Rebekah Higgs

Rebekah Higgs
Odd Fellowship
(Hidden Pony)

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs supposedly took its, um, odd name from the fact that, at the time of its founding in the early 19th century, it was odd to find any fellow devoted to their particular ideals, in this case reflected in their motto, “Friendship, Love, Truth.” Far from being just a clever bit of wordplay on Rebekah Higgs’ part — though it is, admittedly, a much catchier title than, say, Higgs-Boson Particle — Odd Fellowship navigates the hazards of that motto, in particular its last two tenets.

Actually, it’s perhaps not strictly accurate to say the album is only going through hazards: there are certainly moments here, like the appropriately dreamy Lazy Mornings, during which love is as problematic as a sunrise peeking through cotton drapes. More often, though, even the moments of grandeur come tinged with some troubled thought, usually in the form of truth imposing its sobering worldview on the proceedings.

A prime example is Girl in the Sweater, a song that, on its surface, is so endearingly sweet it will be what the Pied Piper uses whenever Canada’s cities decide to get rid of this festering plague of bearded boys with cardigans and the entire Belle and Sebastian catalogue. Over a sleepily-plucked guitar slowly joined by a chorus of instruments that all loosely fit under the rubric of “pretty,” Higgs more-or-less coos out a repeated chorus that finishes with the lines “I like it when you’re sincere / I like you.” Before we can get full on into lullaby territory, though, up comes a stark, though no less sweet, reminder: “People will promise the world, but they lie lie lie lie lie lie lie.” Lest we’re content to let even that tweaked sentiment rest, Higgs ends the song with “You know I’m forever / The girl with the sweater that’s yours,” which is simultaneously a marked improvement on “I love you” and no more above doubt than anything else she’s been saying earlier. So have fun with that.

Girl in the Sweater may be the best at playing around with that dichotomy, but it’s a mood that permeates the album here. The similarly delicate Miserably Together is a slowly swelling fond look back at something that never really was that great to begin with. Give You What You Want alternates between being in thrall and utterly loathing its subject, navigating the tricky space of knowing someone all to well. Closer Drunk Love, considerably more rocking than anything else here, swirls frustration around its throbbing guitars, almost sneering lines like “Was it the whiskey / Or the summer air?” at some poor fool who declared love, well, somewhat rashly, let’s say. The song’s never foolish enough to take that exactly seriously, but the disappointment that is was just some slurred say-anything is palpable, and the album’s last moments are also its darkest.

It would have been nice if Higgs had spread out that darkness some, to be honest. Her headspace is suitably tricky through a lot of the album, but her music is less so, to the point where there’s a kind of disconnect between the subtlety of the emotional space and the ease of the sonic one. I think maybe that’s most glaring on Gosh, Darn, Damn: the overly cutesy title in this case is entirely indicative of the bubblegum horns and butterscotch sundae hooks, and everything here is so bright and shiny that the irony of it being a song about not getting what you want is less overstated than simply blinded into oblivion. I’m sure Radio 3 will love it, but as Odd Fellowship’s better moments ably demonstrate, Higgs has a rich enough voice, a wide-enough musical palette and a sharp enough mind that she can do complex and catchy just fine.
- National Post

By Josiah Hughes

Toronto-via-Halifax singer-songwriter Rebekah Higgs is on the cusp of releasing Odd Fellowship, her sophomore album, on August 23 via Hidden Pony. However, you can check out a full stream of the record right now.

The ten-track effort was produced by Brian Deck, the hard-working vet who has worked on major releases from the likes of Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine, and Califone. Allegedly, Deck contacted Higgs by way of a hand-written note. The album was engineered by Diego Medina (Chad VanGaalen).

A press release notes that the album contains many "musical styles, shifting gracefully from melodic folk to psych pop, with big guitar licks and tight laptop beats." Check out Odd Fellowship for yourself below, along with a short but sweet run of Canadian tour dates.

Tour dates:

9/8 London, ON - Call the Office
9/10 Hamilton, ON - Supercrawl
9/15 Toronto, ON - The Rivoli
9/16 Wakefield, QC - The Blacksheep Inn
9/17 Montreal, QC - IL Motore
9/22 Montreal, QC - Pop Montreal
9/27 Halifax, NS - The Carleton
9/28 Moncton, NB - Plan B
9/29 Fredericton, NB - The Capital
9/30 Saint John, NB - Peppers Pub
10/1 Quebec City, QC - The Scanner - Exclaim

GRID RATING: 7/10USER RATINGS:
In the pop world, having a musical alter ego can be a useful thing—just ask Diamond Rings or Beyoncé. But sometimes the most satisfying musical ventures happen when those worlds collide.
Such is the case with Toronto-via-Halifax singer/songwriter Rebekah Higgs, who brings some of the more experimental tendencies of her electro-dance trio Ruby Jean to this solo sophomore effort, Odd Fellowship.
Of course it doesn’t hurt that she’s got respected Califone/Modest Mouse producer Brian Deck behind the boards. Deck imbues the saccharine folk-rock silliness of tunes like “Gosh, Darn, Damn” and “Give You What You Want” with the sort of sonic nuances that make Feist tracks so infinitely listenable. And despite Higgs’ tendency to lean a little too heavily on looped vocal harmonies, there’s a nice blend of clever songcraft and inventive arrangements that span Metric-esque rockers (“Drunk Love”) to ambient glitch-pop (“Lazy Morning”) to rootsy ballads (“Miserably Together”).
But where Higgs makes the most of her varied interests is in the way the album gradually incorporates more and more eclectic flourishes, so that the jaunty melodies turn into noisy interludes before you have a chance to wonder where the chanteuse ends and the experimentalist begins.
Playlist picks: “Lazy Morning,” “Little Voice”
- The Grid

Rebekah Higgs’ 4-song Little Voice EP is not her first recording effort; her first was a self-titled debut album in 2007. However, Higgs did take a break from solo work to front Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees, and electro dance band based out of Halifax. Since then Higgs has relocated to Toronto and revisited her solo work. Little Voice is Higgs’ way of dipping her toes into the water before releasing a sophomore full-length, and it’s quite a tease.

The EP’s opener and title track, “Little Voice”, was written for her two-year-old nephew. It’s light-hearted and honest, but catchy yet simple, with Higgs’ voice layering over her own, giving the impression there’s more depth to her band. “Miserably Together” has a more dreamy pop sound, with Higgs’ voice echoing during the chorus. The lyrics are more morose, as the song’s title would imply, yet Higgs’ voice is almost comforting in this song. Although the first two songs might suggest otherwise, Higgs goes on to show that she has not forgotten her electronic ways, as a synth-based “Asleep All Winter” is a dancier number. “Drunk Love” is another dancier tune, still rich with synth but much more guitar-based, and shows that Higgs is capable of a little rocking out.

This EP features 4 songs that are quite different from each other. Yet, Higgs voice is still largely the focus. Higgs shows her versatility on this EP, making me quite curious as to what she’s got in store for her full-length, Odd Fellowship, slated for released in the New Year.

I had the privilege of catching Higgs live when she opened for The Rural Alberta Advantage and it was remarkable watching her work the pedals. Although it’s not quite neat and tidy on stage, Higgs really works for it, making use of looping and echos. And that hard work on that stage is admirable. Catch Higgs live and look out for her full-length. In the meantime, enjoy Little Voice. - Buying Shots for Bands

A great deal of you should be quite familiar with the name of Rebekah Higgs. If it’s ringing bells, you might have heard her first solo debut, or you might be associating herself with the awesome electro-dance act Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees.

If you haven’t heard of her before, though, this four-song EP, a glimpse of what her full-length next year will sound like, should be enough to win you over.

The EP has a good mix of songs- no one song sounds exactly like the other.

The first is the title track, which is just a simple melody of keys, drums and background vocals. It also shows that Higgs possesses a really pretty voice.

“Miserably Together” is next, and is instead backed by only an acoustic guitar for a bit, then a light drum kit. It also features a great swelling of her vocals towards the middle and later part of the song.

“Asleep All Winter” is definitely her most danceable track. Had it not been for her vocals this could easily be adapted into an RJATTB song.

Finally, “Drunk Love” finishes the EP off and steps into the realm of rock with more menacing-sounding guitar. You will also find yourself singing along with the chorus that repeats “drunk love” over and over.

What’s most noticeable is that her songs have somewhat of a DIY approach- her vocals generally layer over one another which creates the sense of a full band.

Nothing here that can be criticized- only that I can’t wait to hear what the LP will sound like. - Grayowl Point

Nothing says “intriguing” like an EP from the front woman of an “electro glam-thrash band.” With Little Voice, Rebekah Higgs promises a big punch that certainly elicits emotion, whether it be empathy, happiness, or dizziness.

This CD is an ode to the simple things in life. The first track is a love ballad steeped with imagery of springtime and frivolity. If you’re thinking cliché, it’s worth mentioning that the object of affection is a child — or at least a very small person.

In “Miserably Together,” the depressing title doesn’t disappoint. It’s not a new predicament — having to convince one-half of a partnership that it would be best to stay together — but here’s where the depressing part comes in. Higgs’ man isn’t promised happiness and sunshine; he’s promised a shared misery. After all, misery does love company.

The song tugs at the heartstrings, with simple lyrics that speak to some pretty universal feelings.

But the depression is broken by the next track “Asleep All Winter,” a well-placed upper. Quite simply, it embraces the coming of spring and all the new puppy love that comes with it. Happy now?

Time to be depressed again. “Drunk Love” ends the album with the complicated mechanics of a relationship, making you feel slightly inebriated by emotions.

I would not advise operating heavy machinery while listening to the ringing chorus.

Powerful words that could speak to many people are drowned out on Little Voice by complicated effects that don’t enhance the art. There is no mistaking that Higgs is very talented both vocally and lyrically, but she could benefit from the “less is more” school of thought. - The Gateway

If you're anything like me you hate November.

If you're exactly like me, you're a big fan of Rebekah Higgs.

If you're Rebekah Higgs, you've got one of the best voices in Canadian music and, unfortunately, one of the least heard to a degree.

If you're me, hating November, one of the things that brightened up your bleak and dreary eleventh month was the release of Rebekah Higgs's Little Voice EP.

And it wasn't just me. Lots of people know what the happs are. Er, be.

From a release:

"Rebekah Higgs is an instrument all her own. At times happy, often haunting, her voice echoes and chimes like a xylophone French kissing a wa-wa pedal. Produced by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse, Califone), Little Voice is not only a shiny new four song EP to wrap around yourself for warmth against the coming winter but also a glimpse into what fruit Rebekah Higgs' upcoming sophomore full length record will bear come the new year."

Now I'm not sure what a xylophone French kissing a wa-wa pedal sounds like (nor do I want to picture it, because I have an overactive imagination), but the idea behind the comparison is apt. Higgs's voice is her band and her stock-in-trade. She should get her vocal chords insured like Whitney Houston and hire a phalanx of bodyguards to protect them at all times. She should sleep in a hermetically sealed plastic prison like Magneto did at the end of the first and the beginning of the second X-Men film.

Given that she just moved from her home in Halifax to the Big Smoke in Toronto, Rebekah Higgs won't be a semi-secret for long. If you're looking to warm up your December, and, in so doing, introduce (or re-introduce yourself, as it were) to a dynamic talent whose time to ascend to stardom has finally arrived, do yourself a favour and download the song "Little Voice" and check out the artist who will never ever be known as Higgsy (by anyone but her favourite music writer, cough, cough) at one of her upcoming dates:

Dec 15 - Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage
Dec 16 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage
Dec 17 - Montreal, QC @ Cagibi w / Yellow Jacket Avenger, Jon Samuel - 8 PM
Dec 17 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage - 10 PM
Dec 18 - Ottawa, ON @ Ritual Nightclub w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage
Dec 28 - Halifax, NS @ The Paragon - 9 PM
- The Hour

HPX finds local girl Rebekah Higgs set to reveal new songs – a teaser, 4 song EP is due out in November – and charm visitors with her quirky indie folk tracks. It’s been over two years since we’ve heard new music from Higgs, so this sneak preview is long overdue.

Truthfully, after her time with Ruby Jean and seeing how layers started to dominate her live show over the last few years, I was a bit apprehensive about the direction her new songs would take. I wondered if experimentation would take over from melody, but working with seasoned pro Brian Deck certainly seems to have paid off. “Little Voices” is more playful and structured than I would have expected and forces the listener settle into the bouncy, catchy banged out piano. Bending notes, blips and echoes still move around the space, but instead of competing for space, they simply complete sound.

Rebekah plays tonight @ The Seahorse with Golden Dogs, The Darcys & herohill favs Boats. I’d highly suggest getting there early and getting a seat for a solid night of music (although sneaking out to see Tasseomancy would be a smart move as well). - Herohill

Rebekah Higgs
Little Voice

Even with just four songs, Rebekah Higgs' EP Little Voice has left me with a pretty good idea of what she is all about. The EP begins with “Little Voice,” a song that I think can only be described as "cute." Higgs' voice carries over a chorus of backup singers humming and the soft tapping of a xylophone. "Asleep All Winter" has a slightly more electronic sound than the rest of the album but holds true to the soft, dream-like sound that Rebekah has manifested for the entire EP. Each song embodies the saccharine essence that pours from Rebekah's voice and the dreamy backdrop but each track comes into it's down as something completely different, engaging the listener in four completely different ways. With only four tracks on Little Voice, Rebekah Higgs has certainly left me wanting more and I look forward to picking up her full length album.
- Spill Magazine

Rebekah Higgs
Little Voice

Even with just four songs, Rebekah Higgs' EP Little Voice has left me with a pretty good idea of what she is all about. The EP begins with “Little Voice,” a song that I think can only be described as "cute." Higgs' voice carries over a chorus of backup singers humming and the soft tapping of a xylophone. "Asleep All Winter" has a slightly more electronic sound than the rest of the album but holds true to the soft, dream-like sound that Rebekah has manifested for the entire EP. Each song embodies the saccharine essence that pours from Rebekah's voice and the dreamy backdrop but each track comes into it's down as something completely different, engaging the listener in four completely different ways. With only four tracks on Little Voice, Rebekah Higgs has certainly left me wanting more and I look forward to picking up her full length album.
- Spill Magazine

By Daniel Sylvester

In 2008, Halifax, NS chanteuse Rebekah Higgs was swept away by Colin Crowell's sassy electro steppers Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees, coming back just a bit more confident and glossy. Little Voice, Higgs's first solo outing since her 2007 self-titled debut, works as a stopgap EP featuring four singer-songwriter-esque tracks that show Higgs blossoming into a slicker singer and more decisive songwriter. With a healthy dose of help from producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Califone) and fellow Thoughtful Bee Jason Vautour on guitar, Higgs crafts foggy soundscapes accented by a vocal delivery that skilfully moves between sober and druggy. Brian Deck's production sound comes across well on songs like the cunningly written "Miserably Together" and sprawling (at three-and-a-half minutes) lullaby "Asleep All Winter." Little Voice is a marvellous EP that raises the bar high, but with the right company, Higgs's sophomore LP should have no trouble Fosbury Flop-ing over it.
(Independent) - EXCLAIM!

This second release from Halifax’s Rebekah Higgs, an EP entitled Little Voice, concludes with the building, hypnotic repetition of the titular phrase from closing track “Drunk Love,” which collapses into an abrupt, unfinished guitar squeal. It’s an emblematic moment for the record: after three years without a solo release, Higgs’ four-song teaser is both enticing and brutally short. But she manages to cram plenty of variety into Little Voice’s 12 minutes of space: the eponymous opener is sweetly playful, while the rousing “Asleep All Winter” has a danceable synth and stirring lyrics that are, if not perfectly timed for the cold, at least a cozy reminder of the new year—and with it, Higgs’ upcoming full-length release. - Eye Weekly

With her new EP, Little Voice, Rebekah Higgs returns to her solo career after spending the last couple of years fronting the electro-trash/fashion award winning act Ruby Jean. The ep was produced by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse), who wisely lets Higgs big voice shine on the waltzy title track.
- National Post

I hadn’t checked in with Halifax native Rebekah Higgs for a few years, since she was in Toronto fairly often circa her promising self-titled debut. Ruby Jean & The Thoughtful Bees, the electro-dance project which occupied her time the last little while didn’t do much for me, though, so I was pleased to hear she was returning to working sans pseudonym just in time for me to catch a hometown show. Her debut was am ambitious melding of folk, pop and electronic elements whose reach occasionally exceeded its grasp but was still quite promising, and from the sounds of the set of all-new material she showcased last night, that promise is being delivered on. As before, she played surrounded by an ocean of technology in the form of keyboards, pedals and sonic gewgaws, but even though she had a bit of trouble navigating it all mid-song, she still largely pulled off all the loops and samples needed to recreate her songs and deliver them with confidence and sass. The ingenue-ishness of her older material has been traded in for a more mature and musically rangier style and it works for her. Her new album is due out next year and will be preceded by the Little Voice digital EP coming out November 23. - Chromewaves

Rebekah Higgs has haunted the same Halifax bars that produced Jill Barber and Jenn Grant for the past few years. If this four-track teaser EP is any indication, her forthcoming full-length, due next year, should catapult her into the same ampitheatres those singers now frequent.

Higgs has mostly excised the electronic elements typifing her earliest work, perhaps believing them better suited to her dancier Ruby Jean And The Thoughtful Bees side-project. Only "Asleep All Winter" embraces the smooth synth lines and laptop beats, with pretty fantastic results, while closer "Drunk Love" rocks harder than many would have ever thought.

More organic cuts like the title track find Higgs hitting her songwriting stride. Her earliest work always was often coupled with a sense of awkwardness that, when paired with her confessional lyrics, worked to her advantage. But these tracks find the singer boasting newfound confidence with the focus on the seemingly effortless hooks.

We can only hope Higgs' full-length puts as many new spins on the traditional female singer/songwriter character class as this excellent EP. - CHARTattack

Rebekah Higgs returns to Halifax for two shows, and goes big with Little Voice
by Matthew Ritchie

Rebekah Higgs has been a busy bee lately. Cheap puns aside, the Halifax native has been working extra hard as the frontwoman for Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees and her solo project, which she's currently touring with The Rural Alberta Advantage. As the tour comes to a close, Higgs rolls into town just in time for the holidays where she will play as Ruby Jean on Boxing Day and then a solo set, December 28th at the Paragon.

"Well, I'm going to be home for Christmas anyways, so I may as well..." she says of the pair of shows.

Besides bringing holiday cheer as a gift to her supportive local fan base, Higgs is showcasing songs off her new EP, Little Voice. Recorded during the winter in Riverport, Nova Scotia, Little Voice isn't a radical departure from her previous outings, but a taste of what her future full-length will sound like. When a friend put on Paul and Linda McCartney's Ram as the studio sessions began, the classic became an immediate inspiration for Little Voice's pop sound.

"I was also influenced by 1960s girl groups and doo-wop, but I wanted to incorporate that with my psychedelic inclinations," says Higgs. To get the sound of multiple singers, she began using a looping pedal that changed her singing into an even bigger voice.

"My first album is very drowsy and shoegazey, so I wanted to incorporate that, too," she says. "I've been kind of calling it psyche- doo-wop, my own little coined phrase of what I play."

Looping has also beefed up her live performances, allowing more experimentation as a musician. "I have a lot of fun seeing where you can take your voice and I like pushing myself in that direction," she says while speeding across the Canadian landscape to her next gig. "I do feel like my voice is my main instrument."
- The Coast

Diggin' Higgs

Fans are flocking to hear Halifax musician's quirky blend of folk, pop, rock

By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter

HALIFAX MUSICIAN Rebekah Higgs is seeing her current tour of Central Canada bear fruit.

A couple of well-known Canadian indie labels are interested in picking up her self-titled second CD, there was a prestigious Bluebird North Songwriters' Circle at Toronto's famed Hugh's Room (alongside Chester's Old Man Luedecke, among others), and there's even been a bit of new recording with producer Thomas Ryder Payne, formerly of the band Joydrop.

But most importantly, crowds are just digging Higgs' quirky blend of folk, pop and rock.

"We played in Guelph on Friday night, and we had to play a longer set because it was just me and Great Plains playing," says the smoky-voiced singer who returns home on Saturday at the Seahorse, with Toronto's Golden Dogs. "So we played my whole repertoire, it was a really long set, and when we came off the stage, they started yelling, 'Encore!' We figured they'd stop in a second, but they started getting louder and more aggressive and banging on the tables, and my bassist Sean said, 'You've gotta do something, you've gotta go out there!'

"But we'd played all our songs. However, we've been watching the TV series Weeds in the van, and we're always singing the theme song, 'Little boxes, made of ticky-tacky,' (made famous by Pete Seeger) so Sean said 'Let's do Little Boxes!' We played it in G, we figured it was just three chords, and we just gave 'er. All the guys afterwards were, like, 'How did we pull that off?' Although I still wish we'd gone through with our plan to learn Barracuda by Heart as our emergency one-more-song-up-our-sleeve."

Calling from a friend's apartment in Toronto's Kensington Market, Higgs is about to head homeward with stops in Ottawa and Quebec, before doing the 11-hour drive home to make the Seahorse on Saturday night. She has company though; a full band, including Great Plains' Sean MacGillivray, guitarist Jason Vautour from Jon Epworth and the Improvements, drummer Cory Leblanc and Colin Crowell on keyboards.

"Having them for two weeks solid is amazing, and it's just doing wonders for our sound and for the tightness of the band, because it's the most we've ever practised together. Often we have conflicting schedules, so this has been amazing.

"I'm already trying to see if I can reserve them for the month of June. I'm planning to go across Canada, so I'm letting them know this far in advance. They just make me look so good! People are always more blown away when you have a band."

Recorded last summer with Payne in Toronto, the songs on Higgs' latest CD require multi-layered treatment; her voice is soft with a slight burr around the edges, and the record shifts from traditional folk sounds to rock guitar and electronic effects. Playing with full backup pushes Higgs to sing harder and be more dramatic with songs that are often extended dialogues with their subjects.

"Maybe after people get a good representation of what my music sounds like with the full instrumentation, then I can tour solo for a while and they can hear it stripped down," she says. "But right now I just think it's so much more effective to have the dynamic of the band; we get really quiet sometimes, and then really loud, and really heavy at times too. I think the overall emotional impact of the music is way stronger because you can drown in sound, and have really quiet, clear parts too."

"I don't want to be classified as a singer-songwriter, really. I don't see that as where I'm going, but obviously I am a singer and I do write the songs. But that genre doesn't leave you many options; it's closing you in and classifying yourself too much, instead of just leaving you room to experiment. I'm definitely about growing artistically and continuing to push myself. I don't want to stay in that 'playing acoustic guitar and singing' mentality, I want to move forward."

In fact, Higgs' desire to move forward is so strong, she created an alternate persona in order to express her muse to the fullest. Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees began on a whim with Crowell one night, recording seven improv tracks to send to CKDU-FM to see if they'd play it. Now this construct which plays with elements of electronica and trance, with the help of collaborators like Aaron Wallace of the Sleepless Nights, is a semi-regular on the Halifax club scene.

"We listened to the songs and realized they were kind of cool, and maybe we should do more," explains Higgs. "We actually did it before I went to Toronto to record my own album, as I was getting more confident in my abilities as a vocalist and using my voice more as an instrument. I was really scaling back my lyrics and making it more about the sound I was making with my voice, rather than the words I was saying. With Ruby Jean, it's really extreme; the lyrics make no sense at all."

Higgs says her musical a - The Chronicle Herald

June 7th, 2007
Rebekah Higgs - (Independent)

Rebekah Higgs
by:Dave Jaffer


Owner of the most interesting female voice I've heard since Jolie Holland, Rebekah Higgs doesn't sing: She warbles, she trills, she coos, she questions. Really, the Halifax songstress does all that and more, intermingling poetry and sonic experimentation, but it's all done so simply, without affectation, that some may not get it. From the heartbreak of Love Is and Don't Mind Me, to the calm of Piano Song to the playful bounce of Mr. Weather Man, this thing pleases, announcing an interesting, complicated talent. Folktronica? Hell yeah. - Hour (Montreal)

New Standards for Stalkers

By Shain Shapiro

Interviewing Halifax songstress Rebekah Higgs has engendered a new method in measuring success. Instead of focusing on records sold or acclaim garnered in the process, success should be measured on the amount of stalker’s letters one receives, and the quality and effort put into the package sent.
“I had my first official stalker package a week or two ago,” jokes Higgs via an exchange of emails from Halifax. “I have to say I was pretty pleased with myself. I showed off the two handcrafted mix tapes, patches and pins, scull painting, and a five page handwritten letter to some friends, and we concluded that it was the coolest stalker package ever. All my friends are jealous now, they all want stalkers too.”
If we alter the success meter to focus on measuring the amount of interest stalkers’ give to singers, Higgs is just beginning her ride to the top, but judging by her gorgeous sophomore album – set for release independently this month – the rise should be quite quick. The melancholic, but impressively mature, self-titled debut is a rich quilt bellowing with folk, blues, country, dark blues and light electronica, showcasing a songwriter fit for the big time and the perks and percolations that come with it.
Despite growing up and developing her craft in Halifax, Higgs decided to hightail it to Toronto for three intense weeks to record her sophomore effort. Originally devised as a home project with friends and families, the nature of the project changed when Higgs met producer Thomas Ryder Payne, formerly of Joydrop. With Payne at the helm, Higgs hammered out an entire album worth of songs in one or two takes, playing all the instruments herself, minus some rhythmic and melodic accompaniment from the mentor.
“Thomas is very talented musically and technically, so he had the know how to put any creative impulses I had into fruition. Because we worked as a duo, the style in which we recorded was different than having session musician sit in on the album. Thomas had every instrument we needed set up within reach, so when inspiration hit we could easily record away. Nothing was over-thought, or over-produced, it just felt like an organic and artistic experience,” explains Higgs.

Payne added the production pizzazz needed to elevate Higgs’ work above most female-fronted singer-songwriter fare. This is a brooding, complex album filled with elaborate metaphors, twisting chord structures and subtle experimentations. As unpredictable at the waves crashing in Halifax harbour, Higgs self-titled affair is a feast for those in love with song, but not afraid to push its buttons of experimentation alongside.
“Originally we had planned to spend some time in preproduction, but the first day I arrived at the studio we recorded ‘Love Is.’ After that we decided to forgo the preproduction and opened up a new track daily. Working in this fashion allowed for creative freedom and spontaneity. We worked intensely on one track till completion before moving onto the next,” expands Higgs.
“I really tried to keep things fresh, different and thematically malleable as well. A lot of people think, at first listen, that my album is all about love. Love is very important to me; it certainly has a strong voice on the album. But many of the songs have deeper symbolic meanings and are not regarding the initial response. I intentionally wrote each song to have multiple meanings so that the listener can place their own personal experience into the lyrics, as I am inspired to write about politics, poverty, heartache and substances, but these are not the only themes in the album. Many of the themes I have chosen to remain ambiguous so the listener can create meaning for him/herself. But I feel that the album works as a whole because each song seems to reflect on similar topic of media, confusion and love altered states of mind.”
For example ‘Parables,’ at first a playful love fable is about government and how they use media to manipulate people to support their wars, according to Higgs, while ‘My Feet,’ a flirtatious pop ditty that harks back to first-date jitters, is actually about the relationship between a panhandler and a pedestrian. In Higgs, the meaning is all in the eye of the beholder, but within that eye, a keen sense of social consciousness whimsically flutters above; a mature songwriter, writing mature songs, no doubt.
To celebrate the release, Higgs is circumnavigating half of Canada, beginning at home and heading to Windsor and back, with stops in the tri-cities on Mar 22 at the Grad Club, and 23 at Jimmy Jazz, respectively. In tow she’ll have a full band.
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve live,” assures Higgs. “But as of late, I am trying to be really well behaved. I have been having too much fun and ticked off a few promoters, so I am cleaning up my act. I have been so fortunate so far, as so many great opportunities have come my way and I don't want to do anything to alter my - Echo Weekly/ View Weekly/ Pulse Niagra

Higgs CD release on tap at Stage Nine

By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter

One of the coolest new voices I’ve heard lately belongs to Halifax singer-songwriter Rebekah Higgs; aching and a little world weary on songs like Winding Watch and Love Is, she’s a strong entry into the world of East Coast pop chanteuses.

Higgs is releasing her second CD on Tuesday night at Stage Nine, with guests Jon McKiel and Adam Puddington, at 10 p.m. Produced by Thomas Ryder Payne of the band Joydrop, Higgs’ disc is essentially a collaboration between the two musicians, giving her songs an interesting edge she refers to as "folk/electronic" in a bio that lists such influences as Sarah Harmer and Julie Doiron (both in and out of Eric’s Trip). That seems pretty apt, as she is determined not to fall into the traditional singer-songwriter niche by creating music that is full of surprises.

Higgs is also on the bill on Friday night at Gus’s Pub, with Trevor Murphy and Big City Parking Lot, and The Sunlit Torches. You can decide for yourself by checking out the tunes she has posted at www.myspace.com/rebekahhiggs, or grabbing the disc once it appears on store shelves.

It’s also a CD release show for that all-girl garage rock gang The Stolen Minks, whose CD Family Boycott is ready for launch on Saturday at the Speakeasy. It’s out on the New Romance for Kids label ( www.newromanceforkids.com) and has been available for purchase at the Minks’ most recent shows, including a tour of Quebec and Ontario that should see them all wound up and ready to wind out on Saturday. You can also see a nifty new animated clip for The Stolen Minks’ song Boys on the Floor from the band’s first EP, now posted at their MySpace page: http://myspace.com/stolenminks

Saturday’s show, which also features Die Brucke and The Crimson Tides, is also a little bittersweet, for it marks the penultimate show for art rock rebels Sharp Like Knives, which is calling it quits as a couple of members pack up and move away to pursue other interests. Loud, catchy and danceable, Sharp Like Knives’ inventive sound was a welcome one locally, and one that could have spread even further afield with a little more time and effort.

Sharp Like Knives’ swan song takes place at The Pavilion all-ages club on Thursday, Sept. 14, with Dog Day, Hotshotrobot, Benefit Party and Gamma Gamma Rays.

Bookending this column with another songstress with a fabulous voice, Jenn Grant debuts her new backup band The Night Painters on Saturday at Stage Nine. Joining her are Tanya Davis, and Newfoundland’s The Nordic Beat.

- The Chronicle Herald

Rebekah Higgs
North By Northeast Toronto ON June 11 to 15
By Jill Langlois

One of Halifax’s newest female singer-songwriters, Rebekah Higgs pulled out all the stops when it came to putting her band together for her NXNE showcase. As if having Laura Barrett singing backup vocals and playing a slew of instrumental oddities wasn’t enough, she also had fellow Haligonian and Hylozoists creator Paul Aucoin manning the vibraphone. But Higgs can certainly hold her own, as she proved with her powerful vocals and chatter between songs. If only every musician could be this equally talented and endearing. - Exclaim!

People have been talking about Rebekah Higgs.

Since her debut solo album in 2007, her name is often heard in the same sentence as Feist’s. She takes it as a compliment. She hears she might be the next new big thing from Halifax. She smiles and keeps working. It’s not that she isn’t excited by the hype but she has no interest in being a flash in the pan.

Now, with the upcoming album release of her side project, Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees, Higgs, 25, is preparing for another step toward making music a sustainable lifelong career.

On stage, Ruby Jean belts out melodic dance tracks garbed in glittery sequins but in person Higgs is slightly more subdued; she is soft spoken but even on a grey Halifax afternoon sports a hint of sequin on her vintage blouse.

For Higgs, inspiration comes from the past. She came up with her alter ego by combining the names of her grandmothers, Ruby and Jean. She collects vinyl records and loves vintage clothing.

“I have a really serious thrift store addiction so whenever I travel or tour I always collect things,” says Higgs. “I have a lot of crazy outfits.”

For the moment, second-hand shopping will have to wait.

It’s a busy time for the Halifax musician and there is no rest for the weary. Having just finished performing with the Exclaim! Wood, Wire and Whiskey Tour with the likes of Jason Collett, Higgs is putting the final touches on her debut CD of Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees with band mates Colin Crowell, Sean MacGillivray and Jason Vautour. The debut is set for release on Jan. 13.

“I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, record and write songs and be really happy with the product,” says Higgs.

She released her self-titled debut album in 2007 with Outside Music. Early on critics and fans characterized Higgs’ sound of sweet yet confessional lyrics mixed with an electronic edge as “folktronic.”

While the tracks on the debut Ruby Jean album are distinctively more dance oriented than her solo CD, Higgs says roots of Ruby Jean’s sound are evident in some of her earlier songs such as “Apples.”

“I wanted to put something on my first album so that people could listen to it and not really know what to expect on the next album – to give me that creative freedom to do whatever I wanted,” says Higgs. “I didn’t want people to classify me as just writing pretty love songs.”

For Ruby Jean’s debut CD, Higgs wants to harness the energy of the band’s live performance and keep the album upbeat.

“It’ll be like a live show only a little more compressed and organized,” she says.

The corners of her mouth turning up whenever she starts to talk about it, Higgs appears genuinely excited about the band’s debut album – not anxious. She says collaborating with a group of other musicians for this project has allowed her to be less critical of herself and simply enjoy the final product.

“I actually feel separated from it a little bit,” says Higgs of the Ruby Jean album. “When I put out my solo album I got really anxious and nervous about it because that’s me putting myself out there but with Ruby Jean I feel like I have a bit of a mask. It’s a band and (the pressure) gets divided between all of our shoulders instead of just mine.”

With Higgs’ love of all things vintage, it is appropriate that Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees will be released on CD and on vinyl. The vinyl record will include a digital download of the featured tracks.

For Higgs it is not only the tangible elements of the past that fascinate and inspire her but also the cultural including her own unique family traditions in music. As a child, Higgs was encouraged to pursue piano and violin lessons.

“Everybody in our family plays an instrument or sings and we would have these big family parties that usually revolved around us all picking up our instruments and playing together,” she says.

She didn’t pick up a guitar until she was in her 20s, though she says the transition was easier given her string background.

The Halifax music scene has also helped shaped Higgs and sharpened her tenacious attitude.

“It’s definitely challenged me to be a better musician in a way because when there are so many good things you have to step it up or you fall off the radar,” says Higgs of the city’s musical diversity and quality. “Either you exceed people’s expectations or you don’t and you get forgotten about.”

Thus far, Higgs feels she is making progress. She spent the summer playing festivals and touring in Atlantic Canada. Her CD sales and digital downloads have been OK, she says, but she knows she’ll have to spend a lot of time on the road if she wants to get her name out to the general public.

“Now with the digital era it’s going to go back to the old style where musicians really only made money playing live and I’m just going to have to tour more,” says Higgs. “I’ve accepted that kind of lifestyle and I really love it.”

She may just be the next big - Gazette

Mad rasp skills
Dave Jaffer


Rebekah Higgs uses her unique raspy singing talents for good

"Pop shoegaze."

Don't ask me what it means. Rebekah Higgs just made it up in an effort to describe her unconventional musical style in unconventional terms. As cool as it sounds, I'm pretty sure sticking with the more common descriptor, "folktronica," is confusing enough.

When I reach her, Higgs is in Halifax sipping cayenne pepper-laced lemonade. "I am on this crazy master cleanser before I head out on the road again," she says. "Touring has worn down my organs." Though I'm dubious regarding the concoction's merits, I can't argue that five weeks and about 15,000 km is definitely something to prepare for.

If Higgs isn't yet on your radar, don't worry, she will be; unique talents have a way of unearthing themselves from underneath the rocks of obscurity. For Higgs, an excellent songwriter (check out Love Is... on her eponymous debut) and a standout of the suddenly booming (again) Halifax scene, that uniqueness is for the most part located in her voice, a peculiar, inquisitive and remarkable entity that's as much a curiosity as it is an instrument. Whatever it is, though, it is authentic, and not a put-on for the stage.

"Ever since I was a little girl I had this raspy voice," she tells me, relating a story of a college professor who insisted she learn to sing, in his words, "correctly."

"There is nothing interesting about someone who sounds the same as everyone else," she contends. "If you have a unique voice you have to use it. When I sing I want to sound like myself, raw and raspy and imperfect. It's the quirks and the imperfections in a singer's voice that make them interesting."

Rebekah Higgs
w/ Jon Epworth and The Improvements, Reversing Falls
At Green Room (5386 St-Laurent), June 3 - Montreal Hour/ Ottawa Express

HALIFAX — Rebekah Higgs modestly released her self-titled album at the start of the last school year. Since then, the wide-eyed 25 year old has performed in sold-out venues, toured like mad and got in cahoots with Labwork Music.

"I am constantly encouraged by the response from people at my shows," says Higgs. "I've noticed a huge change in the crowd response in Halifax.

"Last week 250 people crammed into Gus' Pub for my birthday show. It felt like such a community event."

Higgs is a musical chameleon. When she's not drawing listeners in with her dreamy, diary-like music, she's fronting an experimental trip-hop project under the alias Ruby Jean And The Thoughtful Bees. While she lends her ethereal vocals and tends to the bees, Colin Crowell and AA Wallace (The Sleepless Nights) work on production and instrumentation, Sean McGillivary (Great Plains, Jenn Grant And The Night Painters) sits in on drums and Jason Vautour plays guitar.

According to Higgs there's a division between fans of the solo material and of her more expressive, dancefloor-flooding Ruby Jean alter-ego, which was coined after her grandmother.

"We have yet to release the Ruby Jean record or tour with the Thoughtful Bees, so there's not much of a juggling act. I find that people either gravitate to my solo stuff or the Ruby Jean work. Some people just don't get it."

Prior to Higgs' departure date for an extensive five-week long, cross-Canada tour, the seemingly hyperactive spitfire sat down for a costume fitting for an upcoming video shoot for her single "Winding Watch," an orchestral lullaby filled with sparkling accents, building drums and splashes of bells — all rounded off by an earful of triumphant trumpets.

"I met with director Andrew Hines, who came up with the concept for the video," Higgs says. "I'll be walking through the woods in white carrying balloons.

"An animation company in Toronto is working on the animated animals and butterflies. Verve Muendo Dance Troop here in Halifax are working on a dance sequence for mid-song when the bunnies in the woods come to life."

Check out Higgs in these cities:

* June 1 Quebec City, QC @ Theatre Premiere Acte
* June 3 Montreal, QC @ The Green Room
* June 4 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
* June 5 Toronto, ON @ Supermarket
* June 6 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
* June 7 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee's
* June 7 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
* June 8 London, ON @ Alex P. Keaton
* June 9 Guelph, ON @ Jimmy Jazz
* June 11 Hamilton, ON @ Pepper Jacks Cafe
* June 12 Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ Loplops
* June 13 Thunder Bay, ON @ The Apollo
* June 14 Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert
* June 15 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
* June 16 Canmore, AB @ Canmore Hotel
* June 17 Lethbridge, AB @ The Slice
* June 18 Calgary, AB @ The Hi Fi Club
* June 20 Kelowna, BC @ Habitat
* June 21 Nanaimo, BC @ The Queens
* June 22 Victoria, BC @ Logan's
* June 23 Vancouver, BC @ Cafe Deux Soleil
* June 24 Vancouver, BC @ Railway Club
* June 26-27 Banff, BC @ Rose And Crown
* June 28 Calgary, AB @ Grand Theatre
* June 29 Regina, SK @ O'Hanlon's
* June 30 Thunder Bay, ON @ Apollo's
* July 1 Wawa, ON @ Naturally Superior Adventures
* July 3 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
* July 4 Ottawa, ON @ TBA
* July 5 Montreal, QC @ TBA
* July 6 Fredericton, NB @ The Capital
* July 7 Liverpool, NS @ The Astor Theatre

—Shannon Webb-Campbell - Chart Attack

MUSIC

HALIFAX SONGWRITER CONCOCTS A WEIRD BREW OF FOLK AND ELECTRONICA

TARA ZUROWSKI / tara@vueweekly.com


Fast-rising folktronica master Rebekah Higgs is an artist who understands the concept of musical roots, and yet she is more than willing to branch out from her origins.

“I call my debut [self titled] album folk-electronic,” shares Higgs. “Which is, it’s got folk roots throughout the whole album, but is also very infiltrated with new music, electronic sounds and different layering and vocal effects.

“Lyrically, I definitely draw from life’s situations and politics—what’s going on in the world,” Higgs goes on. “Poverty, substances and anything else.

‘Parables,’ well, I call it my ‘George Bush’ song. It’s about how politicians can use the media to their advantage to sort of get people to act on their behalf, so it’s about how Americans convinced Americans that it was a good idea to go to war, in a very inadvertent way, very roundabout way.”
Higgs explains that her desire to push the boundaries of music is a natural step for her. The 25-year-old Halifax native grew up in a family that she calls semi-artistic, but admits that even within that setting she was the weird one.

“I’m this uncontrollable artist,” she says. “I don’t think my family knows what to do with me. Both my parents have an innate artist in them. My mom is a real free spirit, and my dad is very creative. He’s a risk taker and I think that that’s where I tend to be more creative and risky with my music because of his influence on my life. And then the free spirited traveller, I think, comes from my mom.

“When I got out of university,” Higgs continues, “I realized that I would have to throw myself into this fully if I wanted to do it. So I started writing, recording, touring and doing all kinds of things with music.

“I think that what I was taught in university as an actor has really benefited me as far as stage shows go—I understand what it is to captivate an audience,” she continues. “Also, a lot of the theatrical theories come into practice, especially in songwriting, because honesty and being real is what attracts people. I learned that to be a good actor, you can’t really act. Music is the same thing. You can’t really invent things. You have to use what you’ve got and draw from that in life.”

As she tours Canada behind her album, Higgs performs either stripped down solo or with her band. When she reaches the stage here in Edmonton, she’ll be on her own, and Higgs says that people will see a different side of her than they do when she’s with her band.

“You’ll get a little more of a raw performance because I don’t get to hide behind the guys,” she explains, before adding, “I still find definite ways to be weird. It’s not regular folk music.” V

Wed, Dec 20 (9 pm)
Rebekah Higgs
With Brock Skywalker & his Irregular Heartbeats, Kris Demeanor
Sidetrack Café, $7

- VUE Weekly

Rebekah Higgs sounds like: Rebekah Higgs. Sure if Imogen Heap and Leslie Feist decided to get together and have a love child, the resulting voice would sound something similar to Higgs', but there's something refreshingly original about this artist.

As the story goes, it only gets more real, Higgs says. "I've been singing since I was young," she says. "I have been touring and travelling for a little over a year. It was an interesting chain of events. I was doing paintings and selling them, and I was writing songs. I recorded them and didn't know what to do with them, so I started doing shows. I was given the opportunity to go to ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Toronto, and worked with brilliant producer Thomas Rider Payne (Joydrop) there."

So they recorded her self-title debut album over three weeks in the basement studio of his home. She might have mentioned something about not knowing about what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go with the music thing, and Payne questioned her, rightfully so, with the obvious "What? You're not going to do music?" bit.

With her talent in one hand and some encouragement by people like Payne in the other, Higgs thought it over and now the answer to her profession is simple.

"By default, I'm classified as a musician," she proudly states. "It's all I do."

Among some of the instruments Higgs played on the making of the album are the piano, the violin, guitar, bass, banjo (I once announced I would marry anyone who could play the banjo, even without legs or face, if they could play that banjo...) and she even did some percussion.

Because of her future being so unforeseen she essentially fell into doing most everything in terms of her music career, including booking shows. "I basically got into music without knowing anything that's required of you, so I'm learning and catching on."

Having just toured Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Higgs says she's "still trying to get over the jet leg." And she'll be back on tour in March both as a solo artist and with her side project Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees.

"I try to divide it up, it's so overwhelming," says Higgs. "I'm trying to go across the country over the summer, but after three weeks of solid touring I get tired, we'll see!"

One aspect that never gets tiring: the music. Higgs enthusiastically adds "I try to mix it up a lot."

"My band is made up of whoever can play with me at the time," she says. Her band mates include Colin Crowell, Cory Leblanc, Jason Vautour, even Wintersleep's Tim D'eon and The Burdocks Sean McGillvary.

"We switch it around, and it never gets tiring," says Higgs. "When you switch up whose playing what instrument it always sounds different."

Like any good act, she's had the classic crappy vehicle, sick musician on-tour experience. "We were invited to the Wavelength Showcase in Toronto, and Cory got sick (saying) he was too sick to come with us," she starts. "We talk him into coming. So we get on the road and we have to take him to the hospital because he was coughing up blood. So when it came time to play, all the players just took a step to the left to play a different instrument, and we ended up pulling it off. It was amazing how they could play like that. I guess that if we ever got bored we could just say 'SWITCH!'"

Having earned the 'musician' title Higgs says, "I think that if you had one project that's good enough it could go places, but I think I have ADD-can't stick to just one thing exclusively."

She'll be shooting her video this month, touring with both of her music projects, plans on touring the United Kingdom come the fall and hopefully some summer festivals across the country over the summer. "It's going to be a busy 2007!" And it's only just begun!

Higgs will be playing at The Capital on January 20...so dismember your fear: Go, watch, listen and love her.

For more information on anything musically related to Higgs check out http://www.myspace.com/rebekahhiggs and http://www.myspace.com/rubyjeanandthethoughtfulbees - Rebekah Higgs realizes her talent, and goes with it. By Hiedi Irvine (Here Magazine)