I first met Laurell in North Vancouver in the Jazz Studies Program at Capilano University. Laurell would show up for class on her longboard and at the time, her songwriting reflected a beachy, laid-back, west-coast style. I admired Laurell for dropping into that intense jazz-focused setting and learning everything she needed to know about music theory and technique. Then she moved on to travel the world and hone in on this collaborative dance-pop songwriting career she has built. Looking back now I can see that THIS GIRL HAD A VISION!
I am proud to say I have been able to watch Laurell deep dive into her career with both feet and heart all in. Here’s her story, I hope you enjoy and this inspires you to deep dive into the thing your dreaming of doing.
Terra: Introduce yourself and what you do!
Laurell: Hey! I’m Laurell Barker. I’m a Canadian singer/songwriter/vocal producer, currently based in Switzerland.
Terra: Can you walk us through your journey, where you started in music and where you are now?
Laurell: I grew up in Canada with ex-Liverpudlian “mod” parents: my dad was a whistling carpenter and my mum worked at a bank but was also a talented visual artist who liked to write poetry with me. They put me and my 2 older sisters in piano lessons where we naturally excelled. We also spent hours prepping performances for our parents in front of the fireplace which led to a genuine joy for performing and curiosity about music. When they bought me a guitar for my 16th birthday I turned a famous poem by Robert Frost (The Road Not Taken) into a song with the 3 chords I knew how to play. This led to pushing my teachers to try “scatting” during junior jazz choir practices, open mic performances after high school, winning my first demo recording through battle of the bands, studying vocal jazz in University, being named “Vancouver Idol” on the TV show Canadian Idol, and then recording my first full length pop album at 23 and taking it on tour across Canada. 5 years and 3 albums later, I hit #7 on Canadian hot AC radio charts with my single “Can’t Stop Falling”. I had 3 more successive top #40 singles and began writing for other artists. I began to shift my focus to LA and Europe and packed up my apartment in 2017, deciding to simply follow the rabbit hole of opportunity that was unfolding through writing camp invitations, industry contacts, and a feeling in my gutting telling me it was now or never. Best decision I’ve ever made. This led to writing in 20 countries over the past 2 years, a #3 record worldwide, numerous top #40 singles on the USA Billboard Dance Charts and Gold Records in various territories worldwide.
Terra: What has kept you on track to keep on pursuing your dreams?
Laurell: I invested everything I had in my dream. The fact that I’m in a “no turning back” situation is a pretty big motivator LOL. But really, being forced to accept the super tough moments and the reality of my choice to pursue this has also been what’s made me stronger and more trusting in the journey because I survived those moments and lived to see them for the lessons that they were. Writing down my goals has also been instrumental. I read a book called the Law of Attraction by Michael Lozier a few years ago and realized I had been hindering the flow of my success by thinking it wasn’t possible. How I word my process in my mind has altered significantly, thanks to that book, and it’s allowed me to experience hope and positivity in each step of the journey. Also I think it’s ok to revisit dreams and allow them to evolve into new things. Some of my best opportunities have come through things that were out of my control and I’m glad I didn’t miss them for the sake of staying “on track”.
I invested everything I had in my dream. The fact that I’m in a “no turning back” situation is a pretty big motivator!
Terra: What inspires you?
Laurell: Honesty. Underdogs. Raw talent. Courage. Resilience. Change. Focus. Humility. Kindness.
Terra: What challenging experiences have made you stronger?
Laurell: I was recently in a 10-month-long negotiation over a song with a group of co-writers who couldn’t agree on what was best for the song. This taught me how to act professionally and how to take the emotion out of business. I was the only women in the conversation and treated very differently from the men. For example, when I wrote an email no one would reply. I discussed this with my manager and eventually when the men wrote emails, I just stopped replying. It was my way of taking my power back and in the end I forced them to wait on my timing and won the negotiation. It made me realize I don’t need to give away my power just because someone decided not to recognize it.
Terra: Do you have any daily routines?
Laurell: Haha! I think my only consistencies are probably that it starts with coffee and ends with wine. Terrible I know! But really, every day is different. This week I’m staying home in Switzerland tracking vocals and speaking on a songwriting panel today. Next week I might be in Amsterdam writing. It’s so hard to have a routine when you’re jumping all over but this is becoming more important to me. You just caught me after I’ve had a crazy month of travel, have just finished crashing hard, and am only just starting to recover haha!
Terra: How do you get out of your comfort zone?
Laurell: I have two answers for this depending on how you’re asking:
1) I am comfortable in most places these days, but the place where I still feel uncomfortable is when men try to intimidate me as a business tactic. This year I was told by publisher that I am a house with a lightbulb on inside and they want to make me a house with a chandelier inside (the “you need me” business tactic), I’ve had men physically lean over me demanding I give them a part of my writing otherwise they won’t promote the song (even though they own the master). It goes on and on…but yeah I’d say that’s how I get out of my comfort zone as it means I’m advancing my career.
2) In terms of creative comfort and finding fresh ideas, I am in constant travel so meeting new people and seeing new places really helps me stay out of that comfortable place where I repeat ideas and thoughts. I am constantly writing down things people say into my title list and always keeping an ear open for that next thing people are saying that could become a song.
Terra: What has been your greatest work or proudest moment so far?
Laurell: I am probably the most proud of my Girls Generation single “Lil’ Touch”. It had 10 million views in one day and was their huge comeback single in Sept/2018. K-pop is seriously amazing in terms of quality and it’s starting to take over the world, so I was stoked this was my first cut over there. Plus it’s super cool to hear one of my songs sung in Korean!
Terra: What advice would you give to yourself from 10 years ago?
Laurell: Find your champions and don’t ever let them go. And even if you do, don’t expect anyone to do anything for you. No one owes you anything. You CAN change your future, and it’s based on how hard and smart you work. So keep your eyes open and be honest with yourself about the quality of your work. If you spend your time stroking your own ego, you will not become the best. Be thankful. Be humble. Be curious. Be brave.
Terra: What’s next for you in your beautiful life?
Laurell: I am going to be at Eurovision in Tel Aviv in May with 3 songs representing 3 countries (Switzerland, UK, and Germany). It’s something I didn’t know about growing up in Canada but it’s basically like the Hunger Games of music in Europe and twice as big as the Super Bowl in terms of viewership. I can’t wait to see these songs performed for 250 million + people! I’ll also be spending some of this year in LA, London, and a few other places songwriting. But first…gonna take some downtime with my Swiss love – a well-earned holiday in Seychelles!!!! XO
Terra: Many thanks to Laurell for sharing her inspiring story! Make sure you pop on over to her Spotify and follow her: CLICK HERE
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