Most artists fumble the first time they get into a studio. In the case of Montreal singer Silka Weil, and her debut single, “Capsized,” she knocked it out of the park. Maybe that’s because the song dates to her days in her parents’ basement, and “polishing it into a finished piece of work has been like framing an old photograph,” she says. Maybe it’s because Weil has been singing since before she knew how to speak, and has been playing guitar since she was nine years old; she was more than ready for her first closeup. Maybe it’s because the lyrics are deeply personal for her, about using art to unlock one’s inner potential. Which Silka Weil has clearly done here.
Weil, who holds a BFA from Concordia University and a master’s degree in occupational therapy from Queen’s University, is passionate about the healing power of the arts. It’s an important part of her day job in the field of youth mental health. She says writing “Capsized” was “a salve for wounds I didn’t know I had until I gave myself the space to feel them. It finds a gap through negative self-talk to uncover what our deeper impulses point towards. That has always been the beauty of writing for me: discovering the hidden treasures inside ourselves.”
Silka Weil’s folksy pop-rock sound draws inspiration from vintage pop and contemporary artists, with a particular affection for late ’90s women such as Alanis Morissette, PJ Harvey and Dido. A native Montrealer, she has performed around Canada in Banff, Kingston, and Montreal, and abroad in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Her debut EP was produced by Jean-Sebastien Brault-Labbé, who has produced music for Gabrielle Papillon, Samuele, Matt Stern, Vamoise, Barnabé, and the Blue Seeds.
“’Capsized’ is about the threat and promise of allowing ourselves to dream,” says Weil. “It addresses longing in many forms, for a relationship that is doomed to fail, or a future you could only imagine. I always felt there was a kind of grace to the song.”
