Chantal Kreviazuk & Raine Maida Interview

Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida are prominent artists & songwriters who have enjoyed success in a variety of ways. Kreviazuk is a singer/songwriter who has released eight solo albums, and she has co-written hit singles for top artists including Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani and Pitbull. Maida is the lead singer & primary songwriter for platinum rock band Our Lady Peace, and he’s also co-written hits for other artists.

Notably, Kreviazuk & Maida are also known as a musical couple who have been married for 22 years and have three sons. The couple are especially popular in Canada, where they both grew up. Kreviazuk was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Maida was born in Westin, Ontario.

	SPECIAL FEATURE: STREAMING AUDIO
	Here’s an excerpt of our interview with Chantal Kreviazuk & Raine Maida. Chantal tells how she and Raine decided to form the duo Moon Vs Sun, and create their new album & movie, I’m Going To Break Your Heart.

After two decades of writing & performing music for separate projects, Kreviazuk & Maida have decided to collaborate and form their own duo, called Moon Vs Sun, and they are making their debut in an ambitious way. Not only are they about to release their debut album as a duo, I’m Going To Break Your Heart, but they are releasing a full-length documentary movie with the same title. The film is about the making of their album, and explores the duo’s creative process and their personal experiences as a longtime couple. Their album and film will be released on April 23.

Their album, I’m Going To Break Your Heart, is an impressive collection of new songs that shows that Kreviazuk & Maida work well together as a creative duo. Consisting mostly of duet songs where both artists handle lead & harmony vocals, their album shows that the couple has a future as a performing duo, in addition to their separate music careers.

Perhaps the best song on their album is the title song, “I’m Going To Break Your Heart,” which is a powerful, emotional ballad. Other key songs are the uptempo “Lowlight,” the ballads “Under The Stars” and “I Can Change,” and the first song they wrote for the project, “I Love It When You Make Me Beg.”

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Kreviazuk & Maida. They discuss their creative process and their life as a married couple and family. But before we get started, here’s a brief rundown of their previous hit credits, on mostly separate projects.

Here’s the trailer for Chantal Kreviazuk & Raine Maida’s movie,
I’m Going To Break Your Heart.

Kreviazuk has released eight solo albums, with four albums certified platinum or gold in Canada. She has also had several hit singles in Canada as an artist. In addition,

She has co-written several hit songs for other artists. She co-wrote the hits “Feel This Moment” for Pitbull (feat. Christina Aguilera), “Rich Girl” for Gwen Stefani, “Walk Away” for Kelly Clarkson, and “Brave” for Josh Groban.

Maida has been known for over two decades as a popular rock artist, particularly in Canada. He has been the frontman for the band Our Lady Peace, which has released nine studio albums. Their first six albums have been certified platinum in Canada, and in the U.S. their album, Clumsy (in 1997), went platinum and Gravity (in 2002) went gold. He also co-wrote Kelly Clarkson’s hit, “Walk Away.”

Here is our interview with Chantal Kreviazuk & Raine Maida. We started the interview with Chantal, and then Raine joined later in the interview.

DK: Chantal, you and Raine have had excellent success with your separate music careers. How did you decide to team up and record your album?

Chantal Kreviazuk: That takes us back to a long time ago, when we sort of established ourselves (as a couple), and we were both showing up for various humanitarian causes. People started asking for both of us to come and share the stage together for these fundraisers. And so we’d get up there and I would sing one of my songs and he would back me up, and then he’d do one of his songs and I’d back him up on piano. Then we started to talk about it…”Oh my gosh, we’re such a great team, maybe someday we can have a song that we both wrote for the purpose of singing together, outside of our own separate projects.” Things continued to escalate with jumping on stages together and various things, and then one night we wrote this song really quickly. Actually, we were very into (rap artist) Sage Francis, and he has a beautiful song called “Sun Vs Moon.” And Raine thought, “Oh, it would be cool if we were Moon Vs Sun.” He presented that to me and I said, “That sounds lovely.” Then he showed me a chorus part (for the song) and I said “Oh my gosh, that’s amazing.” And very quickly we had a beautiful song and it’s called “I Love It When You Make Me Beg.”

Here’s the video of Moon Vs Sun’s song, “Lowlight.”

Then we thought, “This is really fun and we were able to do this so efficiently together. Let’s keep going, let’s make an album.” But it was really hard, because we’re busy with kids and careers and it wasn’t coming so easily. So we thought, “You know what? We need to get away together. We need to go somewhere isolated completely from everything, so we can take several weeks and focus on making this album together.” But even that was hard to pinpoint, because it’s easy to keep flaking and canceling. But what we decided was…if we filmed it, then we would have people booked. We would have flights and crews and hotels, and then we couldn’t cancel that easily. So that’s how it happened.

DK: You recorded your album on a French island (St. Pierre) off the east coast of Canada. How did you and Raine decide to record there?

Chantal: It’s a place we fell in love with when we had a show there. It was in the summertime, and it was the most charming, idyllic, dreamy place. And so when we were talking about going somewhere, we said, “We have to go there and do this.” But then Raine said, “You know, I have this opening in January, and you have this opening then,” and we locked it in for January, even though it/s not easy in the winter there.

DK: I like the title song of your album & movie, “I’m Going To Break Your Heart.” What inspired you to write this song?

Chantal: I think the main point of the song is that you can do all this work as a couple, and you go on this journey together, in the hopes that it will become a very connected experience and very healing experience. And you’ll realize the purpose of it all. But then in the end, [one of you passes away] before the other, and ultimately will break the heart of the one that’s left. So that’s what it’s about.

DK: It’s a very good song with a beautiful melody and a strong chorus.

Chantal: Thank you. It’s my favorite.

DK: Another favorite is the uptempo song, “Lowlight.” How did you and Raine write that song?

Here’s the video of Moon Vs Sun’s song, “St. Josephine.”

(Raine Maida joins the interview).

Raine Maida: “Lowlight” has a fascinating circle to it, because it was the first song we wrote when we landed on that island. If you’ve seen the film, I think we’re waiting for our bags and I pulled out a ukulele and Chantal started singing a melody. The funny thing is, we did that on a whim, and we didn’t finish the song until most of the filming was done and we were back in L.A. Then when we were editing the film, we said, “Hey we need an end title song.”

Chantal: And we wanted the song to be celebrative (for the end of the movie).

Raine: Yeah, we wanted it to be triumphant. We get that there’s a little tension in the film (they both laugh), and people might be thinking, “Do they stay together or not?” But it was nice to find a really authentic moment from the island, and write this song to close the film. It was so fun to do.

DK: Besides the songs we’ve discussed, what are some of your other favorites on the album?

Raine: For me, definitely “I Can Change.” In the movie as a viewer, you get to watch the song literally be born, from its inception point with some chords, to the lyrics and melodies and riffs. And the recording that we did that you see on film, that’s the recording on the album. I love that song—it’s cool to watch something go from start to finish, to where it’s on an album, and see every moment and be a part of that process.

DK: I looked at your songwriting credits, and the two of you have previously written together for other artists, including the hit “Walk Away” for Kelly Clarkson.

Raine: Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff we’ve co-written for other artists. But that was always the thing; it was for other artists. When I’m in a session as a co-writer, if it’s not for me. We’re trying to draw out the authenticity from that artist. You get them to talk about things that are really personal to them, because it’s their song. But writing something with Chantal for us, it’s different. It’s like…Oh shit, we have to sing this. We have to say something hopefully that no one’s said before, or say something in a unique way, that only someone who’s been together for 20 years and gone through what we’ve gone through, can say. So there’s added pressure, but at the same time…

Here’s a video of Chantal Kreviazuk & Raine Maida performing
their song, “I’m Going To Break Your Heart.’

Chantal: I feel l we’re in the zone now. We know what Moon Vs Sun is now. We know what we’re trying to say in a general way.

DK: Besides what we’ve talked about, what is the message you want to convey, about what Moon Vs Sun is about and what this album and movie mean to you?

Raine: I love that question. The bonus track on the album is called “The Work” and that’s what it is. It’s like anything in life. I’m a fan of (author) Malcolm Gladwell—I don’t know if I’m a huge believer in the 10,000 hours thing—but you’ve got to put in the time…you’ve got to put in the work. And I think as artists, of course we do that. We work at our craft in terms of being better pianists, or me trying to learn more scales on the guitar or different chord progressions. And learn how melodies work. I’ve spent so much time thinking about that over my lifespan of trying to get better. And I ask myself…Have I really spent that much time on my relationship, which is more important than anything? So talking about the work and seeing it as an aspirational thing is what I love about it.

Chantal: I want to add a little to that. I think we’re pioneering something here, in terms of being honest, and being open about this incredible collaboration that we are as a couple. We may not realize it, but that’s what we are. Every single day, couples are creating together. Whether they realize it or not, they’re creating a vision of what a life together means…what love means. With both people being validated in the relationship.

In a song, in a duet, [I feel that] Raine and I are really good at that. Our voices complement one another, and there’s this attention paid to the other person, and the voice of the other person, so that we’re not dominating them with our own voice. We’re complementing the other person. And what I think is really neat is that Raine and I are getting to this point where now, we can make these bold strokes of color. We can take some liberties because there is a sense of security and safety together. And it’s the same in being a couple. If you feel reassured by your partner, then you can take some liberties. There’s not so much insecurity, and you won’t cause an earthquake every time you take a chance. Perhaps the ultimate goal is to provide such a space for your partner, that they may feel like they are standing strong, So we can look to music as a way, as a metaphor for how to be the healthiest in our coupling. So I think that’s what Moon Vs Sun is really about.