wouldn’t have access to a studio it worked great!
FTLOB: For those that don't know much about your backstory, did you alway see yourself doing this and what inspires you?
Vikki: I’ll start off by saying what I’m inspired by. I really love people and their stories. Talking about raw emotions and the harder things in life. I’ve realized I tend to string what I've learned in psychology into my songs. I was always super shy growing up and I had the most annoying singing voice, so it definitely wasn't something I saw myself doing growing up. But I loved writing. It was always this secret thing I liked to do. In high school I started practicing more and my school concert band helped me grow out of my shell. I started a YouTube channel posting covers and I’d sing at school assemblies. I got a lot of really encouraging feedback from friends, family, and teachers. It was one of those classic coming-of-age movie tropes where everyone else believed in me, so I figured I should too.
FTLOB: Any favorite instruments that you play or places you've recorded?
Vikki: I taught myself guitar so I'd say it's been my go-to instrument for writing ever since. Recording wise, Seratone Studios. I recorded my first EP with Simon Petraki there and I absolutely loved it.
FTLOB: You mentioned doing a lot of collaborations. How did all of that come about and who are some of the people you've worked with?
Vikki: I started gigging around the city and would meet local event promoters, like Josh Spencer at KickDrum. He was really helpful getting me into more places. Unfortunately many of those venues have closed down, but back then, these places offered me a safe space to grow as a performer. From there I started meeting other incredible artists like Mathieu LeGuerrier (Mat) and Kento Kataoka. I also started collaborating with video creators like JG Photography; Youcef Beghdadi and Anthony Aramouni at Film & Blues Production; Felipe Collado; Sacha Kammermann; Julia Kozak and Justine Costello. I could honestly name drop 100s of other people that have made my experience as an artist in Montreal so worthwhile.
FTLOB: Any advice for new/young artists looking to collaborate with others?
Vikki: Reach out to everyone you can. Not just the musical friends you know, but also contact the musicians you look up to - even if you're nervous. When it comes to collaborations you never know what will come of it, so always take your shot! Almost all of my collaborations, (Rain Man, Summer Was Fun, Jey Vazz, Ken Waters, etc.), have been done remotely. I've actually yet to meet most of my them in person! The more success I have, the more I realize it really does take a whole village to nourish and support artistry. I’m very lucky to have such incredible family, friends, and collaborators who’ve stuck by me and my craft; and who continue to believe in me - even when I don’t. Surrounding yourself around people like that is probably the best advice I can give.
Stay connected with Vikki on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and check out her latest single on our Indie Folk Spotify playlist.
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