Review
“Skye Wallace is a national treasure.”
Sad Mag
Skye Wallace is a national treasure. Her third studio album “Living II Parts” is a melodic, raw and orchestral beauty that tells an untold narrative about the vast Canadian landscape. Skye has the ability to reel you in for story time, paint portraits of barren vistas and give the illusion that all things are dead. Her music and performance elicit power and beauty, coupled with vulnerability. She’s currently traveling the country but we caught up with Skye to ask her SadMag Local Musics Q’s:
If life weren’t filled with music it would still be filled with stories and art, some way or another.
A good show means heat and heart and soul and barely remembering what it is that you’ve done—not due to any kind of intoxication, but due to being lost in what you’re creating.
Your backing band is a very talented bunch. Devon Kroeger is my right hand (wo)man. She’s been there through thick and thin. The release show is an excellent example of what the ideal setup tends to be: myself on vocals and guitar, Devon on violin, Alex Hauka on cello, Stevie Beddall on drums, Wynston Minckler on bass, Owen Connell on keys, and Ben Doerksen on electric guitar.
Bedtime is nice, if it comes naturally.
My daily rituals include definitely brushing my teeth twice a day.
Touring is hella enjoyable; having moved around a lot when I was younger, I have certainly practiced detachment when it comes to things and homes. I don’t find it difficult to shed domestic comforts.
Best city to eat in while on the road: Burrito Jax in Halifax makes this answer Halifax
The musician to make babies with would be: Tom Waits. I like to think we’d get each other.
Favourite music video as a teenager: Sun 41 – Fat Lip/Pain For Pleasure
Favourite much music VJ: George Stromboulopoulos
Name of your favourite pet: Gummybear. A funny anecdote regarding pet names: I saw a chain email once saying your stripper name is your first dog’s name and then your first street name. This lands me at Willy Putsey. Not very sexy.
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Biography
Skye Wallace’s “Not Ready For This To Start,” is the first track off her upcoming album Something Wicked. It’s a record with a clear mission – to unpretty the sound of folk music.
Skye’s used to ambitious missions. The 26 year old Vancouver artist once crisscrossed Canada by train to seek inspiration for an album. The result was the dark and richly layered Living Parts that chronicled the lives of characters moving through some of the more tragic tales of Canadian history. She gave bustling, beautiful, sultry life to Living Parts busking solo on Vancouver street corners, playing a month long residency at Toronto’s Cameron House, and gathered around a microphone atop a Newfoundland cliff at the eastern most edge of the continent. While this could have been the path to the platonic ideal of Canadian Folk music, along the way she met producer Jim Bryson (Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans) at a folk festival where they realized what they really wanted to see was more punk in folk music.
So instead of looking to the Prairies or the Pacific, Skye looked to Sleater Kinney, Blondie, and The Weakerthans for inspiration. As the songs sprang forth she noticed a twist; instead of the cast of characters she was used to directing from a distance, this time she was clearly confronting herself. It was a revelation and an unexpected personal challenge represented by the toe tapping determination of both the song and the twisted video from directors Exquisite Corps (White Lung) for “Not Ready For This To Start”. Skye is cast in the role of roller skating Death targeting an extreme case of separation anxiety. It’s a bold first step towards Something Wicked, due to be self released Oct. 29.
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