Sharing your rawest emotions with complete strangers is an intensely vulnerable thing, and that's something Nelson songstress Erica Dee knows all too well.
"I was feeling naked and vulnerable. I would say I was nervous until about a week ago. But since we started touring the album I've been feeling really good. The focus is on having my songs and my voice heard," Erica Dee told the Star, en route to Portland on her re-release tour for her debut album New Skies.
The singer, who recently hosted a release party for her music video "Smile" at Spiritbar, was on the road with her collaborator DJ Werd, who produced the album. The pair teamed up after encountering each other in Berlin, and they found a quick compatibility.
"Everybody can find themselves in Erica's lyrics," Werd said. "They are an expression of common themes, of people falling in love and going through breakups. They can find themselves in the lyrics."
And with Werd backing her, she feels more confident than ever.
"It's just incredible to know somebody has my back on the musical side of things. He holds down the beats and I sing my songs. It's such an incredible experience as opposed to doing DJ sets and bunch of stuff at the same time."
Dee's main message is a positive one.
"The main thing is for people to open up and feel their own hearts. I have hopeful, positive messages for young adults who are figuring out who they are and finding themselves in relationships in the real world."
The latest track she's hyping is "Your Love".
"That song's a very deep love song. We shot it on Saltspring Island last spring. It's a nature-inspired video, you can see the coastline, I'm wandering through beautiful golden fields. It's got a soft feeling to it, with weeping willows. It's a bittersweet love song."
Dee will host a family-themed affair at Shambhala Hall to celebrate the release of her album, with her parents Paul and Laura Landsberg both making appearances, along with Buckman Coe and Rita Marie.
"That venue used to be called Studio 80 and I used to fall asleep in there," said Dee. "This concert will be like a sit-down experience, and people will get to experience me on a very intimate level."
The show will been on Friday, Feb. 26 with doors at 7 p.m. The album will be available for purchase.
