Growing up stateside, moving to London at age 18 to pursue a degree in philosophy, and then returning to the states with a newfound knack for pop songwriting, Valerie Broussard has been creating what she calls “cinematic pop,” a larger-than-life, string-laden approach to pop songwriting. Also doubling as a writer for other artists, the upcoming indie songstress has just released her anthemic, pro-feminist, Shakespeare-inspired debut single, “A Little Wicked”, which will be featured in the new episode of Lucifer tonight on Fox.
Interview by Andy Gorel
Photography by Aurélien Heilbronn
Andy: You’ve been active with performing arts since your early childhood years. What drew you to the arts at such a young age?
Valerie: Well, I was a loud, boisterous, excited child, but I was also – am also, always will be – dyslexic. I have issues with reading and writing, but spoken word was always something that came really easily to me, just being verbal with people, and I found singing was another thing that I was really good at because I was great at memorizing things, as many dyslexics are. I can memorize music really fast. So it became something that was easy in a world of things that were hard. So choir, theater, memorizing lines, getting up on stage, making people laugh, were all things that came naturally, and also it helped me learn how to read. Reading music helped me learn how to read words. It was extremely helpful, and then I guess I just stuck with it.
Andy: Performing is definitely such a different feeling. You feel like you’re almost not yourself, but in a weird way because when performing you are yourself in a one hundred percent natural form.
Valerie: Yeah, exactly! You get to put out different facets of yourself too. I was used to characters, but now I’ve kind of built this other character that’s an extension of my person.
Andy: Were there any artists your parents listened to, or friends introduced you to that have influenced your music?
Valerie: Oh yeah, massively. my parents introduced me to Fleetwood Mac at a really young age, and I think anyone who’s ever seen me knows that I’m obsessed with Stevie Nix. That was a really big one style-wise, and also musically. It’s amazing music, it’s organic, but it also has that sort of haunting sound to it.
My dad’s family is from New Orleans, so my dad introduced me to a lot of Cajun music growing up, and a lot of southern gothic music. Dr. John was a big artist… who I recently accosted in public Laughs. I went to the songwriter hall of fame induction and Dr. John was there – Lady Gaga was there, all of these huge artists – and of course the person that I choose to awkwardly go up to and embarrass is Dr. John, and he could not have been nicer about it Laughs. People like that were a big influence, that dark, creepy music, that still has a fun side to it.
Andy: Well you’ve described your music as cinematic, and that’s definitely a good term for it.
Valerie: Absolutely. I come from the classical world so that’s where a lot of that comes from.
Andy: You grew up in Springfield, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. How do you feel that growing up in Philadelphia helped shape the artist you are today?
Valerie: Philadelphia has an amazing music history. The scene here is really organic, and there is an amazing jazz scene in this town which was really important for me. I had a great jazz band teacher, and we did a lot of competitions. So I met a lot of kids who are now really killing it in the Philly jazz scene. And these guys are technical and amazing musicians, who kind of look at me and go “Aww look at Val. Doing her cute little pop thing.”
Andy: Pop is underrated and does not get enough credit.
Valerie: That is true! Although it’s kind of nice to have people looking at you, and not bringing you down a peg, but making sure your head doesn’t swell a little bit. Being like, “Are you thinking about the music? Are you thinking about the technical side?” So that was a really big influence for me, a lot of the jazz scene stuff, and then just the music history in this town is incredible. My dad was always talking to me about Hall & Oates. Of all the artists in Philly, that’s the one that he was always like “Daryl Hall! You have to like, write something with him some time!” Like dad, that might be a little bit out of my league right now.
And there are a lot of iconic venues in this town. Philadelphia is a test market for music too. Radio stations will test music here. So if people like your music here, in Philadelphia, then you can make it anywhere, as cheesy and cliché as that sounds.
Andy: Philadelphia was recently named the best city to see a show in.
Valerie: That is so true! The crowds here are way better than they are in other cities. I hate to say it, but it’s true. Whenever I go to big or small shows here, it’s just more fun. I saw Coldplay here, and then in New York, and the vibe was just so much better at the Philly show, so what can I say?
Andy: After growing up in Philly, you moved to London when you were eighteen to pursue a degree in philosophy at UCL. What was it like moving to a different continent at eighteen years young, and how was pursuing music in England different than it had been in America?
Valerie: I didn’t play or write, I wasn’t planning on being a songwriter when I moved to England, so it was really England that got me there. I was heavily in the opera scene, and a maestro actually convinced me to start writing pop music. It was awesome.
Moving to London was the best thing I’ve ever done. It was kind of rash and crazy at the time, but I just knew it was right. And I knew nobody on the entire island. I didn’t know a soul. It was amazing. It was so worth it. I met the best friends of my life, and I entered a scene that was really really cool. It’s hard to describe, but for example, Nashville is a really supportive scene. I think London is a really challenging scene. You meet people who are cool and interesting, and want to help you grow, but also want to challenge you. They want to expand your horizons. I think before I moved to London, the music that I was interested in was more straight down the line, Top 40 type stuff, and it wasn’t until I met some of my friends and influences in Britain that I was like, “Oh wait. Music can be very very different. Especially mixing organic and electronic elements. I really never thought about that until I entered the scene over there.
Andy: Do you feel your years spent in London affected you as a person as well?
Valerie: One hundred percent. I’m way more confident than I was. I think moving to another country is something everyone should do if they get the chance. Even if they feel like it’s something that’s going to scare them. I think that was the best bit. It was a shock to the system, just kind of being alone in a different place. You meet other people, from all over the world, and all of a sudden, the blinders are off. I feel like, especially growing up here, in the states, we have the blinders on, in a big way, to other cultures. When you move out, you suddenly learn to appreciate America in a way that you didn’t before, which is nice, and also really see the flaws. Not just of yourself, but of your country, and the way that you grew up, and the assumptions that you made about other people, because of where they’re from and how they look. I think it was a life-defining four years, and I’m so glad that I did it.
Andy: You’re now based between Nashville and New York which are two of the United States’ biggest music cities, but are so different from each other. What has it like been pursuing a career in music in both of these environments at the same time, and do they each provide a different kind of inspiration for your art?
Valerie: Well I would say now it’s more between LA and New York, but I do spend a lot of time in Nashville too. I heard another girl say this recently so I’m going to steal it. I basically took my advance and thought, I’m just gonna go. I’m just going to travel, and be in these cities and they are all really different. I think New York is a great place to play out, and has a really great club scene. I think that the songwriter scene is the strongest in the world in Nashville. I think there’s really nothing else like it. People treat it like a job, the way it should be. Eleven to six, you’re in the studio all day, and then you go home and take a break, which is a such a shift from New York when people are like “Ahh let’s have a weird session at two o’clock in the morning,” or something like that. I think my songwriter career is more focused around the Nashville scene, whereas my artist career is more focused around LA, New York, and London.
Andy: Well LA is very different too. How do you feel LA compares to New York?
Valerie: Industry-wise, they’re both really fast paced. I think New York is grittier and edgier, and that’s what people always talk about, whereas LA is more of a smooth and calculated scene. In terms of the artists that you end up working with in both places – The two producers who have been really instrumental in my life recently, Jose Lopez and Adrianne Gonzalez, are both in LA. So LA has become a place that I really treasure, and really care about. But LA gets a bad rap. Let’s be honest! It gets a bad rap as being this fake place. I think if you find the right people – and yeah there are those moments, of course there are.
Andy: Of course. They’re here too. It happens everywhere.
Valerie: Yeah, and in a city not just based around our industry, but the film industry, and the fashion industry, and all sorts of other things, you’re gonna find those people. You’re gonna find that. I’ve found LA actually to be a really down-to-earth, chill town, where I’m much more relaxed, and I think AG (Adrianne Gonzalez) has been able to draw more interesting things out of me, because I’ve been relaxed, and it’s sunny, and it’s nice out. It’s a good change.
Andy: I agree. Before I had ever been to LA, people were always telling me how superficial it was, and how fake everyone was, but the friends I’ve made in LA and even people I’ve met elsewhere from LA are some of the nicest people I know.
Valerie: Exactly.
Andy: And then Nashville. Everyone’s just insanely nice.
Valerie: Oh, everyone is so nice in Nashville. And the scene is so supportive down there. Everyone just wants to write. They want to teach each other things. They want to learn from you. I was just down there for a week and a half working with some great people, on other people’s records, and on mine, and I was actually really surprised that I met some type of people who were interested in doing the type of music that I’m doing – this dark, electro-ish, pop thing – in Nashville.
Andy: Oh absolutely. Nashville has everything. So many people think it’s all cowboy hats and country music, but it’s not like that at all. When I was in Nashville I went to an indie rock/punk show at an art space. There’s a lot of cutting edge modern pop artists coming out of Nashville right now, like CAPPA or COIN to name a few.
Valerie: Yeah, there’s a lot of great things happening in Nashville.
“…we started talking about being a woman in the industry, and the ways in which sometimes you have to be a tough person, this tough, sort of Machiavellian woman, in order to get through it.”
Andy: So the music you’ve been creating, you describe it as “cinematic”, which is definitely a fitting term for it. When you write, do you have a visual in mind for the music and/or words you’re writing?
Valerie: Yeah! I do. I think most of my songs are either inspired by literary things like books, or sometimes TV shows or movies, but usually it’s something that’s happened in my own life. Usually it’s a quote, or something someone said one night. It’s just something cool, and I’ll write it down. I have these little field note notebooks. So when we start to write a song, I’ll just pull out all the notebooks, and AG and I will go through them. We’ll talk about the quotes that stand out to me, that stand out to her, and what was on my mind, and what was happening. My music is very personal. Thankfully nobody has recognized themselves yet Laughs We’ll see.
Andy: And even if they do, oh well. It’s for art’s sake. You’re doing what you have to do.
Valerie: Exactly! My music would not be interesting without all of the crazy people that seem to find their way into my life.
Andy: Do you ever make up fictional stories, and write songs about them? Or is it all personal experience?
Valerie: Kind of. It depends on the song. I think if it’s inspired by something I’ve read, or something I’ve watched, then yeah it can be a tangential, almost fan-fiction type thing. Actually “Vertigo” that I did with Enl1te – I had no ideas when he sent me the track. None. He was like “What’s going on in your life?” and I’m like “Nothing,” Mockingly. It was Christmas of last year. I was laying around, eating bon-bons. You know. He was like “What are you doing right now? Write about that.” I was watching Arrow on Netflix, and that’s what the song is about. It’s about Arrow Laughs.
I’m a massive nerd and a huge geek. I read comic books, and I watch all sorts of nerdy TV shows, and stuff like that. So I think the cinematic thing goes with that. This sort of escapism, which has always been a big part of my life. That sort of escapism thing. You know, with books, and TV, and movies. That definitely bleeds into the music.
Andy: Is there a certain writing process that works better for you than others? For example, sitting down with a guitar, writing lyrics first, working in a digital audio workstation, etc.
Valerie: I would say there’s no way in particular, but the way it happens most often is if something happens to me, or I see something, I write it down, and I stew over those lyrics for a little while, and then I often create layered vocal demos, because I’m not a great piano player, and I’m not a great guitarist. I learned to read music through the clarinet. Nobody wants to write on the clarinet. That would be weird! So I do a lot of layered vocal demos, and then bring them into AG or whoever I’m writing with and say, “Take a listen to this, what do you think?” Then we’ll expand the track from there, and write the piano line and everything else. So it tends to start vocally.
Andy: Just with a vocal melody?
Valerie: Yeah, or I’ll write chords with my voice. Just by layering harmonies below.
Andy: So just you just sample your voice?
Valerie: Yeah. Hence why there’s a lot of weird little vocal things in my music.
Andy: That’s cool. Especially now in pop music, it’s becoming really popular to create a sample instrument with your voice, run it through a synthesizer or effects chain, and use it for either a hook, or in the background as some sort of line and put a lot of reverb on it to create a certain atmosphere. There are so many things the human voice can’t do but when you make it a MIDI instrument, the possibilities are almost endless. It really allows for a lot of creativity.
Valerie: It’s amazing, the things people can do with it. It was Imogen Heap who I first heard doing things like that, back when I was in middle school/high school. I thought “Well that’s cool,” and then when I started working in music I thought my voice is my best instrument, so I might as well use it to its fullest.
Andy: You just released your new single “A Little Wicked” on February 8th. One of the first lines of it is “No one calls you honey when you’re sitting on a throne,” which is a great line. How did this song begin and where did the inspiration for it come from?
Valerie: So I was at jury duty this summer Laughs, and I didn’t really want to be at jury duty.
Andy: Well does anyone?
Valerie: Does anyone want to be at jury duty? I know that’s not something you’re supposed to say, because it’s your civic duty and all that, but I did not want to be at jury duty.
Andy: But you did it. You weren’t happy about it, but you did your civic duty.
Valerie: Yes! Let the record show that I did my civic duty! Laughs
Andy: Valerie Broussard is a good American citizen.
Valerie: Yeah! You can lead with that Laughs. So anyways, I was there, and there was one of the various people who was showing us from room to room. And this guy, sort of in this slimy way, kept referring to me as “honey.” Usually I’m not one of those people that takes offense to that, but I was grumpy, and I thought to myself “Why are you calling me honey? You wouldn’t call me honey if I was some sort of important woman, or woman of stature.” I don’t know why it came up, but I thought “No one calls you honey if you’re sitting on a throne,” and I wrote it down.
So a couple weeks later I was in LA, and I had just seen the trailer for the new Macbeth that morning, and I love Shakespeare. AG and I were talking about how had both just seen the trailer because we both really love Shakespeare. Then I read her this line, and we started talking about being a woman in the industry, and the ways in which sometimes you have to be a tough person, this tough, sort of Machiavellian woman, in order to get through it. So Macbeth is an incredible story, and Lady Macbeth is this crazy character. We were like “Let’s write a song about Lady Macbeth.” Anyone who knows Shakespeare well will listen to “A Little Wicked” and pick up on it. So it’s a little bit jury duty and a little bit Shakespeare Laughs
It’s sort of a creepy feminist reflection on getting through the industry. I’m not actually going to murder anyone to get ahead.
Andy: You’ve done a lot of writing with and for other artists, most notably “Vertigo” with the LA-based producer Enl1te, which you were featured on, and is a much different style than your solo stuff. What has it been like exploring different styles with other artists, and is writing songs for other artists something else you hope to gain widespread recognition for in the industry?
Valerie: It absolutely is. I look up to Sia, I think she’s doing it really well. She has an amazing solo career, and she still, even at the height of her game, is giving songs that are hits to other artists. I think that’s a really smart way to play it. Plus, then you don’t get bored. You’re not just writing your own stuff all the time. You’re constantly challenging yourself.
Andy: And you don’t have to worry about who you want to be as an artist, you can just write.
Valerie: Yeah, exactly. We just got two cuts. I don’t think I’m allowed to say their names. I don’t want to get in trouble, but they’re both South African artists. I can say that, and their albums will be coming out later this year. They’re both really exciting, and they’re both dudes. It’s been really fun writing for two guys in very different styles than me. The one is a straight ahead pop thing, and the other is sort of a soul-ish thing, and it’s been so fun. It’s been really great. To talk about the things that are going on in their life, and to think about what would be true to them when they sing, and sort of helping craft a story that their fans will understand as a part of their life, it’s great.
Andy: Well it almost goes back to escapism, but instead of fictional characters or ideas, you’re trying to see life from the viewpoint of another artist, which is really cool to think about.
Valerie: Yes, seeing the world through their eyes, and also trying to paint with their voice, which has been really cool, writing for the male voice, because I’m used to just writing for me, or for other females, or doing top lines for people that use my voice. Realizing the limitations, but also the gifts that other people have that you don’t. To be able to use some sort of incredible thing that their voice can do that yours can’t. That’s really fun.
Andy: Who are some of your favorite songwriters who have successful careers both performing their own works, and writing songs for others?
Valerie: Sia is definitely my number one.
Andy: She just had a new record right?
Valerie: Yeah! She did just have a new record come out. It’s interesting. There have been a lot of people saying that there are a lot of rejects from other artists on that album, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily the way that she works. But even if she does, that’s kinda cool that she was like “No, I like this song. I’m gonna put it out. It deserves to be out in the world.” I think that’s really cool.
Another person I’m really inspired by – he doesn’t have the biggest solo career in the world right now but I feel like he should, but he has a thing sort of through Cocaine 80s – is James Fauntleroy. He writes for everybody. He is incredible. And his side project with Common and a few other people, Cocaine 80s, is so good. His voice is amazing, and he’s such an interesting writer in that he can kind of write anything.
So you look at somebody like that, somebody really hard working, who has kind of kept a low profile in terms of the whole Fame in all capital letters and neon lights situation – that’s a really big inspiration for me.
