Calgary singer Justine Tyrell on inspiration and authentic sound
Justine Tyrell’s latest release “Last” strays from her usual sound with haunting vocals, inspired by a cult classic Tim Burton film.
Christy CastillionCalgary-native Justine Tyrell is a three-time award nominee R&B singer. Coming off her recently released single, “Last,” she spoke with The Gateway about her creative process, inspiration, and musical identity. Mainly, she noted not overthinking and trusting the process.
“I’m such an overthinker, and usually I’m trying to curate things to sound [cohesive]. Whereas [“Last”] has a drill beat that makes absolutely no sense. So all that is to say, the sound was definitely a happy accident, I think, versus anything too intentional.”
The haunting vocals on “Last” are inspired by Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Tyrell detailed how she often begins the songwriting process by watching a film and pulling inspiration from there.
“I think my ultimate goal is having a song in a James Bond movie, or … creating something that’s cinematic. I love pulling inspiration out of really weird places.”
“There’s not really a road map that anyone really tries to follow here,” Tyrell says
Tyrell described how she had a “little stint” on Canadian Idol, however didn’t make it past the fifth producer round. After that, she went door to door on Calgary’s 17th Avenue, a street packed with venues to perform, offering free performances.
On the sound of Canadian R&B, Tyrell described the differences in eastern and western Canadian R&B. She describes her own sound as “prairie R&B.”
“There’s not really a road map that anyone really tries to follow here,” like there is for R&B in Toronto, Tyrell explained. Because there is no specific sound for western Canadian R&B, Tyrell feels no “pressure to have the Calgary sound,” or any “pressure to sound a certain way.”
However, because she has freedom when it comes to sound, Tyrell noted it can create a sense of decision paralysis when deciding on a sound.
“You can just quiet the noise and get back in touch with the fact that [the sound] is undefined, and that’s the whole point of being an artist. It’s supposed to be through our lens and our lens only.”
Tyrell is currently out east recording her follow up EP. She plans to release it around March or April of 2025.
