Basia Bulat laughs when asked about the title of her new album, Basia’s Palace. “I was trying to go with the cheekiest, funniest name I could think of. I wrote it at home, while I was expecting my second daughter. We were juggling childcare for our first, and I was writing at night, in my groovy 70s basement.” She adds, “It’s serious and funny, kind of like me.”
It’s hard to believe the album is Bulat’s seventh. It was her second album, Heart of My Own (2010), with its melodic and moody title track, that launched her career.
With Basia’s Palace, Bulat says, “I wanted to make a bit of a landscape for this time I was in. I wanted to celebrate what I have.”
The first single, “Baby,” is about being a parent, and Bulat notes that her creativity remains, but she needs to be flexible about writing, parenting, and life. “It was great to write at night. Even though I was tired, I had this feeling that if I had this idea, I didn’t want it to escape. As long as I get things down, I can pick them up later. I got better at coming back to stuff, and accepting that the process is different now. I’m not going to have the same amount of time.”
“I tried to do something with this record that people haven’t seen before. Something new. With the music videos, I wanted them to be emotional but also celebratory. I approached it with gratitude and curiosity. It’s fun, what I made under these weird conditions.”
When Bulat plays two Alberta shows in February, she will have a band with her. “There are four of us,” she says, “plus we might have a few guests!”
She says, “I take no second of this music as a living for granted. It feels like a miracle because of everything that happened in the world and in my life.” And, she says, there’s a simplicity to playing live. “I just have to make sure I get to the gig on time. I’m so fortunate. I’m cherishing that aspect of music, even though I miss my kids.”
Bulat connected with her Polish roots for the album cover. She’s in a bright green dress, in a vintage-looking room with gold and orange wallpaper. A domestic kitchen is in the background. She says, “I was trying to evoke the spirit of my grandmother and my great aunts. They were glamourous in a difficult time. They treated everything as precious, and made things beautiful, even in times of fabric rations in Poland.”
She sums up the vibe as, “Come to my basement! It’s got funky wallpaper!” and then adds, “To feel satisfied as an artist, you have to evolve. You have to sound like yourself and look like yourself.”
Basia’s Palace drops February 21.
She will play the Block Heater festival in Calgary on February 14 and The Arden Theatre in St. Albert February 15. Find info at basiabulat.com
Basia Bulat will also speak with Lisa Wilton during the CKUA Chillout Block Heater preview on Traffic Jams. That’s Tuesday, February 11, 3pm – 6pm MT.