Michael Feuerstack

Hi everyone… sorry for the long silence over here. I assure you, it’s only because I’ve been busy. Natural Weather, my new record is coming out on May 25 through the tireless efforts of my associates Forward Music Group.

I’ve waited a long time to share it with you. You can catch a glimpse of it by checking out the single, Nobody Knows, on Spotify or wherever you get your streams. Feel free to ‘like’ while you listen, especially of you like. But let’s be honest, it would be useful for me either way.

Or if you want some eye candy with your ear meal, check out this business:

Enjoy! And stay tuned, because there will surely be shows after we’ve all soaked up a bit more sun. I’ll be announcing some European dates for June in good time…

Otherwise I’ve been working with singer Camille Delean on capturing her songs. We are playing shows and working on a new record as well. We’ll be in Europe to play very soon.

Bell Orchestre has stuff in the works too. It’s pretty far along. You’d be surprised.

There are other projects and productions and things on simmer too, but I guess that’s enough thrill for you today.

Thanks for reading. See you soon.
xo MF

This message comes a little late. Forgive me for spending New Years Eve and New Years Day snowshoeing and hanging with amazing friends instead of getting my ‘socials’ in order.

We’ve seen a lot of rough politics and world events in 2016, as well as the deaths of many of our collective heroes. We also saw a lot of shows of solidarity and love, and that’s what I choose to carry into the new year.

I took in a huge amount of inspiring music this year. Despite these constant reminders that there are hundreds of amazingly talented and worthy artists out there, I am grateful for my own endurance – the ability to turn that admiration into inspiration rather than defeatist frustration. I am grateful for my persistence of vision and my modest and ongoing mastery of the tools of my trade.

On the morning of NYE I finished the last few lines of Patti Smith’s M Train, a beautifully personal and inspiring read. Coincidentally, I found out that Jan 31 also happens to be her birthday. That coincidence, combined with the fact that Patti Smith is more celebrated than ever in her 70th year, is about as good an omen as I need to seek out.

Let’s all keep making stuff as if it matters, because maybe it does. Love to you all.

MF.

PS – Here’s the news from me (in case that’s why you were reading):

– Perhaps most relevant to this newsletter, I have come a very long way toward a new Michael Feuerstack recording. I’m guessing you’ll be able to hear it in the Fall or so. It really is almost done already, and I can barely stand the idea of sitting on it for so long. I just want to make sure it’s as amazing as it can be, and that we time it just right so that the highest possible amount of people will get to hear it.

– I spent a lot of this year making music with the Luyas. I feel pretty lucky to make some of the best, weirdest music of my career with some of my bets and weirdest pals. You can look forward to our full length, Human Voicing, on Paper Bag Records in February of this year.

– Camille Delean’s debut record, Music on the Grey Mile, will see release in 2017 as well, finally. I co-produced, mixed and played on this lovely work, and I hope you’ll keep an ear to the ground for it. We’ll be playing shows too.

– There were many other collaborations. Besides chipping away at a new recording with Bell Orchestre, and occasional contributions to the work of Paper Beat Scissors, I also was lucky enough to be re-united by SappyFest this year with my dear comrades the Wooden Stars for a one-off show, as well as a re-mount of our collaboration with Julie Doiron.

Pure luck all around.

[bandcamp width=80% height=120 album=3721384098 size=large bgcol=ffffff  linkcol=333333 tracklist=false artwork=small]

This 5 song EP is available from Forward Music Group. I’m very stoked to share this with you all. Five songs that were recorded in the same sessions as The Forgettable Truth. It’s been a year since that one came out, and this is our way to celebrate the anniversary! Enjoy! xo MF

“Turns out the musician that Said the Gramophone’s Sean Michaels called “a national treasure” had a few more gems in his back pocket. You may struggle to see and hear things the same way again.” – Exclaim!

“an inspiring, thought­ provoking journey through the everyday, cleverly mixing tempo, feel and instrumentation to create a short and welcomed escape from the rigors of the winter season.” – Grid City

“un savant mélange de sagesse et de nostalgie” – BRBR

Order digital

Bandcamp, iTunes, eMusic, Amazon

Stream

Spotify, Apple Connect, Google Play

Hello everyone,

I’ve been quiet here for a very long time. It’s not because I haven’t had any news – just been too busy to make a report. Here’s all the news I can think of:

Upcoming EP – Adult Lullabies

Some very exciting news is that Forward Music Group will be releasing an EP of new MF music this winter. The 5 featured songs were recorded during the same sessions as The Forgettable Truth. It’s a really strange and great collection of songs, and I’m very proud of it. A sort of a simple yet philosophical theme runs though it: asking how to balance a love for humanity with your own apparently inevitable tendency toward self-indulgence. Fun! Images and advance tracks coming soon.

New demos and ideas

I am slowly starting to assemble little bits and pieces of sketches that I’ve either jotted down or recorded over the last while. It may not sound like much, but it’s the beginning of making a new record. Once I sort through all this stuff, I may be able to imagine some kind of new album direction or sonic plan that will guide me and inspire me to get started for real on a new recording and/or maybe even a new instalment of Singer Songer (which my Mom loves so much)…

New video from the Singer Songer record

Speaking of Singer Songer – here is a new video for the Devon Sproule sung song from that record. It was put together by What If Productions, for the 48 hour film challenge put forth by KIAC/Yukon Film Society in Whitehorse, YT. I am grateful. Enjoy!

Otherwise…

Between the various performances with my band since the record came out, here’s what I’ve been up to in my “spare time”.

Camille Delean debut album

One of the things I’ve been working on the most this year is a beautiful record by singer songwriter Camille Delean. We met at one of my shows just over a year ago. We chatted about recording and making music, and it was’t long before she asked if I’d be available to help work on some of her songs with her. She did the basic tracks in London with the incredible multi-instrumentalist and producer Ben Walker  (Check out http://josienneclarke.co.uk). Afterward, she brought the tracks home to Montreal and we’ve been adding more vocals, guitar, steel guitar, keys (courtesy of Mathieu Charbonneau) and violin (by Josh Zubot). We are finishing up the mix now. I am very proud of this record, which I loosely describe as Twin Peaks meets Astral Weeks. Bold claims I know, but trust me it’s good.

Paper Beat Scissors EU tour

October saw me traipsing around Europe playing guitar for the one and only  Paper Beat Scissors, supporting his newest release Go On.  It was really fun to play guitar in this amazing line-up featuring Tim Crabtree (brains of the operation), Gregory  Burton (check out the ruling Bantam Wing), Tessa Kautzman (also a Bantam Winger) and Alex Thibault. Great musicians and travel-mates all around. So many sausages and so many hours logged. Special mention goes to our tour mom Thomas Lechner who has always been and always will be one of the greats.

Bell Orchestre sessions

This long-silent band has been very slowly making some noise again. We retreated together in the summer for a big improvised recording session, where we recorded countless hours of material.  Much of it is good, and we are currently going through everything to see what what is worth working on to eventually share. Slow as always, and not so steady, but I assure you we are making something.

New Luyas recordings

We have a new record in the works. It’s exciting for me, because after much touring and involvement with the band is my first Luyas record as an actual member. We recorded in November, and it’s now being mixed by the amazing Jace Lasek who also recorded and produced the sessions. I suspect we’ll have some news about our plans in the coming months. All I know is that we’re making a rad record.

Will Samson

My friend Will Samson finally released his lovely record Ground Luminosity on Talitres Records. I had the pleasure of collaborating remotely on this beautiful record. We met having shared shows here and there on tour in Europe, and he invited me to contribute some of my vocals and pedal steel to his recordings. Congratulations to Will! Have a listen!

And lastly, some props:

A big thanks to Said the Gramophone who included my “Clackity Clack” in their favourite songs of 2015.
One Chord to Another listed “I Wanted More” on their list of the top 20 songs for the year.
The Globe & Mail featured The Forgettable Truth among their Our Favourite Things feature form 2015.
…and 5kHz included the record on their list too! I feel like a prom queen.

Thanks for the hoots!

Have a great mellow holiday season, whatever that means to you.

Lots of love,

MF

Hi Everyone,
Here are the links to all the stuff we’ve been talking about.
You can see video of us preforming on Q HERE.
You can hear all the songs and the interview HERE.
Here is a link to the video that the amazing Mylene Simard made for Lamplight from the new record.

And finally – new dates have been added! I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll do solo shows in Quebec supporting Patrick Watson and in Toronto supporting Great Lake Swimmers.
xoMF