WATCH: Del Barber, “Still Got You”

Artist: Del Barber
Hometown: Inglis, Manitoba, Canada
Song: “Still Got You”
Album: Almanac
Release Date: Spring 2023
Label: Acronym Records

In Their Words: “This is the first song I wrote for Almanac. I walked outside to take a leak one night on my little farm in western Manitoba. The stars looked like they were crammed in the sky like sardines, the wolves were howling, cows were bawling… I had my dog Fischer next to me. I realized how lucky I was to have this life, the simplicity, the isolation, all of it. Meanwhile, in big cities all over North America, friends of mine were marching in Black Lives Matter protests. There was global unrest (Covid 19.) There seemed to be so much darkness in the world. Sometimes when I watched the news it felt like the ground was crumbling beneath me. That night, like so many here, I felt like I was on this island away from the shouting and chaos of it, away from bankrupt political conversations, all of it. My partner Haylan and I were building a life on the fringes of it all and I was in love with it and proud of what we had… however, with those feelings of love and thankfulness came guilt. I had privileges so many didn’t have and I wanted to do right by them. And I knew there’d be some consequences from looking away from the world as often as we liked. This song was written slowly over a few months. Whenever the idea for it came up I’d casually add to the piece. It was a simple effort, a calming process that I used to choose to celebrate doing the small things well, seeing the good in my life, leaning into it and finding peace in shutting out the world from time to time.” — Del Barber


Photo Credit: Will Bergmann

WATCH: Del Barber, “Nothing Left to Find”

Artist: Del Barber
Hometown: Inglis, Manitoba
Song: “Nothing Left to Find”
Album: Stray Dogs: Collected B-Sides Volume One
Release Date: August 20, 2021
Label: acronym Records

In Their Words:Stray Dogs is a result of over 10 years of writing and recording music. When the pandemic began I was lost, scared about the future and in the depths of an unprecedented creative slump. I built a studio out of an old shed on my farm in an attempt to force myself to try and write songs. Every day I’d go out there in the mornings and struggle to get one line that I liked or one chord progression that was inspired. I wasn’t getting anywhere and it was my first taste of the fabled ‘writer’s block.’ Instead of writing new material like I had intended, I began to delight in the process of looking back. ‘Nothing Left To Find’ was one song I kept coming back to. I had so many versions of it in my files, it begged to be finished. After cutting a dozen of the verses I had written, it’s now a short and sweet song that really ties the tonal landscape of Stray Dogs together.” — Del Barber


Photo credit: Haylan Jackson

LISTEN: Del Barber, “Patient Man”

Artist: Del Barber
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Song: “Patient Man”
Album: Easy Keeper
Release Date: September 20, 2019
Label: Acronym Records

In Their Words: “Love is about finding someone you’re willing to wait for. This is a simple song that tells the story of two people finding love at a dance in small town western Manitoba. It’s half confessional and always geographical. One of my worst qualities is my utter lack of patience, I’ve looked everywhere for it and it always seems to elude me. There are only two things in this world that seem to consistently draw out my best qualities: The landscape of western Manitoba and my wife. Tainted with the notion that you are who you are because of where you’re from, and that love is also literally tied somehow to place or geography. This song is a result of fiddling with good memories and attempting to write from [my] own perspective again. I try not to write love songs, but sometimes they just slip out. This is one of those — and I just couldn’t ignore it.” — Del Barber


Photo credit: Will Bergmann