Neko Case, k.d. lang and Laura Veirs join forces in harmonious supergroup

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If you could cherry-pick a dream-team trio of singer-songwriters, the combination of k.d. lang, Neko Case and Laura Veirs sounds like it would fit the bill. It may not be the most obvious lineup – the women have not collaborated with each other before, and they have different styles and lyrical interests. But man, what a brainwave.

Case/lang/veirs, with a record out June 17 and a tour launching the following week, is a beautiful, lush collaboration – a harmonious supergroup that isn't about three-part harmonies but offers a more layered approach, allowing each individual voice to rise above the (gorgeous) melodic fray.

The idea was lang's; something that occurred to her after she moved from Los Angeles in 2012 to Portland, Ore., where Veirs lives. Case, a member of the New Pornographers and also a strong solo artist, grew up in Washington State (she now lives in Vermont) and has lived in Vancouver – as has the Alberta-born lang. But there's more than geography connecting these artists.

"It just struck me one night that that would be an interesting collaboration because of our similarities but [also] our differences; making kind of a broad textural fabric together," says lang – who before the project knew Case and Veirs only as acquaintances and through their music. "We have shared the same sensibilities but our art is quite different."

She sent them an e-mail and within half an hour, both had replied: yes.

Veirs, a prolific indie folk-singer-songwriter, had given birth to her second child that same week, and had a three-year-old, but she was not going to pass up the opportunity. She gave herself a six-week maternity leave, and then started writing.

"It was a real honour to be invited and of course I was intimidated a bit by both of them at first – and sometimes still am," says Veirs, whose husband Tucker Martine produced the album. "But I just felt so motivated. And I felt so lucky. I'm the least known, I'm the underdog; I have a chance here to get a lot of people to know about my music."

The songwriting process was dictated in part by their schedules – but also their vision. None of the 14 songs on the record was written by the threesome from scratch en masse. Rather, Veirs did the bulk of the writing; she and lang held writing sessions together for about a year and a half, lang figures, before Case came out for the first of their intensive, three-person sessions.

"Laura is really the prolific writer and did most of the heavy lifting," says lang. "Neko and I just kind of came in and added our two cents' worth. We did a lot of writing together, but Laura was really the driver."

Getting three very busy artists in a room together to write was one thing – but the challenges of creating the record went beyond logistics.

"Have you heard the expression too many chefs in the kitchen?" lang asks, laughing. "As one would expect, it was exhilarating and excruciating at the same time. We are three successful, independently successful, songwriters. … So when you get three people coming together, it was extremely difficult at times [with] debate and negotiation and the annihilation of each other's egos and interruptions and different processes that we all have. It was crazy-making sometimes. "

Added Veirs, in a separate interview: "There were times where all of us felt like we got our fur rubbed the wrong way, but I think that's just inevitable when you're talking about three strong-willed people coming together to work collaboratively on the writing of a record."

At the same time, the collaboration was an inspiration that teased out ideas and ironed many kinks out.

The song Delirium, for instance, emerged over more than a year. There was a day when lang and Veirs, working together in Portland, were unable to come up with anything. So they went for a walk. It happened to be coming up to the Fourth of July, and they encountered a fireworks stand and noticed a firework for sale called Delirium. "Cool song title," they thought; and that day lang and Veirs wrote the bones of the song. A year later they handed it to Case – who added a bridge and "totally changed it," says Veirs. "Once Neko took ownership of it and made it her own, it turned into this awesome song. "

They recorded the album last November over five days.

"We had quite a tight budget so we just hit it," says lang.

Now, the tour – and Veirs is dealing with that intimidation struggle. Songwriting is her safe place, but she has battled stage fright, and will now be sharing the stage with two powerhouses.

"For me, the songwriting was not an insecure place, but the public presentation, the stage, is an insecure place. I can be very confident and awesome and I also can be uncomfortable," Veirs says. "It's related to the imposter syndrome for sure; it's like, oh, I don't belong here with these guys, especially on the stage because that's where they're awesome. It's that kind of thinking. I try to [push] it out of my mind because it's not helpful. What's helpful to the project is for us all to be confident and secure in ourselves and to deliver the music and not to get wrapped up in … who's better? We're in this together and we are here to lift each other up. And they're not there to judge me and be like, 'Oh, you're not good enough.' They do think I'm good enough; that's why they asked me to do it.

"So for me it's been a challenge to just let go, accept what it is and just embrace it and try to have fun because honestly I don't think there's going to be another one," she continues. "It's such a rare opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. Find a way to enjoy it; that's what I keep telling myself."

The project was conceived as a one-time collaboration. But, lang adds – they may reconsider.

"If we win seven Grammys that might have an impact on our decision," she says, a smile in her voice. "But I think it's probably a one-off."

Case/lang/veirs is released June 17. Tour stops include Victoria's Royal Theatre June 28; the Vancouver International Jazz Festival June 29; and the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto Aug. 16 and 17 (caselangveirs.com).