Coast-hopping folk artist orbits themes of renewal in latest album
A West Coast musician based on the East Coast will bring songs inspired by the extremes of northern Canada to Nanaimo.
For Sophie Noel, returning to Vancouver Island and the surrounding area will be something of a homecoming. The Vancouver-born and raised resident said she hasn’t returned from Halifax since early 2020 and misses the “community vibe and pace of life” British Columbia is known for.
During his West Coast residency, the contemporary folk artist will make stops in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Bowen Island and Lasqueti Island and will perform with longtime friend and collaborator Steph Wall.
Noel is thinking about her second album confluencers as a further development of their EP from 2019 Sisterly, both in terms of production value and professionalism. She said many of the basic elements, like the jazz-oriented forms and chords, remained consistent in the five-track release from 2022.
“I thought a lot about where I was, which is Dawson City, Yukon,” the singer-songwriter said. “A lot of the themes I explored had something to do with extremes… Light and dark – like high contrast in production, but also in lyrical themes… Being in this small, remote place especially in winter really offered something introspection.”
Relative to the depths of a northern Yukon winter, the album orbits “themes of loss and renewal” as one song dances with the idea of a “semi-fictionalized love story” while another grapples with the turmoil of a miscarriage.
“I don’t think too much about what my music says about me, because at the end of the day, when I’m taking it out into the world, what it says about the people who are listening to it is what matters…that it’s food for thought ,” Noel said.
As the name suggests, the album can be viewed as a “confluence of ideas, inspirations and collaborations”.
The EP’s producer, Hill Kourkoutis, guitarist and bassist Joseph Leroux, and drummer Jen Yakamovich all contributed to the final product and played important roles, the singer-songwriter said.
Wall and Noel’s mini West Cost tour begins July 15th in Vancouver for a house show, continues to Bowen Island for another house show on July 16th, to Nanaimo’s Vault Café on July 20th, to July 22nd Victoria’s Lay Away, ending at Lasqueti Island, July 23rd.
Noel said she loves how the atmosphere of house shows and intimate venues harmonizes with her music.
“It’s nice to have the opportunity to slow down and be a little calmer and a little bit more storytelling, maybe because people are usually very observant in situations like this,” she said.
Works by Wall and Noel can be found at www.stephwall.ca and www.sophienoelmusic.com respectively.
Tickets for the tour can be purchased online through www.eventbrite.ca, while Nanaimo’s show is $15 at the box office.
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