Montreal singer-songwriter whose textured, low-key songcraft earned Polaris Prize longlist nods for two full-length albums.
MOODS · introspective · textural · atmospheric · quiet · melancholic · intimate · acoustic · understated
BIOGRAPHY
Helena Deland is a Canadian singer-songwriter born in Vancouver, raised largely in Quebec City, and now based in Montreal. Working in French and English but writing primarily in English, she learned piano and guitar as a child before emerging from the Montreal indie scene with a style that favors texture and timbre over conventional song structure.
Her catalog includes five EPs, among them Drawing Room (2016) and the four-volume From the Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied" (2018), followed by two full-length albums: Someone New (2020) and Goodnight Summerland (2023). Both albums were longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and Someone New appeared on year-end best-of lists from Gorilla vs. Bear, Les Inrockuptibles, The Line of Best Fit, and Exclaim!.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Helena Deland's music sits at the intersection of quiet detail and critical recognition: her debut Someone New landed at number one on Gorilla vs. Bear's year-end list and drew further acclaim from Les Inrockuptibles, The Line of Best Fit, and Exclaim!, while both of her full-length records were longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Goodnight Summerland, made with New York songwriter and producer Sam Evian (known for work with Cass McCombs and Big Thief), pushed her sound toward a more acoustic register while serving as a tribute to her late mother, threading grief through an already textural, patient approach to songwriting.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
