Today we’d like to introduce you to Violet Helm.
Hi Violet, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! My stage name is Violet Helm and I grew up on the beaches of North Carolina in a big family! My story as an artist has evolved greatly over the years and you would hardly recognize me or my work had you met me ten years ago. As a creative, I’d love to paint you a romantic tale about walking out of the womb and composing orchestral movements, but more true to reality is that I was just immensely curious and a little obsessed. At age 4 or 5 I could be found memorizing where my sister’s hands were on the piano keys and would attempt to recreate what I had heard.
The journals of my adolescent years are filled with scratched-out and rewritten verses with horse doodles lining the margins. It was common for my family to hear “hey come listen to this!” shouted from the living room as I’d perform a new song I had written that was most likely way too long! My family is very involved in playing and performing music for their church and because of this environment, I pushed myself to create my own unique sound. I couldn’t be more grateful for having so much talent to be surrounded by and live up to.
My Mom and I would fawn over epic film scores and Enya as we’d drive around whereas my Dad and I would rock out to AC/DC and Aerosmith. Both of these influences affect my own writing to this day. When I wasn’t playing music, I was daydreaming about pirate ships, climbing trees, and riding my horse bareback through the humid southern sun in the woods with my girlfriends.
From there my journey took me to Alaska at age 18 and on to Utah a year later! I’ve been in this valley ever since. As a musician, my compositions have always been my proudest accomplishment. Sure, I have dreamed of performing stadiums and touring Europe (we’ll get there one day here soon) but the truest form of magic that I have discovered thus far has been in the countless hours I’ve spent in a candlelit room, putting notes down until something clicks.
I’ve been in Utah for almost a dozen years and since being here, I’ve written and released an album, and 4 singles, am in the process of finishing a second album, written and performed vocals in a local Metal band, and have worked on countless other projects with some very talented artists as a songwriter and vocalist. I currently have the privilege of interning at a studio in Salt Lake City under Dub Dee (the best Producer/Engineer in the area) in order to become a full-time producer, songwriter, and recording artist!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve been extremely fortunate in my journey to have been surrounded by supportive friends and family, but the road has been anything but smooth. I believe if you ask any artist what the one thing that stands between them and the pieces that they dream of creating or the career that they hope to design, they would mention none other than themselves. This at least has certainly been the case for yours truly.
I am rarely “in the mood” for anything but creature comforts such as food and wine and long walks on the beach. Sitting down at the keys and playing until something real comes out of me isn’t easy. It’s often a visceral experience. The human condition renders a universe of emotions and caverns of thought and forests dense with memories. Yet…”Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” -Pablo Picasso.
So you do the work and eventually something sticks. You happen to hit that one note wrong in just the right way and suddenly that once painful experience just seconds ago dissolves and the moment becomes electric on a cellular level. You wrote something new! You chop away at it, throw your notebook across the room, and in no time you’ll be finished (may take a couple of years or ten minutes) and you’ll be back to being your lighthearted lovely self, running your fingers through the wheatgrass on a warm Spring morning. Everyone romanticizes the idea of the mysterious writer in the corner of a darkened pub, scribbling down some form of genius into his leather-bound notebook. It’s cute, but just know that he spends a lot of hours writing a lot of not-genius stuff down.
So has my road been difficult? Well, not really. I think I’ve just had to learn to get out of the middle of it and let myself pass. I’ve had to learn that it’s okay to promote your work and to realize that your fans just want more! You and your work are a gift to others, so don’t be afraid to share it!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a singer/composer and my music can most closely be classified as baroque pop. For me, this means that I combine melodic piano arrangements along with indie-style vocals into large orchestral movements that are often a bit dark and heavy, yet ethereal and heartfelt in nature. Artists such as songwriter Regina Spektor, extreme metal artist Fleshgod Apocolypse, and composer/songwriter Woodkid are a few that inspire my work the most.
As far as what I am most known for, I’d love to say that it is creating a space with my music that inspires people to create worlds within their own minds. I love to tell stories but I try not to be too literal in my lyricism for this reason. Everyone interprets music in their own way, so I like to leave room for that. One of the biggest compliments I receive often is that when listening to my music, one feels the need to stop and close their eyes and feel the movements of the piece as one evolves.
Something else that I feel makes me a bit unique is that I am my own producer. I am currently being taught to produce/engineer other artists’ work because it is fulfilling and will make for a dynamic element of my career, but I have been writing and recording my own music for many years. I have so much to learn but the freedom to sit and record on my own time has done nothing but further my growth as an artist.
My goal is to turn the album I am currently recording into a short film and to perform it with a small orchestra in large ethereal spaces in order to shape the experience for the listener. There will be art and greenery and candlelight and it will not only be a musical experience but also a meditative one. Once that tour is released, I’ll let you know!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I am only where I am because of the people who have surrounded me throughout my life. They’ve challenged me in multiple ways and have cheered me on through the thick of it. I’ve been very fortunate to have grown up in a musical household where I was given certain opportunities and every piece of equipment I could have needed in order to jumpstart my career as a songwriter.
I have consistently had boatloads of friends who have stuck by me even when I have said countless times, “sorry, I can’t go out tonight. I’m going to stay home and be sad and maybe write a song or two instead”. No matter what, they still want to hear what I’ve created and I’m grateful for their love and friendship. I’m constantly in awe of the creative entrepreneurial endeavors of my friends and family. Thank you, my friends, my Sisters, my Brothers, my Mama, and everyone else who has helped me and inspired me. Cheers to my Dad who has and always will be my biggest fan. Much Love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/violet-helm/912358826
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/violethelm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/violethelm/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/violethelmmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/violethelm
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/violet-helm
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3set3wgPlonSSAgq4RIWmo?si=x-43FIqTSDWmWdIHeAUnbQ
Image Credits
Robyn Woolley, Shana Nicholls, and David Devaney
