Kiesza dancing her way to inspiration and self-expression

Kiesza
With: Betty Who
When: Wednesday, April 22
Where: Union Hall (6240 99 Street)
How Much: $30 (songkick.com)

Articulating beliefs through music can be challenging, but Kiesa Ellestad has it figured out. Through her music and her videos, she is carving her own method of self-expression in a sea of vapid pop music.

A Calgary native, Ellestad, better known as Kiesza, left the city in 2007 to attend Selkirk College in Nelson, B.C. After that, she moved from Berklee in Boston to New York City to work on her songwriting.

“The writing scene is LA more than New York but New York was more my style,” Ellestad says. “It inspired me more as a city. There are a lot of writers there and that’s where I found the most inspiration.”

Ellestad is best known for her “Hideaway” music video, a one-take project that features Kiesza dancing through a street to what was one of the biggest songs of summer 2014. Since then, her album Sound of a Woman was released, and she’s produced two more music videos. Though “Hideaway” was a hugely successful project, she’s looking to show more to her fans.

“They’re seen me dancing on the street,” Ellestad says. “And there’s a lot more to me as an artist than the girl who dances.”

The video for her second single, “Giant in My Heart” takes a much more narrative turn. The video features a man caught in a dead-end job, who is only happy after work when he goes out on the town as a drag queen. The video is Ellestad putting forward a message that she strongly believes in.

“You won’t be happy until you express yourself the way that you are,” Ellestad says. “If you suppress yourself and try to fit into the standards of society because that’s what’s expected of you you’re gonna feel like you’re stuck in a box, you’re in a prison within yourself.”

Her third and most recent video, “No Enemiesz” brings back the dancing that got her noticed, but she admits that the video isn’t her style, and would feel more comfortable with something that better represented her.

“(“No Enemiesz”) was the first video that happened when I was a part of a label and it’s honestly not my favourite video,” Ellestad admits. “I liked that it had a concept but it felt way too big and way too glossy, and when I see it I don’t see myself.”

Being yourself is a big theme in Kiesza’s life, and a big part of that is demonstrating that realness through her music. By sticking to what she believes, she is making music that can be universally appreciated.

“My music is about life experience,” Ellestad says. “I try to write about things I’ve been through and that I think other people go through. I try to connect with people through my music.”