Grimes Talks Stage Fright: 'I Used to Vomit, Freak Out and Never Finish a Set'

Don't let the moniker fool you, Grimes is a one-woman act -- and frontwoman Claire Boucher wants to make sure that you know that.

The Montreal singer-songwriter/producer -- who just wrapped up a tour supporting Swedish songstress Lykke Li -- performs solo, surrounded by synths and keyboards onstage. While she's considering adding two backup singers to her show, she's wary of how the move may be perceived.

"I feel like a lot of the times people think that there's a producer and I'm just some singer," she tells Spinner. "I was listening to Lykke Li do an interview today and [the reporter] was like, 'Who do you collaborate with for the instrumentals?' and she was like, 'There's no collaboration.' They just assume that because she has people on stage or because she's a girl, [she's not fully calling the shots] -- I want to avoid that."

Boucher, who admits she's still learning the tricks of the trade when it comes to music production, wishes more of her contemporaries would step it up when it comes to their musical skill set.

"I want it to be very clear that I'm doing the production and I'm doing everything -- there's no band here. You rarely find someone who sings really well and who produces really well, it's a problem and I just think it's a missing link in the music scene."

Watch Grimes' 'Vanessa' Video
Production is just one of the many ways the Montreal artist likes to show off her creativity. She also directs her own videos and dons the director hat for other acts as well as being quite the painter (though she recently quit because she felt like she "hit a wall and it stopped being creative"). But it's the time in the producer's chair that Boucher really cherishes.

"I just want to produce, have a really good singer and tell them what to do," she says. "I like performing but I usually get really sick when I'm on tour, and it's just hard."

Part of the stress that comes from touring stems from Boucher's stage fright, something that she insists has gotten much better since she began performing two years ago. "I used to vomit, freak out and never finish a set. But now, at least, I can finish!

"I watch Lykke Li and how confident she is onstage -- I'm too afraid to try dancing, there's obviously work to be done there -- she's just so focused. I've gained so much respect for her."

It's through watching a pop performer such as Lykke Li that helps to motivate Boucher.

"I feel like it's good to watch pop stars," she says. "Normally at a show, it's a bunch of guys on guitars and that can't be a role model for me because that's nowhere near what I'm doing. It's really good to be watching something like this, instead."

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