Faun Stella moves between The Isle & The Sea on their new roots-pop single and lyric video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The debut single from the latest alter-ego of veteran Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Meghaan LeBlanc, The Isle & The Sea lights up the misty shore with ethereal vocals that ebb and flow like waves across a summery beat and funky bass groove. Its simple lyrics give away more meaning than might be caught at first listen, with LeBlanc citing an identity crisis (through a surprising family history search that revealed her Indigenous ancestry) as the main inspiration for the track. But she maintains that the spirit of the song applies to any aspect of identity where polarity is in question:
“Who do you want me to be?
Some wild child on an isle in the sea?
Who do you want me to be?
Some wild child on an isle in the sea?”
“What did it mean for my identity?” LeBlanc says of her recent discovery. “I wasn’t raised in the culture and traditions, so I didn’t want to be disrespectful by claiming to be of this ethnicity. Was my DNA even ‘indigenous enough’ to count? Who decides how much ‘counts’? And who decides who has the decision rights over identity, to begin with? Where do I fit in? All kinds of questions like this started spinning through my head while trying to make sense of my new family history.”
The track was written and produced with Adam Faux at his home studio in Toronto, with LeBlanc on vocal duties, Faux on bass, electric guitar, and programming, and Brent Welbourn adding additional guitars. Says LeBlanc: “Adam was able to empathize because he is from a multi-ethnic family and is faced with conflicts of this nature almost every day. So we just dove into it, head on.” Adam adds: “We are all born composers of sound, movement, and artifact. We intuitively communicate our physical, psychological, and most essential needs and desires through our bodies and voice.”
Canadian through and through, LeBlanc is embedded in the Nova Scotia music scene as a singer, songwriter, and storyteller whose style is a blend of Celtic folk and roots-rock. Under her alt-rock alter ego Meghan Morrison, she has shared the stage with notable Canadian artists such as Jim Cuddy, Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk.
Watch the lyric video for The Isle & The Sea above, sample the song below, and find Faun Stella on their website and Instagram.
