Canadian vocalist, harpist, and songwriter Lindsay Schoolcraft is back on Femme Metal Webzine, this time with Harrowing – her long‑awaited new heavy album and the follow‑up to Martyr. We catch up after several years to elaborate on the long road that led here: a soothing harp record released in the middle of the pandemic, an intimate Patreon‑only album, endless delays and false starts, and the “dark night of the soul” that shaped Harrowing into seven chapters of survival and healing. Along the way, Lindsay opens up about staying indie through her own label Cyber Proxy Records, learning to trust a small all‑women team, juggling multiple projects, and trying to keep things real and human in a music world increasingly ruled by algorithms and AI.
Welcome to Lindsay Schoolcraft
So Lindsay, I want to welcome you again, and I would like to thank you for your time, as usual. You know that you are more than welcome at Femme Metal Webzine because we have supported you since the time of Mary and the Black Lamb.
So crazy.
Exactly, exactly. Crazy that I’m still doing that despite everything [laughs].
Yep.
So, I spoke with you last time, I think, for Worlds Away. It was 2020, right?
Yeah, that’s when that album came out.
Yeah, so it has surely been six years, which is a geological era in the music industry.
Indeed, really. We’ve seen many changes since then. Many new bands, numerous new trends. It’s crazy. It’s such a long period of time.
Lindsay Schoolcraft: The coming of Harrowing
Yeah, and, well, Harrowing is coming out in June.
Yeah, finally.
It’s a learning curve.
Yeah, you’re always learning from making the music. I mean, after I did Worlds Away, which was my relaxing harp album that came out over the pandemic because everyone needed that comfort during all that chaos – plus it was my 10‑year anniversary, so I wanted to do something special – I took to Patreon.
Lindsay Schoolcraft and Patreon
I actually just celebrated my five years on Patreon and the community there. For, I would say, the first two years, we sat together, and they supported me in doing a few singles, which came out, but also an album that was exclusive to Patreon. But the thing was, it wasn’t a metal album. It was more like my love of being a singer‑songwriter and trip‑hop and electronica and dark wave, while still making it very me, very symphonic.
Wrapping up the Patreon album
It sounds very much like my first EP as a solo artist, which is just not a metal album at all, right? So from there, once I wrapped that up and released it, I was like, “Okay, I need another heavy album, I want to do another heavy album, I miss making heavy music,” and we started it in 2022. I hit up Rocky Gray – you know, he’s from Evanescence, We Are the Fallen, Living Sacrifice – we did my first full heavy album, Martyr, together.
I still remember it.
The combo Brian Cook and Rocky Gray
He’s just a fantastic songwriter and a great person to work with. He’s so brilliant with his ideas. And I said, “Hey, dude, I really want to do a heavy album. Can you just start sending me stuff?” And he did. But he also brought in his friend Brian Cook, who’s also a very talented individual, and they were like, “Here are a bunch of ideas,” which later became tracks like Mercy Has Come, which is the intro track, I Wait For You To Fall, Vague, and So Alive. So those were the tracks that they started. And the thing is, I feel, especially from 2023 onward, all of us creatives have just been… everyone is really struggling. Let’s be honest: struggling to pay the bills and be creative and deal with the online torrential downpour of everything going on. So we found that there were many delays. We started creating together, but then there would be long periods of waiting – like, “Oh, I’m waiting to get revisions,” or “I’m waiting to wrap this up.”
Lindsay Schoolcraft working with J.D.
Then, at the beginning of 2022, I went out to a Motionless in White show because, as you know, I’ve worked on songs with them before. When I was speaking with Chris about how I’m really trying to get a heavy album off the ground – we’re all doing our best, but we need someone to bring it together – he was like, “Well, why don’t you come work with my producer and one of my writers?” And I was like, “Sure.” So then we got introduced to J.D. But again, there were just countless delays.
The truth behind Harrowing
I wrote this album when I was 36. I feel like a lot of the lyrical content and the melodies are very much who I was four years ago. So I feel like everyone is getting a delayed version of myself on this. Who I am at 40… I don’t even know if people are ready for the next album I’m writing after this one. It’s very primal. And it’s an inside joke – the title Harrowing is like a long, gruelling process, which this album was in many ways. It’s who I was four years ago, and it just took a while to come together. I knew that these songs were done two years ago, but it took us another two years to bring it all together, just because there were so many delays that were completely out of our hands.
Lindsay Schoolcraft: “It’s really uncomfortable to sit on material for years”
So, yeah, it’s really uncomfortable to sit on material for years when you know it’s ready, and you just want to share it with the world, but you have to wait for everyone else to catch up. But I feel like, moving forward as a team, we’ve got past these things, we know what we want to do, and the delays will be very, very minimal. Moving forward, whatever you hear will be within that year, and I’m excited for that. It’s going to feel better.
The survival and healing process through Harrowing
And, you know, I wanted to ask you about this album because I discovered that each of the album’s seven tracks represents a chapter in the survival and healing process. So, despite having these songs waiting for a long time, I think at the end of the day they are still very relevant because they speak to people – to those things that you went through and healed through. So I wouldn’t say, “Well, you are late,” because if I listen to the album, I can feel myself in it in some way. Given that, I would never have the heart to say you are late, you know.
The survival and healing process through Harrowing (Part 2)
I appreciate you saying that. Yeah, I mean, healing is timeless. I think we all go through a really dark night of the soul at some point in our life, when we realize we’ve thrown our happiness into other people, into other things. And really, we need to make ourselves happy first. We need to be totally okay with ourselves. But to have that awareness and acceptance, and then pull yourself away from the people who are just sucking the life force out of you because you’re so in service to them – giving you purpose – they don’t like it, they don’t want to let you go.
“You think you can tame the beast”
And there’s a lot of… you think you can tame the beast, you think you can set boundaries, but in some cases, you need to completely cut these people out of your life. And even after they’re gone, they’ve put these beliefs in your head that take you so long to work through and get out of your system. I feel so many people have been through that, you know, so even if it was four years ago, I feel like what is talked about on Harrowing is something that everyone is going to go through at some point in their life. So I hope that if they need the comfort, they find this album, and they can see themselves in it and feel better.
“I feel like the algorithms today are pulling us further apart”
I entirely agree with you. Even though, yeah, for you, there are four years in the middle, I still like to state that it’s who you are, and it also speaks, in a way, about you. Because you have been, since the beginning – we’ve known each other, I think, 10 years or more – you’ve been honest with your listeners, and it’s something that people, eventually, really, really appreciate.
Oh, thanks for saying that.
“I feel like the algorithms today are pulling us further apart” (part 2)
Because you connect with them, you know?
I hope so. I sincerely hope so. That means a lot that you say that. That means a lot because I feel like the algorithms today are pulling us further apart, and I’m not connecting to people as much as I could. But through this music, hopefully that connection is brought back together. I just always try to be real – you’ve got to keep it real. I’m so over, especially in the time of AI and the bots and the slop, that it’s so important to be authentic. But you don’t even always have to try because you’re human and people prefer human to the artificial. So that’s important.
Lindsay Schoolcraft is a proud indie self-release artist.
I know that you are a proud indie self‑release artist. You do everything via Cyber Proxy Records, which is your label. How is it to navigate the music industry nowadays? Because, yeah, let me tell you, being an artist is one job, and having to deal with management, touring, accounting, and socials are, I think, four other types of jobs in a way.
I mean, I’m glad that I stayed independent because I also work with record labels in my day job and I see where things are going. I think ownership and accountability for your own strategy and release is critical. Oftentimes, when I see bands signed to a label and there’s a mistake, there’s no real fixing it or real accountability, you know what I mean? Not necessarily for the labels that I work at, but just stories I’ve heard through the grapevine.
“I received a lot of rejection last year”
I’m glad. I received a lot of rejection last year. Not only that, but I tried to expand my team last year and I thought what I was working on was really cool and nobody really wanted to get on board with it. And I was like, “Well, I’m not going to give up on myself just because nobody thinks this is cool.” Some people did think it was cool, but they didn’t have room for me, and that’s fine, I get it. So I decided to hire a lot of help. I mostly have an all‑women team at my record label now for PR, business admin, and a digital assistant, and it’s remarkable.
“I love that I can say I have an all‑women‑staffed record label”
They’re all so hyper‑focused, detail‑oriented, great multitaskers, very honest – it’s a real breath of fresh air for me. There’s no hand‑holding; everyone is self‑initiating and caring, and I love that. I love that I can say I have an all‑women‑staffed record label – it’s cool. But it’s also funny because I was speaking with a local musician last night about this, and I was saying that during a promotional season like I’m in right now, with releasing the record, I barely have time to actually make music. I might have 30 minutes a day to play the harp or sing, and thank God I keep that in my schedule because if I don’t force myself to be musical for long periods, I get really depressed.
Lindsay Schoolcraft: “I like that I can curate my own marketing”
Music is a language that speaks to your soul and keeps you sustained, and that’s been the biggest struggle. Still, I like that I can curate my own marketing, talk directly to my fans, and know the messaging because there’s so much of myself in that. I know that when artists and bands reach a certain level, there’s often this wall, like a third-person speaking to the fan base. I’m happy for them when they get there and can make a living with a big team that amplifies what they do, but if I had given up on myself when none of the players wanted to come in last year, none of this would have happened. It needed to move forward.
The downside of being an indie artist
I used to be very proud of doing everything myself, and I still am, but now I’m also very aware that there are so many moving parts to releasing, marketing, administrating, and distributing your own music that it’s not sustainable for one person. That’s frustrating, and I really feel for solo artists who don’t have a team around them – I know the level of exhaustion they’re going through. I used to be completely discombobulated and needed life coaching and business coaching to understand how to tackle all of this, but I let my ego go and accepted that I had to delegate and put people around me who would support me. Otherwise, I knew I’d come out on the other side resentful and with barely anyone hearing the record. So it needed to be done.
“I let my ego go and accepted that I had to delegate”
I like what you said about having to let go of your ego because letting go of your own ego is the most difficult thing you can do in any area of life. I’m not a psychologist, it’s just something I’ve learned for myself: when you try to juggle too many things at once, like having four balls in your hands, two of them will almost certainly fall to the ground. They slip through the cracks, you drop the ball, and what’s left is the dent they make – that mark on the ground is the consequence of trying to hold on to too much at the same time. So, yeah, I understand when you said, “Well, I need to let go of my ego and delegate.” But the problem is: who do you trust in this situation?
Because you can also end up in a situation where this person – just to use a silly example – steals from the administration, and then years later you get a letter from the Canadian tax office saying, “We’re missing money here.” So, you know, it’s also difficult to trust at the end of the day.
“I let my ego go and accepted that I had to delegate” (part 2)
That hasn’t happened yet. I actually do all my finances and taxes, and I have an accountant. But, yeah, I also have strict control over my digital real estate and my admin because that’s something that even, you know, labels or managers or booking agents… if a band doesn’t claim full ownership of their profiles on certain platforms, what they’ve built – tens of thousands of followers – can just be taken from them overnight or deleted. But, yeah, I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I just had my 40th birthday.
The important roles of Cody Johnson and Zenwar
So I started when I was 15, and it’s taken me a long time to find people I can trust. My sister is obviously part of that; she’s been doing my logos, and I’ve known her my whole life, so I know she’s a good person because I grew up with her [laughs]. The longest‑running people on my team are definitely Zenwar, who has helped with the layout and designs the merch – we’ve known each other for well over 13 years – and Cody, my guitarist, who’s also moving into the producer role for the next album as well as being a songwriter. Those roles, especially the layout, presentation, and packaging, are essential. Zen and I also have a band together, we create a lot of art together, and I trust him fully. With Cody, creating these songs together is very personal, and it requires a lot of trust, communication, patience, and understanding. Everyone on this new team has been like that so far. I took a risk; I didn’t intend to hire all women, it just happened that way, and I’m deeply grateful for it because it’s been phenomenal for this release, and I’m incredibly thankful.
An update about the other project of Lindsay Schoolcraft, Antiqva
Absolutely. Now you mentioned Zen, which is Antiqua. So now, I don’t want you to think my question is improper, but… what’s happening with Antiqua? Because, yeah, everything’s going slow, like a doom metal song [laughs].
I know, slow as molasses. We are working on a new song right now. Obviously, I feel like this is the Zen answer, but it’s also my answer too: pretty much everyone is in other projects, and we’re doing it in our own time. We’re self‑producing remotely, some people have moved, some have had family changes – there are many, many things going on. So we’re just very patient with everyone else’s schedule, but it is getting there.
“We are working on a new song right now”
I’m wrapping up a studio project for another band and artist right now and, over the release, I’m a crazy person, and then I’m going to be working on my vocals and piano parts for the next single in June and recording it. This could take the whole year, but we have another song on the way, hopefully with a music video too. I know Zen wants that, and he’ll do everything possible to make it happen.
Antiqva’s album “is mostly written”
The whole album is mostly written; it’s just a matter of us finding the time and the finances to do that full album. I love that project, I love that music, I love everyone involved in it. It’s crazy because, before we decided to go forward with this new song, I was like, “Man, I really miss playing black metal, I really miss black metal,” and then, lo and behold, Antiqua pops up like, “Should we finish this song?” and I’m like, “I think we should.”
The next plans for Lindsay Schoolcraft
I know that you have a release show coming up in Canada and, yeah, the big question is: you’re 40 now, you’ve been in the business for more than 20 years – isn’t it time for some European dates?
Yes, yes, obviously. That was actually the plan for this year, and we had something in the works, but due to the state of the world – I’ll just leave it there – it all fell through. It’s fine, though. It’s really nice to know that European fans, European booking agents, and European bands and artists want us to come back and want to bring us out there. It just didn’t happen this time because of everything that’s going on, but we’re working toward that for 2027. It feels like such a long wait, but if we get there in 2027, you’re going to get two albums out of us, so is it really that bad?
Reminiscing the old days
No, no, not at all, no. With that having been said, Lindsay, I want to thank you for your time.
Of course.
And, yeah, I hope to see you in Europe soon.
I hope so too.
Thank you for having me. You know, do you remember I used to write for you back in the day? Yeah, like 15–16 years ago. I used to do your interviews and translations, and I just remembered that and wanted to say thank you. Because of you, I got into the industry – you’re a big part of the reason I am where I am. So thank you for everything, and for representing the female voice.