Kat Harlton
Lead Photo: A. Stafford
Toronto’s Victoria Staff returns with “Sweet Blue Moon,” a reflective, romantic single that traces a relationship from its first spark through its unraveling, and finally into the quiet space of looking back. Rather than framing love as something purely good or bad, the track lingers in the in-between and honours the rare moments that mattered, even when everything else fell apart.
I had the opportunity to chat with Victoria about her latest single, finding inspiration and more.
Kat: “Sweet Blue Moon” sits in that emotional gray area between love and loss, what drew you to explore that “in-between” space rather than a more clear-cut narrative?
Victoria: Because I don’t think there is a world where the love stories we know are black and white. The love that crashes and burns is the most passionate and fiery and that comes with extreme highs and extreme lows. I get to look back on this story and think of all of its facets, and that is the interesting story to tell. Not “I loved you and you’re gone”, which don’t get me wrong I’ve written before, but I think the more interesting story to tell is feeling conflicted about a love lost.
Kat: The title came late in the process, what was it about the phrase “Sweet Blue Moon” that suddenly made everything click for the song?
Victoria: It really sets the scene for the listener, for where I’m at. When you think about the narrator, she’s looking back on something that lived in the past, ultimately in a bitter sweet way. The title really acts as a thesis for this song, it’s a rare, sentimental moment of reflection.
Kat: You’ve said the track unfolds like a passing train of thought, how intentional was that stream-of-consciousness feeling when writing the lyrics?
Victoria: I feel like when it comes to writing music, it is often a stream-of-consciousness for me and that comes back to why I write music at all. Music and writing is just me learning to process my emotions, the public, releasing-music part of my life is a byproduct of my love for songwriting. You’re witnessing a very public diary unfold in real time which is what I want. I want my audience to dive into my life and find pieces of themselves in it. It’s not about outlining these rare obscure moments that are shrouded in mystery, it’s about connecting with other people on experiences similar to their own.
Kat: Structurally, the song avoids repetition and moves through three distinct choruses, what challenges did that present compared to more traditional pop songwriting?
Victoria: I LOVE a traditional pop structure. If my music history serves me well it comes from the Lied, which had recurring themes and was built around storytelling, generally built for love songs (if I’m wrong this will be embarrassing). But it’s a vessel built for storytelling so I generally steer directly into the skid when it comes to song structure. However, when thinking about what I had to say, the ever-changing nature felt more real. There wasn’t one thing to say about this story, one frame of reference. I wanted the audience to move with me through the story and that meant changing the structure a bit.
Kat: The shifts between major and minor chords mirror the relationship’s evolution, did the emotional arc come first, or did the musical structure guide the storytelling?
Victoria: They came in tandem. As I was moving into the second chorus, I had these really bright, happy chords that were now incongruous with where the story had gone. And then once you change the second chorus’s chords, you might as well change the third’s.
Kat: There’s a sense of acceptance in the song, even after things fall apart was that a difficult emotional place to explore while writing?
Victoria: Not really. Even though the listener is hearing this story for the first time (or hopefully on repeat) I’ve known the end of the story for a long time, I lived it. I have had time and space to accept this story for what it was. I think it is actually kind of healing to put your acceptance onto pen and paper rather than having it live solely in your head.
Kat: You worked closely with your producer Will Crann, what did that creative collaboration look like, especially on a track with such a nuanced emotional arc?
Victoria: My music wouldn’t be anything worthwhile without Will. He finds a way to bring the things that live in my brain into the world. He is incredibly patient with my ideas and testing things and tweaking and adjusting. In labouring over these songs, he gives me the space to fiddle until I feel like it’s perfect, but also can call me out when I’ve gotten too in my head. I’ve said that I make music because I love it and working with people like Will makes that possible. And I think the best producers do that, they hold a mirror up to the artist and guide them through the very expansive process that is turning a song into a record.
Kat: The idea of hoping someone remembers you kindly is really poignant, why was that specific feeling important for you to capture?
Victoria: Nearly everyone just wants to be liked, and not in an attention-seeking, try hard way, but people want to be liked by other people. And sometimes when you liked someone so much that it blows up you hope that the catastrophic ending doesn’t completely erase what was, for a moment, an imperfect love story. I tell this story on stage a lot, but I had a friend who said once “I thought I loved them but I didn’t” and it made me really sad. I have been in love with people before and no longer am, but that doesn’t mean that love was wrong. I would never want someone to think of me that way: “I thought I loved them but I didn’t” so I try not to think of others that way.
Kat: You’ve described your songs as complete stories in under three minutes, how do you decide what details to include and what to leave unsaid?
Victoria: This is the toughest thing about writing music. Not every detail can make every song and God do I love details. It’s about thinking what’s critical to the story and what’s critical to you. What small fragments would break your heart to leave out, and what would actually make the story make sense. And going back to your earlier question, I think that’s what so great about writing in a stream-of-consciousness, is I think your brain actually knows what’s important and what isn’t, it’s all about getting out of your own way to get the story down.
Connect With Victoria Staff:
https://www.victoriastaffmusic.com