Eco-conscious living, activism, and music with 0Stella

Liz Pomeroy, better known as 0Stella (pronounced oh-Stella), is an Edmonton-based Irish-Canadian artist who works environmental activism into her music. 

Formerly the lead singer of Calgary-based Burning Daisy (2011-2016), Pomeroy recently released a new EP as 0Stella called Little Yes, Little Know. 0Stella is an eco-conscious solo project, which translates Pomeroy’s own personal environmental, social, and political beliefs into music. For her, being eco-conscious means trying to be mindful of the impact you leave on the planet around you. 

“In my daily living, I try to be minimal and compact as possible, from bringing my own jars to the supermarket to abstaining from plastic bags. I try to cycle as far as I can without using a car, I consider the amount of packaging in things before I buy them,”  0Stella said. “I try to veer on the side of possibly spending more money on an item that will last me a lot longer than going for the disposable things […] and gardening as well, trying to grow as much food for myself [as possible].” 

This lifestyle filters into the merch she creates — she opts to sell 100 per cent biodegradable cutlery sets instead of more conventional items at her concerts.

The song, “Wide Awake,” came out of a period of time where Pomeroy and her friend were going through undulating periods of panic and paralysis. She was trying to write something uplifting and motivating while talking about urgent topics, in an attempt to incite more action and awareness in the general population. 

“[We were] just feeling entirely powerless over the state of global warming and stuff,” Pomeroy said. “’Wide Awake’ came out to be an anthemic song that really is talking about different climate impacts and situations, like the boil water advisory, no one having clean water up in the Indigenous nations in Canada through to island nations, like Ireland, where I grew up.” 

Pomeroy takes inspiration from Rage Against The Machine, Grandson, and the Cranberries because of the way they talk about issues affecting them and the planet. 

“I really wouldn’t say that I’m a political writer at all,” she said. “I focus on the human story behind [politics] and, in some songs, like ‘Wide Awake’, it just so happens to be set against the backdrop of global warming, whereas ‘Linen’ is set against the backdrop of another social issue.”

“Linen” was inspired by the closure of Magdalene Laundries (or Magdalene Asylums) that were prevalent in Ireland from the 18th to the late 20th century. Initially a Protestant, but later a Roman Catholic institution, Magdalene Laundries were for “fallen women” and often these priests and nuns would abuse the women in the institution. 

Pomeroy loves making music back home in Ireland, but, after moving to Alberta, she finds that Alberta has an amazing infrastructure for supporting the arts through grant systems. It was through grants and support from the Edmonton Arts Council that 0Stella as a musical project was born.

“Grants are difficult to get, but that shouldn’t be a reason why you don’t try to get them because not everyone in the world has access to that kind of support,” Pomeroy said. “Alberta and Canada are amazing places to make art.”