Like the tides of the Bay of Fundy on which she was raised, or the steadfast city line that broods along its port, Kylie Fox has been devoted to honing her craft as a songwriter for as long as she can remember. Growing up with a mother who would sing to her, and a father who sat at the helm of every kitchen party with his Yamaha and uninhibited voice, it became clear to Fox from a young age that music was how to show love, how to express identity, and how to connect with the people around her.

Grand, ethereal and epic, “Brandi Baby” is Fox‘s “coming-of-age song. It touches on my awkward high school years where I had the confidence to go to a school dance by myself, my early touring years where my ambition and my schedule prevented me from dating much, to when I found real big love in my now fiancé and drummer Ryan, where I feel so free and safe.”

She continues, “I used to straighten my hair to Brandi Carlile everyday in high school, and she became a big influence for me becoming a musician. ‘The Story’ was the first song my partner and I danced to and we are going to use it as our first dance at our wedding next year.”

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?

I’ve always been tall and taken up a lot of space. I found myself in a relationship where I felt like a “teacup”, as I say in the song,  or just taken care of in a way I hadn’t before. “The Story” by Brandi Carlile was the first song we slow-danced to, and we are using it as our first dance song at our wedding next summer. I didn’t know that when I wrote the song, it’s weird how it sort of predicted the future. We have also seen Brandi live together twice.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

The song is about being a tough girl, and having to learn how to be vulnerable. Who is tougher than a wrestler? So a part of me filmed the video for Brandi Baby at a local wrestling match because I have a flair for the ridiculous, but also to nod to the tough girl in me.

3. What was the process of making this video?

I have a go-to gal named Jill who is a brilliant film maker and who really gets my vibe and sense of humour. We have made a ton of videos together and when I called her to pitch we shot this one at a very public and unpredictable event, she was super game. We wanted to get some footage of me in the seats before people arrived and didn’t anticipate that all the wrestlers would be rehearsing, so it was a bit of an intimidating scene to walk into in my sequin fringe jacket, but they were all very nice and excited to have us, and it was a riot to see them become angry and beat each other up. In the video I found a boy to sit beside and it turned out he was the son of the champion wrestler who runs the events. He was key to me knowing who to yell “you suck” at. 

In 2020, she released her first full-length album, Green, and is now preparing to release her second studio album, Sequoia, that was made with the support of ArtsNB, Music New Brunswick and Canada Council for the Arts. Sequoia has come to life as an 11-track album, developed with her band and six-time ECMA-winning producer Daniel Ledwell (Jenn Grant, Fortunate Ones, The Good Lovelies).