Rebecca Lascue talks art, Celtic influence and more.

Former U of R student with an awesome guitar./ Kristin MacPherson

Love, Loss, and Hot Chocolate is the new EP.

Rebecca Lascue released her debut EP Love, Loss, and Hot Chocolate on Nov. 18. The six tracks are unique, ranging from Celtic-inspired to haunting, layered melodies reflecting on matters of the heart.

Her music is easy to listen and sing along to, but her voice is truly breathtaking. With clear and strong vocals, the EP is a definite hit in my books, and is sure to become popular with audiences across the country.

I spoke with Lascue shortly before the album was released, and she was a bit nervous to begin to get feedback. Lascue has little to worry about, though. Her first review came from a young girl who heard Lascue’s music in her voice lesson class.

“This little eight-year-old started singing the songs back to me the other day, and she goes, ‘Your songs are even better than ‘Let It Go.’ That is the best compliment!” Lascue laughed.

Lascue’s music will undoubtedly find fans in older generations as well. This singer-songwriter has created an easy to love EP with songs inspired by matters we can all relate to.

“‘The Ties That Bind’ … is about mental illness and how that affects your relationships and how people cope with it — in a way that no one would know that’s what it’s about, but it is. The [songs] all have a different story,” Lascue said.

“Irish Wanderer” is the only love song on the EP, and Lascue laughed as she told me how she wrote the song after having had an awful day.

“I sat down to write a snarky song, and the only love song I have came out.”

The song has traces of Celtic influence, something Lascue accredits to her time spent in Ireland in 2009.

“I started to notice after that some Irish, Celtic notes coming in my music without meaning for it to,” explained Lascue. “I don’t actually know if I could do that on purpose.”

Lascue has been working on the EP, on and off, for about two years. She always wanted to pursue music, so after graduating with an Honours Degree in Psychology from the U of R, and after exploring work as an actor, she decided last fall it would be her next project.

“I’ve been wanting to be doing music stuff forever. I have a vivid memory of being in grade eight and being like, ‘I want to be a singer!’” Lascue says.

Unlike most of us who had equally ambitious goals as young teenagers, Lascue has made hers a reality.

“It’s been crazy. It’s been a huge, huge learning curve for me,” Lascue said. “There is so much other stuff that goes into this that is just crazy and, I think, probably pushes all artists outside their comfort zone. All the business stuff, the marketing stuff — there is just so much to do and not much time to do it.”

Fortunately, Lascue has a great support system to help her through the process. Friends and family back her up on her EP and help her distribute posters, build websites, and all the other fun stuff that comes with recording and promoting an album.

“I am at the point now where I’m like okay. I’ve invested in this product and I want to use it to its full potential and keep momentum going and keep working on it, whether that’s lots of touring or, ideally, another release in the next while,” says Lascue.

Her EP release show comes to Regina Nov. 28 at the Artesian. It will be an “intimate show where people can come and relax and have a good time,” says Lascue.

Keep your eyes and ears out for this singer-songwriter, because she is bound to be creating only bigger and better things!