If you're here. Wow thank you. This has been one hell of a ride.

You and I have never experienced an album this way which is really exciting and scary. I have such amazing memories of owning a CD or vinyl, popping it on, pulling out the leaflet, looking at the photo and artwork, reading the lyrics, the thank you's and the credits. And then of course having it. Owning it. It's mine and it's now in heavy rotation in this car.

There's a lot more I feel about the potential of this type of release for all working class musicians from recouping costs, connecting directly to fans, but for now, just Please ENJOY!

When I was asked why this album was my self-titled album and not any of my earlier releases, my answer was and still is that it just feels like the closest version of Ten Kills the Pack I've come to. All projects and artists are always growing and adapting and I think that's what's kind of special about following the career and growth of an artist from its earlier stages. I think it's what's also special about supporting your faves and be there for the ride. I mean, what the fuck is happening right now in this industry anyways! Look how this thing is being released.

Anyways, this section is some behind the scenes of these songs and memories.

This main vocal and guitar was first done in my bedroom as a demo. I re tracked it in this lovely studio you see above, only to realize the energy and essence of what I was after was in that original scratch recording.
From there it was about trying to match the outside world (any vocals or instrumental arrangements) to what the song felt like inside.

I just went all fun, no looking back. 'Ride the vibe' style of producing.
I could hear the nylon guitar running through an amp while writing it, so that was sorted. And the thump of a roomy clunky kit.
To feel a bit more real and free, I loosely tracked the guitar to a click and everything that followed was only following that feel of the guitar, no metronome.
From there, it felt pretty streamlined; While still experimenting and capturing, it felt like all the parts and pieces were just waiting to be picked up.
Big props to Eric Vanier on drums for the excellent feel and to James Bunton for amping that guitar so lovely.

A song with a lot of lovely moments. Those strings, or any strings, on the album are not violins or violas, it's a nyckelharpa. An old traditional swedish keyed string instrument with almost a natural reverb to it. Performed and played by Charles Spearin of broken social scene. He has one, I loved the sound.
I liked how it was different yet familiar, which also spoke to some sort of theme I felt in this album... maybe even in tktp in general. (If ya listen close, you can hear the clicking of the keys on the strings towards the end. I love it)

This big ol' drum was a lovely key to unlocking the kind of feel we were shooting for in studio. Thank you Julian at Canterbury for just being willing to grab things like this from deep deep in the closet at the studio.

Photos of the night I tracked this song.

Written ages ago in our old apartment in Toronto. Felt like my personal closest Leonard Cohen moment. Just a guitar and a vocal in a room performing at once. Plus the added bonus of the best vocals known to Canada from the woman herself, Hannah Georgas.

This song was about quitting music and parting ways with the thing you love most. But then this song happened and I thought, fuck it, I guess I gotta let this one out and see what happens.

Every album of mine has a moment for something like this. It just happens. For me this was a poem first. A sort of collage of sequences of north america slipping away from itself.

The song I used for testing out a first test mix with collaborators. It has that small intimate feel I love while also expanding into these further expansive moments.
Is everything okay and fine and working well until our versions of love ruin it?

Probably (for me) the most confessional song that I was almost embarrassed to shoot for. It's a form of longing but also a bit cathartic, accepting, and still.... hopeful. It felt embarrassing to me because the concept is based on a dream of mine, that many musicians have, of playing things like late night or the all mighty SNL.
This one was written down on paper as more of a script of dialogue and a scene, then sort of converted to a song. I don't even think 30 Rockefeller has a fire escape.... but I just thought for once, lets not just write about what didn't happen or can't happen. Maybe let's put out the idea of something that isn't, but that still doesn't mean 'impossible'.
(for the production and lore nerds; I was always singing this in the shower to the pulse of a broken bathroom fan. It gave me the idea to have two Double Basses panned left and right, running through a distressor and a tremolo. My fav production moment on the album think.)