Artist To Check Out: Shealan Faere Butler

Article by Simon Francis Hambrook

Shealan Faere Butler is a young female artist based in Stourbridge, although originally from the Western Cape, South Africa. She describes herself by using the terms fine art, photography and film, and indeed she is creative director at Fields of View Productions. However, while her films are truly very fine pieces of work in their own right it is really her music which I want to touch on here. I hope she takes her talent for music further and realizes what she can do to people with these rich and rising melodies, and these perfectly expressed sentiments within her short, ethereal songs.

Yesterday I came across her for the first time. I found one of her songs hidden away on a youtube video while I was searching for the ancient love poem ‘Song of Songs’. I found this link and could not stop listening to it. Enchanting, beguiling, exalted and almost holy – it was honestly a very refreshing find for me.

Listening to this song, and another ‘Butterfly In My Heart’ I am reminded faintly of two other contemporary artists who experiment with new soundscapes in a similar way: Bat For Lashes, and Sufjan Stevens. Shealan Faere Butler is similar to Sufjan in that she does not seem to be confined in any way to one particular art medium. Sufjan was a trained illustrator and has recently made a well received film called 'The BQE'. Voice-wise Shealan has her own style, a kind of deep but luscious effect which reminds you of deep earth and warmth. I hope people find the time to check out Shealan’s music and her other talents on her youtube channel. Let's let her know how good she is. What a butterfly.

Shealan Faere Butler's website





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