Selci is the artist name of Calgary-based singer and producer, Selci, and it is also her last name. Selci’s music melds alternative-pop and electronic influences and was first discovered by Eat This Music earlier in 2019. “I’m good,” the Canadian artist expresses to Eat This Music at the top of our Q&A, “just finished a very fruitful production session in Winnipeg.”
Selci was kind enough to take the time out of her day to answer a couple of questions for Eat This Music about the release of her album, ‘A SOFT PLACE‘. “I feel very relieved to have the album out,” Selci expresses. There was a lot of build-up to the record because of the delays due to COVID and the political climate. In fact, Selci tells Eat This Music that it feels good to it off her chest.
Selci’s ‘A SOFT PLACE’ is about finding spaces to escape from the anxieties of the world. In some ways, the album is about escapism, and in others, it is about peacefulness and sanctuary. “It’s also about seeing myself for who I actually am and fully accepting it,” Selci says.
Selci was producing and writing for about a year when it felt like she had enough to pick some of her best work. Some of the tracks on the album started in her friend’s studio called the Wizard Palace. That place was a collaborative spot in Calgary where some of her friends got together to write, create, and produce music. “I’ve been jamming there for a while and finally felt like I needed to take some of those songs and show them to the world,” she adds. “After that, I went to Vancouver to finish working on the album with Neighbour, who is a house music producer and DJ. He brought the finished product to a whole new level.”
All of Selci’s lyrics are typically about things going on in her own life, so this album is a representation of what was going on in her life at that time. “I was coming out of a long period of mental health struggle and was embracing the light on the other side,” Selci continues on the creation of her album, “I was just discovering the soft places for myself where I could find safety and comfort.” Although, at the time, Selci was also coming to terms with some of the parts of herself that she needed to settle into a bit more and accept and soften.
Making music is what Selci does. “I’m always working on new stuff that I want to share with the world,” she explains to Eat This Music. “I’m also an audio tech for the National Music Centre in Calgary and a producer for other artists.” Music is an all-encompassing part of Selci’s life and career. Search finds music crucial to work in this way, so that she is always moving forward as an artist and growing as a person.
“My personal favourites are “A Soft Place and “Bein’ Alone”, Selci reveals to Eat This Music which songs she recommends off the album. In fact, “Bein’ Alone” is Eat This Music’s favourite song too and was a Song of the Day on the website. Selci has a couple of reasons as to why they are her favourites though, mostly because she is obsessed with house music as of late and those two have that flavour. “I love the lyrics and the pillowy textures of “A Soft Place,” she reveals, “I love what everyone contributed to that song as it was in the process of being created.” “Bein’ Alone” is a more accurate representation of where Selci’s music is going in the future. “I produced that one by myself and mastered it as well,” she continues, “so it has more of a lo-fi sound—which I am a huge fan of. It’s a moody one.”
At the moment in Selci’s career, she is producing quite a bit of music for other artists. “I’m also in the process of writing my first full-length LP”, she tells Eat This Music, “which I will be recording later this year with esteemed audio engineer and producer Sylvia Massy.”
