Her voice will haunt you, wedging itself somewhere inside the part of you that makes you who you are, where things make sense, and everything feels right, where lost and found are only a matter of quiet and comfortable reflection. Yes, Linda Ortega is that good. And to make it even better she does it on her own. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you will. Ortega, or Indie Lindi, already has one album under her belt, 2002’s The Taste of Forbidden Fruit , a collection of memorizing songs such as “Nothing At All”,” Misery My Love”, and “Coffee Shops”. And in Fall 2006, this Canadian singer/songwriter will release Fall From Grace , an album that promises to be even better. In the following interview Lindi reveals a bit about who she is as a singer/songwriter, what inspires her, and what she thinks of it all: the songs and the scene, and even gives a little advice.

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If you had to write the billboard hanging in the front window of the venue you’re playing, what would you say about yourself, about your music to make the novice passerby stop and have to come in and listen?

I would hope the venue would have speakers that played out onto the streets. I’d much rather it be my voice that draws someone in to see me than what I have to say about myself.

With your second solo album forthcoming in 2006, what have you learned about yourself, both personally and as a musician, since your first album? How have the songs changed? How has your approach to the second album changed?

Personally I’ve learned that lessons are important things in life. Even the not so nice things are there to teach you something.
I’ve also learned that songwriting is an art. With my first album I was finger-painting, just haphazardly creating songs without much thought. With this new album I have fine tuned my skill and learned how to use the brush, so to speak. I think my songs are far more dynamically interesting than they were before.

Being a singer/songwriter, do you have a certain process to your writing? Is there a certain time of day, or place where creativity finds you, or you find creativity better? Are their certain people whose ears you trust to bounce the songs off of them? What types of things inspire you and your writing?

I know that songwriting is not something that can be forced if you want it to passionate and come from the heart. Lately, I find creativity finds me in my bedroom when I am alone, with my sexy new guitar and my microphone.

I trust those who I respect musically. I often play my songs for people who I know have excellent taste in music, or my musician friends who are incredibly talented. I trust they won’t lie to me and tell me something is good when it’s not.

I draw inspiration from all sorts of things. Sometimes it’s personal. Sometimes I’ll be inspired by a book I read, or a movie that touched me. Sometimes I steal from other people’s drama.

When does a song feel complete to you? When you finish it? When you play it before someone else? When someone else reacts to it? Do the way people react to the song maybe change the way you feel about them yourself?

A song feels complete to me when I get excited about it. After I have written it and I can’t stop playing it. Then I know that it’s worth keeping around, and chances are people will enjoy it.

Sometimes the reaction of others has a bit of an impact. I would be lying if I said there were not times I wrote a song that I thought was simply ‘OKAY’, and then I play it at a show and people really dig it. Then I start to think, “Well, maybe this one’s a keeper” and I think about throwing it on the album.

What does being Indie Lindi mean to you? Do the numerous freedoms that being independent present outweigh the possible benefits that signing with a label might offer? What does success mean to you? How do you achieve success?

I am proud to be Indie Lindi. Some of the greatest artists I have ever come across have been these obscure underground independent acts that no one has heard of. When I stumble across them I feel like I have found a little gem. I love the independent scene. The people really support each other, and there is so much love, and most often times there is zero ego involved.

Signing to a label is a bit of a gamble these days as artist development is a dying practice, and labels are taking on fewer and fewer eclectic sounding artists. They tend to opt for the easy money, the sure thing. Labels have benefits if you sign the right deal and you’re careful. The exposure is far greater from a marketing standpoint. But being on a major label is not how I measure success. For me, being successful is connecting with people. The more the better. I love to be on stage. I love to sing for people. I achieve success when I perform a great show, and by the end the people are clapping, and had a great time. I achieve success when someone listens to my music and feels something.

From having been involved, at least in some degree, with both, what do you think are the major differences between the music scenes in Canada and the U.S.? Is it easier to have your music accepted, or even exposed, in either? Are the differences driven by the industry, or perhaps by the audience?

I think the US is so much bigger it’s easier to get lost in the sea of artists that are all trying to do what you are doing. Now of course, the opportunities are greater, but it’s a tough road either way. With Canada it’s difficult too. I find, while Toronto is a fantastic city to be a musician in, the audience is hard to please. But that’s a good thing, because if you win them over you’ve really accomplished something.

What are your short term/long term goals as a musician? Are you the type of person who constantly sets goals, achieves them, and moves on to new ones? Or are you the type that sort of rolls along with things as they come, and lets the situation help dictate what your goals are/are going to be?

My short-term goal is to make the best record I can possibly make and have people really connect with it, and enjoy every song on the album. Long term is to be able to keep creating music and releasing albums with or without label help. As long as people are interested in my music I will always make it available to them.

I do constantly set goals. It’s a way of creating your own purpose in life.

If you had the chance to sit someone down and have them listen to any type of music that has helped shape Lindi Ortega as a person, what would the music be? What are the songs and/or albums that form the soundtrack to your life?

I would say Jeff Buckley’s album, Grace, has been a huge inspiration, as is Leonard Cohen, Tori Amos, and Janis Joplin. I’ve been moved and inspired by artists that exude passion in their lyrics, and their singing.

The scenario is that you’re sitting down with someone who wants to do what you’re doing, who wants to be a singer/songwriter, and you have all of the time that you want/need to tell them whatever you want, what do you say to them? What advice do you give them? Has there been anyone along the way who maybe did this for you?

I would say to them that fame and fortune is not what should drive someone to do music. That driving force should always be love. Do it because you love it, because it’s in your veins.

I would also warn them that not all industry people know what’s best for you. Always stay true to yourself. Don’t let others try to mold you into something you’re not. There are great industry people out there, and you’ll know when you’ve found the right person to work with. The right people are the ones that are just as excited about your music as you are. The right ones are the ones that work with you. The wrong ones are the one’s that make you feel like you’re working for them.

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