Veda Hille, eclectic singer/songwriter/pianist, lives in a Commercial Drive walk-up. On her wall is a framed certificate highlighting the five Brownie badges she earned in her youth.

"They are all for things I'm still doing now," she laughs, explaining each one. "Music..., writing..., reading..., cooking... and the magnifying glass. I can't remember what exactly it was for but to me it signifies 'investigation.'"

She doesn't have much time for anything but the first two these days.  Although Hille has been playing piano since she was six years old, and even had a short lived career as a lounge singer at 18, she is now coming into her own. At 27, she has released two independent recordings, the first on cassette, Songs about People and Buildings, (1992), and a CD, Path of the (sic) Body, (1994).

After overachieving in Brownies, Hille says she dropped out of Girl Guides "because it became too militant." Obviously, she is not someone who feels comfortable following any strict "guidelines."

Her music may be described as a calamitous hybrid between jazz, pop and classical piano. Sometimes it challenges the intellect and provokes all manners of introspective thought. There are so many layers to peel back, so much texture in terms of sound and verse that it is easy to become immersed in her muse. Alternately, Hille's music has a subtle disarming quality about it. At times her material appears deceptively simple in terms of its' structure but that is probably a ruse. Hille's songwriting could not possibly be the result of anything but hard work. She can soothe the soul or emote strong emotions with a deft turn of a phrase or the addition of a pretty melody. Imagine a string of chaotic notes with words that start and stop in cacophonic and euphonic harmony!

"The band was an integral part of putting Path of a Body together especially Steve Nikleva, the guitar player," says Hille. "They were instrumental in putting the songs into the places I wanted them." Nikleva is a veteran player well known in Vancouver's music community for his enormous musical talents and supportive personality. He has most recent credits include recording and touring with fellow Vancouverites Mae Moore and Sarah MacLachlan. Hille also recruited one of this city's finest rhythm sections in bassist Martin Walton and drummer Steve Lazin. This band has chops galore.

But Hille's obvious strength as an artist has drawn praise from many of her contemporaries. Her lyrics are vibrant and intelligent: she is a storyteller, an observer of life's endless details. The kind that produce honest images and relay common truths.

"Path of a Body was quite chaotic," remarks the tunesmith. "The songs go between extremes. I hit both ends of the spectrum. On my next album the songs still do this but people will notice it less. I'm getting more subtle as I get older. I feel like I'm aging, which is nice. The further you can get from being a teenager, the better."

Although she's been writing since Brownies (she got a badge, remember), Hille was never ready to be labeled a wordsmith.

"It was only recently I realized that I have to consider myself a writer if I'm working with words," she says with certain humility. "When I was 21, I found a book of poems I wrote when I was 11. That started me thinking about writing again. Now I take more responsibility for what I read. The potential of working with words has really opened up, and I find it very exciting."

Like her favorite authors, e.e. cummings, Rilke and Annie Dillard (a philosophical naturalist), Hille pours a lot of passion into her work - "for better or for worse."

"I occupy my mind a lot," explains Hille, "That's where I hangout, which is not always great. I get insomnia at the drop of a hat. But when I do sleep I find great images and metaphors in my dreams, which I use in my writing."

She has just completed a video of "Precious Heart," and the visualization of this ballad was a collaborative effort with dancer and independent choreographer, Deborah Dunn.

"There is a strong creative connection between us. She's a very strong woman. I was initially intimidated by her. But we found we could disagree and not feel we had endangered our relationship. It's really hard to find someone like that and we can really push each other that way."

The concept of the video is that they would both represent the same woman in different spaces. Hille becomes the conscious representation, aware of the camera, slightly awkward; while Dunn is the unconscious, moving with the fluidity and passion of a dancer.

She's heading to Toronto and Montreal this week on a ten day tour where she hopes Much Music and Music Plus will be interested enough in the video to put it on rotation.

A new CD produced by Warner Brothers is due early next year. She is now in the process of recording those songs. Guest players included Andy Stochansky (Ani Difranco's drummer) and celebrated cellist Anne Bourne (Jane Siberry, Barenaked Ladies). "I'm bringing in other instrumentation," says Veda. "I'm really into men singing back-up too," reversing a common stereotype that sometimes serves to diminish the contributions of background vocalists. She's an equal opportunity artist who treats the people she works with, with the kind of respect reserved for close friends and family. What a nouveau concept! Just another example of Hille's rep as a rule-breaker par excellence.

Veda Hille opens for Ani Difranco at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on March 3 and at the Spectrum in Montreal on March 5. She performs as the headling act at the Alley in Montreal on March 6, then returns to the Wet Coast and the Railway Club, her home away from home, on April 18 and 19.  Do yourself a favour and take in some of this woman's work and whimsy. It could help cure those mid-winter blues 'cause Veda's Spring has definitely sprung!
 

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