Ahead of tour dates in the U.K. and Europe we caught up with our old friend, Canadian singer-songwriter Steph Cameron to talk about her new album, 'Blood Moon'.
FT: It’s seven years since last we spoke, how has it been for you?
SC: Well, obviously, after the pandemic, everyone took a break, but I really took a break after 2019.
FT: You have a young family now?
SC: I do! 2019 was the last time I was in your neck of the woods, and in 2020, I had my first son, and I gave birth to my second son in October.
FT: Congratulations!
SC: Thank you. My youngest is actually going to join us on tour this time around!
FT: That will be interesting! I was going to ask what you’ve been doing since the last album, but that kind of answers the question, you’ve been having a family!
SC: Yeah, I’ve been having a family. I took some time to write the record and refine the album. I also work for an arts mentorship organisation, who bring music and arts experiences to remote northern communities in Canada and have done a bunch of other stuff too.
FT: Last time we talked, Steph, was shortly after the release of the wonderful ‘Daybreak over Jackson Street’ album, which was maybe seven or eight years ago. Now we how the release of the equally wonderful, but very different ‘Blood Moon’. The album centres around our relationship with the earth and nature. You’ve talked about ‘The glint of the world’, which is a wonderful phrase, and would have made a great album title. Can you explain a bit more about what you mean by ‘the glint of the world?
SC: This record is an exploration of those things and that imagery. It can be challenging for me to talk about some of the concepts of the songs on the album, I have something called synaesthesia, it’s a kind of of cross connection between some of the senses. And so when I hear music, I see colours. So songs and sounds, and concepts are largely expressed in my mind, as colours. So when I talk about the ‘glint of the world’, it’s exactly that, it’s the colours, it’s the beauty that we see everywhere. For many years, I was really focused on the city. I had lived in Victoria and Vancouver, two of the bigger cities. Then I moved to Saskatoon, and I really started to be reacquainted with nature and the natural world over the past number of years. That has really played into this album. The sounds and lyrics on this album are so much more about the natural world.
FT: Speaking of seeing things in colour, and a wider canvas, so to speak, this is your first album with a band around you. How did you find the recording experience?
SC: It was wonderful, I had an amazing team that was able to direct themselves, which was great, because that is a very specific skill set. So when you’re working with artists who are just incredible and have their own direction, it makes it really easy. I co-produced the album, so I was able to give some direction to the artists, but I co-produced it with Jon Rahm, who was able to put into words what I was trying to express. But music is such a language, sometimes it’s easy for people to understand what you mean, and other times it’s not. Working alongside Jon, he was able to translate a lot of my musical ideas into some of the more technical expressions for the musicians, which was really helpful.
FT: On first listen to the album, I thought it was less political, in terms of it’s social commentary, with the obvious exceptions of ‘Seventeen’ and perhaps ‘Come to Find’, but it’s still an album based in compassion, and a need to understand others, and our place in the world? I mentioned the song, ‘Seventeen’. Can you tell us a little about the background of the song?
SC: That song was written as a response to the countless Police shootings and just the brutality I have seen in Canada, around the world, and in my own province of It’s the story of a young boy who is scapegoated by society and Police, and the response of his family.
FT: It’s a wonderful album, with a number of really standout tracks, such a s ’Seventeen’ can I ask about ‘Changes’, a song written for your son?
SC: It’s a song that came about when I was playing guitar with my baby beside me. I was thinking, this is a life that can go any way, we have no idea what the future may bring. We have such a brief period of time with our children, such a brief moment. So it’s about that, and the hard lessons my son is going to have to learn, things that I won’t be able to do for him, things that he just going to have to learn the hard way. We have to learn things by ourselves, and that can be a hard thing to accept as a mother. We really want to help our children in any way we can, and sometimes, that means having to step back and let them learn the lessons themselves.
FT: I think it’s also a lovely gift to your son, he’ll look back later, as he grows, with great fondness at a song his mother has written, just for him. It’s a wonderful talent to be able to write such succinct and affecting songs, but it’s a real gift to leave such a charming gift in song to your son.
SC: Oh, that’s so nice, I hadn’t even thought about that. He’s four now, but of course, I will tell him as he grows.
FT: Another song that really grabbed my attention was ‘Come to Find’, again a song with a social commentary side to it?
SC: That’s quite an autobiographical piece, it’s me looking back at different stages in my own life. I did grow up in a house where abuse was present, , so it talks about some of the experiences that I internalised as a child, and the song moves forward, to me falling in love as a teenager, and a young adult, and how those same experiences, I had as a child, followed me. and how those issues manifested in relationships I had with men, as a young woman. And then it moves forward, to real freedom, finally being able to move on, being able to break free, and have that healthy way forward. And that took me a long time, which I’m sure is a common feature among people with the kind of background that I have. It can be really difficult to get away from those types of abusive dynamics, and to move forward, and even to know what you’re moving forward towards. Ultimately, it’s a very positive song as it builds to the end, with this chorus of voices, I think it’s a real sound of celebration happening. It’s a song I’m very, very proud of.
FT: We’ve mentioned it’s a band album, but quite restrained in many ways, it has a really warm feel to it. People have referenced a ‘Fleetwood Mac’ vibe on some of the tracks, Lead off single ‘Rain’ being a case in point.
SC: Well, thank you. I love that band, and the warmth that comes through. It’s a band I have come to appreciate since my last album. They had that warm, friendly vibe. And that was something that was very different from my previous records, which were quite sparse and didn’t have any real groove. So it was really interesting to work with the banjo player and the drummer, with the rhythm section, to give that drive and that beat.
FT: Are you touring with a band?
SC: Yes I am, with some folks out of Toronto. The Tour is a Co-bill with Abigail Lapell, also from Canada, and we’ll be sharing a band, and performing on each others sets. First time touring with a band, and Abigail will be bringing her baby as well! So two babies. It was quite funny telling the band, It was almost like we were breaking it to them!
FT: Sounds like a creche on tour! Sadly, no dates in Ireland?
SC: Not that time around unfortunately, with two babies, we had to keep dates Tight, and the tour, not too long.
FT: Hopefully, we’ll see you next time around! It’s a wonderful album, and all at Folk and Tumble hope it flies.
SC: Well, thank you, and I’ll definitely try and get Ireland in next time around!
Steph Cameron will be touring the U.K. and Europe throughout May. For full dates and tickets visit: stephcameron.com