Tag: Ken Yates

LISTEN: Ken Yates, “Fairweather”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Ken Yates
Hometown: Creemore, Ontario
Song: “Fairweather”
Album: Cerulean (Bonus Tracks)
Release Date: January 27, 2023
Label: Soundly Music

In Their Words: “It was the first song I wrote for Cerulean, but at the very last minute I decided not to record it. I think I felt like thematically it didn’t fit with the other songs, and the slow pace of it might have gotten lost on a 12-track album. But I kept coming back to it, which is usually a sign that a song is worth revisiting as a release, so I sent a demo to producer Dan Ledwell. Hearing it with drums, piano, horns, and Jenn Grant’s lovely harmonies really breathed new life into the song for me, and now I’m really excited to share it with people. The song is about what happens to relationships when someone puts their dreams ahead of the people who love them. Ambition is what drives us to get up every day, but if we don’t nurture our relationships with friends, family, partners, etc., they may not be there for you in your darkest moments.” — Ken Yates

Photo Credit: Jen Squires

Basic Folk – Ken Yates

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Ken Yates grew up in the college town of London, Ontario and he is truly Canada’s Next Top Model, by which I mean he is wonderfully talented, disarmingly nice, and from Canada, obviously. Ken is a Berklee College of Music graduate, and I took the opportunity to talk with him about that experience. Why would somebody choose to go to music school, what were you hoping to gain, and what did you actually get out of it, are questions that are fascinating to me, and Ken’s answers were super interesting. One takeaway I learned from his stories of Berklee is that even some of the most talented musicians feel like they have no idea what they’re doing.

APPLE • SPOTIFY • STITCHER • AMAZON • MP3

Ken’s breakout 2016 album, Huntsville, earned him the Emerging Artist of the Year award at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. It was not just a huge and competitive honor, but it was also a defining moment where Ken started getting categorized as a folk artist.

Ken released a beautiful album, Quiet Talkers, in 2020, and instead of touring in support of that album, he had to do a bunch of covid-era online shows. I was impressed with how gracious and level-headed he seemed despite the crappy circumstances. This grace, perspective, emotional openness, and flexibility are a big part of what makes his new album, Cerulean, so special. Cerulean came out in 2022 and it bridges the gap between folk and indie rock, between skepticism and hope, between the pain of losing someone and the possibility of embracing what you have. Cerulean has a distinct groove, features vocals from Americana stars like Kathleen Edwards, Liz Longley, and Katie Pruitt, AND some of the prettiest production I’ve heard all year.

Photo Credit: Jen Squires

WATCH: Ken Yates, “Honest Light” (Feat. Caroline Marie Brooks)

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Ken Yates
Hometown: Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
Song: “Honest Light”
Album: Cerulean
Release Date: June 3, 2022
Record Label: Soundly Music

In Their Words: “There’s a certain kind of light during ‘golden hour’ when the sun comes through your window and suddenly everything looks different. You notice the dust on your table, the dirt on your floor, the crumbs on your counter. I tried to capture that moment in song form. For a long time I only had the line, ‘Life is like a cheap wine, it don’t get any better with time,’ and I kind of built the song slowly around that one line. Our idea for the video was to capture a dark-versus-light theme between the verses and the chorus. We filmed in multiple locations around the Collingwood area, including an abandoned drive-in right at dawn. Co-producer and editor Nick Marinelli distorted a few of the frames, which really helped to capture the dizzy, anxiousness of this song. I wanted it to feel like I was moving in and out of this warped reality in the verses, then grounding myself in the darkness of the choruses.” — Ken Yates

Photo Credit: Jen Squires