Haleluya Hailu Is Taking Up Space In All The Right Places
The Vancouver-based indie pop artist weaves a coming-of-age story about navigating school, relationships, and meeting expectations.
By Ozioma Nwabuikwu
Photo by Simone Chnarakis
- Published on
Hailu originally wanted to attend school in the US, but after some persistent challenges, she settled at Selkirk College in Nelson, BC. She went from being a Black girl in a mostly white high school to being a Black girl in an even whiter small town college. The urge to fit in became even greater as she faced a toxic, racist and misogynistic social environment where who you knew was more important than the music. As she says, it was like “high school theatre times a thousand.” So, Hailu conformed, code switched and avoided conflict as much as she could even while being “terrorized.” Teachers tried to support, but the college’s “disconnected administration” left little room for change even when issues escalated. Amidst all this, a teenage Hailu navigated her studies (which she did enjoy) and all kinds of relationships. From those efforts, eternally, yours was born.
Her new EP is a project that straddles multiple alternative pop genres with a sprinkle of punk and emo rock, delivering a deliciously nostalgic mix of youthful angst, misplaced affection, and self-realization. Its title is inspired by the cult classic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film where two exes decide to erase all the memories of their relationship — something Hailu can unfortunately relate to. “I dealt with all the bad things you can deal with while also having to be a post secondary student and God, sometimes I wish I could have some little bits of it erased.”
The film also inspired the title of the project’s central song, “MANIC PIXIE PACIFIST,” based on the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, which describes a quirky female character whose only role is to support the development of the male protagonist. The concept came first and the song followed quickly after, as Hailu recorded voice notes in her dorm room which she then sent to producers, Quinn Pickering and Jared Manierka. This was how most of the EP was ideated while she was away in Nelson. The song itself recounts a toxic relationship where Hailu felt secondary, a huge contrast to the whimsical, 70s-inspired music video featuring her band, The Fake Friends.
What’s the difference between a Manic Pixie Dream Girl and a manic pixie pacifist? Hailu says the pacifist label is a middle ground that indicates she’s aware of the role she’s embodied, but that she still has some work to do. “I was a huge pushover, I am a huge pushover, and I’ll probably still be a little bit of a pushover, but I’ve worked through the worst parts of that,” she says.
The entire project hinges on this vulnerability and self-awareness which Hailu says is a “hard rebrand” and uncharacteristic of her previous work. The last track and final single, “postal code,” is especially reflective as she realizes her problems aren’t fixed just because she’s moved away from Nelson and back to Vancouver. “I had all these problems when I left Vancouver and I still have all these problems now that I’ve moved back.”
“I had all these problems when I left Vancouver and I still have all these problems now that I’ve moved back.”
— Haleluya Hailu
eternally, yours ends on a note of uncertainty, reflecting that there’s still work to do and healing is constant. “I imagine myself still working on myself at 80 years old…thinking about how I can make myself a slightly better version of myself so that I can be better to the people I care about,” Hailu says.
Haleluya Hailu is trying to have grace for herself as she figures life out. She’s not optimistic about the state of the music industry, which she believes is a reflection of her time at Selkirk College. “I don’t think the Vancouver music scene is ready for a confident Black woman yet,” she says. But she’s also not willing to make herself smaller anymore. Hailu has since received her hard-won diploma and is in the middle of headlining her first-ever cross-Canadian tour at the time this article is being written. “I’m here and I’m fucking kicking, this is just the beginning. It’s Haleluya’s world now.”
Haleluya Hailu ‘s eternally, yours EP is out March 22 via 604 Records.
By Glenn Alderson
To celebrate the release of Nouveaux Langages, we asked the artists who helped shape her new double album to ask the questions.
By Sofia Dawson
Daughter From Hell finds the songstress twisting the knife deeper.
By Sebastian Buzzalino
The Vernon quartet’s new album Rat Bastard is a fiercely alive mix of post-punk, dub, techno and basement-show energy.
By Kenna Clifford
Driven by the centuries-old sound of the shamisen, the Berlin-based quintet is deconstructing Japanese folk music and rebuilding it for new audiences around the world.
By Izzy Petraglia
The decade-spanning pop star held an immersive, phone-free experience for devout listeners to celebrate her new album, Music, Fashion, Film.
By Neil Jefferies
Alone Together finds the New York trio navigating grief, fatherhood and the uneasy distance between trust and suspicion.
By Sebastian Buzzalino
The Vancouver punk band bottle their chaotic live energy into a blistering black-and-white session filmed at Phony! Records.
By Cam Delisle
Paring alt-R&B back to its foundations, new avatar gives equal weight to songwriting, distance, and one of the genre's defining voices.
By Sophia Pan
Fire From the Hip finds the actor and musician taking control of his art – even if he can’t control who follows him there.
By Myles Tiessen
On Tell The Kids We Tried, the singer-songwriter wrestles with isolation and the quiet hope of feeling something at all.
