Musicians Featured: Fefe Dobson
May 25th, 2022
Fefe Dobson's Music Is The Soundtrack to Her Own Life
Last week, I connected with creative powerhouse Fefe Dobson to learn about her journey with music, her thoughts on how it can build community, and the vulnerability in songwriting. Fefe is a JUNO-nominated musician and actress, who you may recognize from her songs including Ghost and Stuttering.
Her incredible songwriting skills have spanned beyond her own discography, and have led her to write hits for artists like Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Jordin Sparks. One look in her Tiktok and Youtube comments section will show you how excited fans are for her upcoming album - make sure to join in the excitement by checking out her latest single, FCKN IN LOVE.
Keep reading to learn more about how she views the relationship between music and self-expression, her advice for artists who are just getting started, and the COVID-relief initiative she started with Tyler Shaw.
- Emily Weatherhead, Founder
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EW: To begin, I’d like to take it back to the beginning. How did you get started in music, and how did it lead you to where you are today?
FD: Growing up in Scarborough, ON music was a big part of my life, especially at home. My mom would listen to lots of music around the house and I distinctly remember after school lying down on the floor below my older sister’s closed bedroom door to hear the music she was blaring from the stereo in her room. Music was really influential for me in terms of how I expressed myself from a child to a teen especially. One of my favourite memories was that my mom, who raised 4 kids on her own, saved up enough money to get me a karaoke machine for Christmas one year. It was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received and would eventually be the catalyst to getting my first major label record deal - from the demos I recorded and would mail out using that karaoke machine.
“My music is made for a soundtrack to my own life, but also for others to feel empowered through different life situations.”
EW: What moments in life is your music made for?
FD: My music is made for a soundtrack to my own life, but also for others to feel empowered through different life situations. My early music was super teen-angst driven. I wrote songs about falling in love for the first time, running away from my home life, about bullies and my experiences in high school and also about my absent father. There was such a vulnerability to my first album. My subsequent music was reflective of those periods in my life and how I was coping - or not. In general, my music is made for people who might feel misunderstood or like the “other” in life.
EW: You are a creative powerhouse and an amazing songwriter. Is there something about music that allows you to express yourself in a way that you might not otherwise?
FD: Thank you, I appreciate that. I am actually a very private and shy person generally. It does take some time for me to get into a creative space where I give myself permission to be vulnerable and open up to collaborators, whether it’s other songwriters or producers. It can take months to get into a specific space where I write my albums, but once the door cracks open, it all pours out in just a couple of weeks and my projects are written. A lot of the songs that I have been credited with writing for other artists are actually songs that didn’t make the cut on previous albums of my own.
“Music can also mobilize people to work together toward a greater purpose.”
EW: Getting into the community side of things, how do you think that music can build community and connect us?
FD: Music was my own personal safe haven. I went to a theatre arts school and it was one of my earliest memories of feeling a sense of community and belonging outside of my immediate family. It’s a form of expression through the medium of art and our differences as well as our similarities are what connect us in this space. The community element really allows us to collaborate and challenge each other creatively. Music can also mobilize people to work together towards a greater purpose, as we’ve seen throughout the duration of the pandemic.
EW: You helped to lead an amazing initiative where Canadian musicians covered Lean on Me to raise funds for COVID-19 relief. Is there something about music that unites people to create positive change?
FD: A message and a purpose. I think the lyrics of Bill Withers’ song ‘Lean On Me’ really resonated with myself and Tyler Shaw when we were assembling Canadians for a COVID relief anthem. There was something about the pandemic that put most people in a similar position. We were all fighting for toilet paper and a sense of worry and uncertainty washed over us. We became isolated.
“We turned to the arts…whether it was books, television or especially music. There was a sense of hope or optimism that music offered during this trying period of time.”
In my opinion, we turned to the arts during this dark time, whether it was books, movies, television or especially music. There was a sense of hope or optimism that music offered during this trying period of time. The effect of our cover of “Lean On Me” through ArtistsCAN helped to rally Canadians specifically to help one another and people in a time of need. All of the proceeds of our single were donated to the Canadian Red Cross and their COVID-19 related initiatives. We witnessed Canadians purchasing the single, donating, streaming it, and watching the official music video. It was a beautiful experience and it was really fuelled by music and its message, resulting in positive change.
EW: You’ve been creating music from a young age - what advice would you have for musicians who are just getting started?
FD: It may not be the most popular advice but I would suggest to take your time with things and really invest in yourself. We’re seeing so many young, talented musicians getting signed or releasing hit singles and then years later you don’t hear from them again. Sometimes this is due to politics, aligning with the wrong people or just life circumstances. I like to view my own career as a blueprint for a marathon and not a sprint. I had fast success, internationally, as a teenager, and then on my second album I was going through growing pains and changed things up and my label abandoned me and my art because they didn’t understand it. I take some accountability on that front too. I was going through a lot of changes.
“Good music will always prevail.”
All that to say, it could have been the end of my career in music, but I chose to stick with it and pick myself back up because it’s what I truly wanted and loved to do. No one will believe in yourself more than you will. It’s important to know what you want or weigh in on decisions so that when the “big machine” becomes involved that you’re keeping your own career on course. We put these timelines and expiration dates on ourselves and if we don’t reach those milestones we feel defeated or less than. That is why I say, take your time with your art. Be patient. Good music will always prevail.
EW: Do you have any final thoughts on why it’s important to make music more accessible to communities?
FD: Music is so necessary and important. It has the power to heal and uplift. There’s a science behind it. We see music therapy and how it’s helped people cope with traumas or even just with life skills. I couldn’t imagine life without it. In my own experience, it’s been an outlet and I think that's incredibly important. Young people especially need an outlet to express their pain or somewhere to direct their energy.
EW: Thank you so much for your time and for answering these questions! Is there anything else you’d like to share with our audience, or share about what’s coming next for you?
FD: I’m currently working on a new album. My latest single FCKN IN LOVE is out now and I was recently featured on Josh Ramsay’s solo album on a track called ‘Delirious’. I have lots more music coming in the months ahead and I cannot wait to get back on the road and share my music with live audiences and really feel that sense of community we’ve been missing for the past few years.
