If musician Evangeline Gentle has learned anything, it’s that experience, while a great teacher, serves a higher purpose when it comes to her craft.
With two critically acclaimed albums to her credit, the Peterborough-based singer-songwriter continues to forge connections with those paying enough attention to hear — really hear — what it is she has to say lyrically and why it’s important.
“When I write songs, it’s like I’m alchemizing my own grief or anger or joy or feeling of community or whatever,” says Gentle. “I get to alchemize my feelings into this thing that maybe other people are going to connect with. The goal for me is that it resonates with somebody and that it heals in some way — that it has a life beyond just what it means to me.”
Speaking to her just-released second album, Where The Diamonds Are, Gentle says there’s “an unapologetic energy” to each of the 10 tracks.
“An unapologetic celebration of queer culture is definitely present throughout the entire album but especially on songs like Gay Bar and Bad Girls. That wasn’t intentional. It just kind of happened, the result of themes that were running though my mind as I was writing.”
“A lot of these songs I wrote during (the pandemic) lockdown when we didn’t have access to community spaces. That’s when I wrote Gay Bar. I was really missing that community. We’re kind of coming into an age where you’ll hear on the radio more obvious queer music. To me, as a queer artist, that’s very thrilling. I’m like ‘This is great. I get to hear my own stories on the radio a little bit more.’ I definitely want to be part of that. I don’t want to shy away from that moment.”
Shying away has never been a part of Gentle’s make-up. If there’s something to be said, she’s not afraid to say it, be it during a media interview or before an audience often found collectively nodding in agreement. That, she says, can be traced back to what she terms a “defining moment.”
“When I was about 11, I watched The Chicks’ documentary Shut Up And Sing,” she recalls. “When you’re a kid and you see celebrities, they feel very far away from your reality. That documentary really humanized these three powerful women. They had children, families … I got to see that they’re real people.”
“That was the ah-a moment. I was like ‘Oh, you can do this. Normal people, normal women, have careers in music.’ That was the light bulb for me. I am going to do that.”
“As I got older and realized I was queer, and all these other social justice issues that matter so most to me arose, I kept coming back to the image of the strong woman who is also an artist. Immediately after watching that documentary, it was like I saw a reflection of a little inside part of me. I got a guitar, I went to Walmart and got one of those big posters showing all the guitar chords, and I started teaching myself how to play. I started writing songs and it all spiralled from there.”
“When you feel a calling toward something, it’s harder to resist the calling than it is to actually go with it and see what happens.”
Born in Scotland, Gentle’s family moved to Peterborough when she was 10 years old. Her formative high school years were spent at the former Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School and its vaunted Integrated Arts Program — “It was special — I loved that school.”
At age 18, Gentle began working with producer Jim Bryson, who toured with Kathleen Edwards and, since 2014, has operated his own recording studio, Fixed Hinge. That collaboration led to Gentle’s 2020 self-titled debut album. Mastered by Grammy Award-nominated engineer Philip Shaw Bova (Bahamas, Feist), it earned rave reviews and radio play on CBC, BBC, and SiriusXM.
“With these new songs, I wanted to cross genres a little bit more,” says Gentle, noting Where The Diamonds Are “has moved me into more of an indie pop area” from her prior folk-heavy leanings.
VIDEO: “So It Goes” – Evangeline Gentle
“As a songwriter, there was a really awesome opportunity to expand my usual writing habits. These songs are a lot more unapologetic in their lyrical content. I very much wanted to distill the messaging into something that was quite direct and bold — something that reflected my coming into my own power a little bit more.”
“For this album, I also wanted to be involved in every single part of the recording process as much as I could be. For our mixing session, I Zoomed in so I could be part of that process. That was really empowering. I can hear a lot of more of my creative ideas on this album, which is empowering for me both as a writer and as an artist.”
What hasn’t changed for Gentle is her writing process — a process she admits she’s “fascinated” with.
“The older I get and the more experience I have as a songwriter, the more mystical it feels to me,” she says.
“I started writing songs when I was 12 years old,” Gentle recalls. “I would get this feeling in my body — an intuitive knowing that if I try to write something, something would come. I’ve learned over the years — I’m 27 now — that when that feeling takes hold of me, I need to prioritize setting aside the time to write. The feeling will come and I’ll try to go into a meditative state and see what happens.”
“An idea will be percolating in my head for months and then, all of a sudden, I’ll be cleaning the bathroom and it all just clicks into place and I’m like ‘OK, I’ve got to get this idea out now. The timer has gone off. It’s ready. It’s cooked.’ That’s not to say all songs come in that spontaneous way. There are songs I’ll sit with for quite awhile, then I’ll shake them and put little bits into them over time.”
On the performing side of things, Gentle confesses stage fright has been a reality she has struggled with, forcing her to adopt a new mindset.
“When you get on stage from a place of gratitude for being there, that you deserve to be there on that stage, the way you carry yourself is going to be much different than if you get on stage and you’re like ‘Oh, I’m so scared,'” she explains. “That shift in energy has translated into my live performances. It helps that I have a great band who I absolutely love playing shows with.”
VIDEO: “Gay Bar” – Evangeline Gentle
On October 20th at Sadleir House in Peterborough, Gentle — backed by Nick Ferrio, Charlie Glasspool, Matt Greco, and Em Crawford — will begin a mini tour that will bring her to Toronto’s famed El Mocambo and The Rivoli, followed by performances in Port Hope (at the Capitol Theatre on November 10), Kitchener, Kingston, and Ottawa.
Recently signed to an agency based in the United Kingdom and Europe, Gentle hopes to cross the Atlantic for a tour next summer and fall, repeating an experience she undertook the past two summers. And, she says, she’s written enough new material for a third album.
“Even just a handful of years ago, I wasn’t as rooted in my own power,” reflects Gentle. “I’ve gone through so many experiences in my career that required me to stand up for myself. There’s a kind of self-assuredness that has resulted. Not in a negative way, but in an empowering way that comes from having to advocate for yourself and remain true to your values.”
“I’m much less bothered by trying to fit myself into the industry side. I’m making art that I want to make, putting it out there and hoping it reaches the right people. There’s more of a confidence, with me saying ‘Hey, this is me. You can take it or leave it. This is who I am.'”
Admitting to being “a bit of a perfectionist,” Gentle says “I can be hard on myself if I don’t feel I’m making enough progress.”
“When that happens, I picture my 11-year-old self and I show her what I’m doing now. It really puts into perspective for me that I’m so lucky. I like knowing she would find what I’m doing right now very cool.”
For more information on Evangeline Gentle, visit www.evangelinegentlemusic.com.
VIDEO: “Bad Girls” – Evangeline Gentle
