Singer-Songwriter Carmel Mikol Shares Intimate and Pensive Track “Trying Not to Hurt You”
Carmel Mikol is a singer-songwriter from two worlds: she was raised half in the Canadian backwoods and half in the suburbs of Chicago. Solitude and rootlessness are equally present in her songwriting as a result. Her songs feel like they’re written on the interstates somewhere between these two places.
A full-time indie recording and touring artist for almost a decade, Mikol has performed across North America and in Europe, from intimate stages to legendary festivals like Canada’s Mariposa Folk Festival and the 30A Songwriters Festival in the US. Her previous albums earned three East Coast Music Award nominations and several songwriting honours.
As part of continued emotional growth for Mikol after being the victim of past abuse, “Trying Not to Hurt You” comes from a place of accepting the full realm of life’s emotions.
As she states:
“This song, and the whole album it’s part of, is about facing up to the painful “ands” of life: I love you AND we aren’t healthy together; I’m trying to stay with you AND I need to leave. Sometimes we just need to break our own hearts a little bit to make the hard decision.“
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey Canadian Beats! I’m a singer/songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia and I’m about to release my 5th album. I’m excited to share the first single with you: “Trying Not to Hurt You.” The last time we connected, you attended my album release show for my 3rd album “Daughter of a Working Man” back in 2017 – thanks for being there and for the lovely review you wrote for that album;) As a full-time recording and touring artist for almost a decade, I’ve performed across North America and in Europe, from intimate stages to legendary folk festivals, earning three East Coast Music award nominations and several songwriting honours along the way.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
“Trying Not to Hurt You” is the first single off my upcoming studio album. I recorded this song mostly live-off-the-floor and allowed my vocals to be natural, imperfect. Layered guitars and strings come in at the last possible moment, and only when necessary. I wanted the song to feel like late-night conversations between exes or long-time friends who can’t even pretend to have secrets anymore. It’s like a conversation we’ve all had before about something we’re going through or a hard lesson we’ve learned.
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
Normally I write in manic sprints – I’m kind of always writing and I never worry about writer’s block or running out of ideas. I constantly record little snippets in my voice notes or scribble lines somewhere. Usually, I work on a song over the course of a few hours or days. But with “Trying Not to Hurt You,” I forced myself to stay with it. I wrote all the verses, the first minute and a half or so of the song, in five or ten minutes. Then I wasn’t sure what it was. Where’s the chorus? What’s the hook? I wanted the familiar formula. I wanted to push it into the expected verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure. But this song is about how non-linear love is. How unpredictable and unwieldy it can be. How even when it should make sense, it should work out, it just doesn’t. So I let the song be that way too. Real life rarely has a nice little resolution. It rarely has a clear beginning, middle, or end. It just keeps moving forward, even when your heart is broken. So that’s what the song does too.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
Coming up, I’ll be releasing two more singles and two music videos, before putting the full album out later this spring. I can’t wait to share more of this work with everyone! My album features guest appearances from singer/songwriters Norma MacDonald and Kim Wempe and musicians India Gialey, Sarah Frank, and Adam FIne who perform string arrangements composed by the incredible Avery Dakin. I also just finished directing a music video with an incredible local cinematographer that will be released next month. I’m looking forward to getting out and performing live in support of this record. Folks can find my show dates at carmelmikol.com/music
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
I’ve had the opportunity to do some pretty cool stuff over my years of touring – whether it’s on big festival stages in North America or tiny club stages in the UK, I never lose sight of the special magic that is playing live music and feeling people in the audience connecting. But for me, the most important thing is the relationships I’ve made along the way with other musicians and artists who’ve become my lifelong friends, my people, and my chosen family. Being an artist is really hard work and you have to sacrifice a lot of things to make records and play shows. You have to give a lot of yourself. So it’s important to know why you’re doing it and to have good people by your side to help keep you grounded and healthy… and able to do good work;)
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
Check out Bloom (album and visual album) by Avery Dakin (she’s one of the most talented melody writers on the east coast)
Don’t miss the song “Simple Dreams” by Alexander Gallant (I love his songwriting)
I’m also a huge fan of Bonnie Trash, a female-led post-punk/metal/shoe-gaze band from Ontario that I love so much