Claire Boucher Mines Beauty From the Dark Side

CLAIRE BOUCHER has never worn a meat dress. On occasion, Ms. Boucher, a Canadian synth-pop singer who performs under the name Grimes, will don a brightly colored wig onstage, but for now she prefers hair extensions.

“I don’t own anything designer,” said Ms. Boucher, 23. She wore an old prom gown in the video for last year’s wonderfully creepy “Vanessa,” which she described as random pop musings. And she travels without an entourage.

A few weeks ago she shared cups of green tea with a reporter at the Atlantic Grill near Lincoln Center.

Ms. Boucher, whose soulful psychedelic electro-dance beat made her a darling of last year’s South by Southwest music festival, is far from the Nicki Minaj-Lady Gaga-Rihanna industrial pop music complex. But with the Feb. 21 release of “Visions,” Ms. Boucher’s third full-length album, she might be stealing away a few of their fans.

“Visions” has already been lauded as a standout by critics. It was released in the United States by the record label 4AD, whose stable includes Bon Iver, the group that recently won a Grammy for best new artist. Both W and Vogue.com have christened the pale, doe-eyed Ms. Boucher as a stylish singer to watch. And this month, Ms. Boucher added extra shows in New York after her only concert here quickly sold out.

Like many pop stars these days, she began making music only in young adulthood. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ms. Boucher moved to Montreal in 2006 to study neuroscience and philosophy at McGill University and became enamored with the city’s underground music scene. A year later she began spending evenings at Lab Synthèse, an experimental music performance space in an old textile factory (later closed because of a police crackdown) that spawned Arbutus Records, her Canadian record label that also manages her career. She also modeled occasionally.

What Ms. Boucher lacked in musical training, she made up for in curiosity. “Everyone was singing backup for each other because they wanted to,” she said. “It was easy to learn.” One friend taught her how to use Apple’s GarageBand so she could record vocal loops.

Now she produces her own music and layers 50 or more different vocals per song for an ethereal baby-doll sound. (Think Enya’s hipper, younger party-girl cousin.)

“I love the idea of image branding, but not in the traditional way,” Ms. Boucher said. “I’ve always been such a nerd. I can’t wait to be more ‘Lord of the Rings.’ ”

Like Frodo Baggins, Ms. Boucher has a plucky streak. In 2009 she and a friend decided to float down the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans in a homemade houseboat. But they didn’t get far before engine troubles, and within days, she said (mostly annoyed), their boat was impounded by the Minneapolis police.

Her musical influences, which she sampled growing up online, are largely female. “I listen to a lot of medieval music,” she said. A favorite is Hildegard of Bingen, a German Catholic nun and melancholic choral composer who founded two convents in the mid-1100s. Another is Mariah Carey.

“Her music is like a seven-layer cake,” said Kayne Lanahan, the founder of the Savannah Stopover music festival. “After repeated listening, it doesn’t get stale.”

Ms. Boucher got a big break last year touring with Lykke Li, the Swedish singer and former model who melds pop and electronic music. Ms. Boucher, who used to play for 30 people in a small club, began singing in amphitheaters filled with a few thousand. “That forced me to become a performer,” she said. “If you don’t do it well, it is incredible humiliation.”

It also required that she define her personal style, one that initially veered toward kohl-rimmed eyes, brightly dyed hair, sneakers and a rumpled hoodie. In the “Vanessa,” video, which Ms. Boucher directed, she and her friends danced in feminine dresses and embellished their cheeks and lips with what looked like chalk and cherry-colored lipstick. “I wanted it to be powerful and sexy, showing the beauty of women, but with a dark side,” she said. “I like creating beauty out of scary things.”

Ms. Boucher preferred the look of “Vanessa” to the more goth, story-driven video for her song “Crystal Ball,” which she did not direct. “I felt powerless,” she said. “I need to feel like I’m really involved.”

But the making of “Crystal Ball” did result in her meeting Renata Morales, a fashion designer based in Montreal, who made her outfit for it. Now Ms. Morales, who designs costumes for the popular band Arcade Fire, has made other pieces for Ms. Boucher. “She could be wearing a designer dress with military boots, and it would look like it fit,” said John Londono, a Montreal-based photographer who has shot Ms. Boucher and directed one of her coming videos.

Now, with her popularity growing, designers are beginning to lend her frocks. Over tea, Ms. Boucher said she was wearing a jacket and pair of cream and black patterned tights made by Lie Sang Bong, a Korean designer whose clothes have also been worn by Lady Gaga. “He’s, like, really cool,” she said. When asked what designer made the silk crepe and organza maxi dress she was also wearing, she drew a blank and instead pulled out a favorite $5 pair of fingerless black gloves embellished with skulls to show the reporter.

After a few minutes, she recalled the dress designer’s name. “I think it is Gary Graham,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “I had a sheet with names I was supposed to memorize.”