Helena Deland emerged from the Montreal indie scene with an artful, low-key style that concentrated as much on texture and timbre as on melody and familiar song structures. Featuring her notably gentle vocal delivery, Deland's first EP, Drawing Room, saw release in 2016. Her Polaris Prize-longlisted debut album, Someone New, arrived in 2020. After a diversion into electronic music as part of the indie duo Hildegard (with Ouri), she delivered ethereal singles including "Deceiver" (with claire rousay) and the solo "Spring Bug" in 2023.

Born in Vancouver and raised in Quebec City before relocating to Montreal, Deland learned to play the piano and guitar as a child. Her first collection of songs, the Drawing Room EP, was made in collaboration with Jesse Mac Cormack, who recorded and mixed the album in addition to formulating the arrangements. Ranging from airy synths and acoustic guitar to noir-styled electric guitar and harmonica, the set was unified by a hazy, understated quality and introspective lyrics. With a full band that included Cormack, Deland's EP From the Series of Songs "Altogether Unaccompanied," Vols. 1-2 arrived on Luminelle Recordings in March 2018. Vols. 3-4 followed that October.

Deland toured with the likes of Weyes Blood and Connan Mockasin and opened a show for Iggy Pop in Paris before returning with her full-length debut. Featuring contributions in the studio from Gabe Wax, Jake Portrait, and her friend Valentin Ignat, and performed with her band, 2020's Someone New was released by Luminelle that October. It was longlisted for the next year's Polaris Music Prize.

Also in 2021, Deland co-founded arty electronic duo Hildegard with Montreal-based producer Ouri. They released their eponymous debut album that June, and Ouri went on to produce the quasi-acoustic Deland track "Swimmer" for release in February 2022. Deland toured Europe with Andy Shauf and Leith Ross later that year, then emerged from the studio with both the claire rousay collaboration "Deceiver" and gauzy solo outing "Spring Bug" in May of 2023. ~ Marcy Donelson