ROB MURRAY: I’m speaking with local musician Seth Anderson. It’s been a while since we’ve chatted. This whole pandemic has definitely put a bit of a damper on live music. How have you been managing to continue to make music and work during the pandemic?

SETH ANDERSON: I’ve been doing a lot of writing. Spending more time just working on music, which has been quite nice, trying to keep moving forward without being able to tour and be on the road like I usually would be doing.

RM: Your last album We Could Be came out right before the pandemic struck. It must have been challenging to try to promote that new album.

SA: A hundred percent. It kind of got put on the back burner for awhile, hoping that things would open again and we could continue on as planned, but it evolved into a longer-term hiatus. Now I’m just trying to look forward and maybe get some new music out.

RM: You have a brand new single that’s just coming out today. What can you tell us about ‘Big Red Sun’?

SA: Despite all the new music I’ve been writing, I actually wrote this song a few years ago. I recorded it in Toronto with a friend two and a half years ago before the pandemic and I’ve kind of been sitting on it. I wrote it while I was living in Calgary. There were a lot of really good things happening in my life at that time, but there were some things that I was struggling with as well. It was kinda like, maybe if I just say it, I can move through the difficult aspects and carry on with the positive.

RM: Is this a lead single off an upcoming album?

SA: This is just a standalone single. I do have, like I said, a bunch of new material that I’m trying to figure out a plan for recording right now with a producer, and just get an idea of what direction I want to go with it. With the hiatus in touring it’s a little bit more tricky financially to figure out which way to approach it.

RM: Live music is coming back to some extent. Are there any upcoming shows that you want to let people know about?

SA: I don’t have anything right now. Over the summer I played some outdoor shows and I’ve been trying to keep it that way. We did have an artsPlace performance a couple of weeks ago that’s available online, but I’ve just been kind of waiting to see what the venue situation will look like as things open and I’m trying to stay on the cautious side of things. I’m hoping that after Christmas I can start to get out playing live again.

RM: Tell us a little bit about that mentorship program that you were a part of with the Folk Fest and that big show that you did.

SA: It was a really special thing to have the opportunity to work with people that are so successful with their careers and so professional, and also just such lovely people and creative kinds of spirits. There was five of us local artists that worked with five artists from elsewhere that are well established in the music industry. We all got together for a couple of days and collaborated, and there were a few workshops from the mentors as well. It was a very cool experience and cool to open up to new things. I really took a lot from it and I’m pretty grateful and thankful to the Folk Fest for giving me that opportunity to do it.

 

Filed under: Canmore, Local Music, Seth Anderson