In this interview spotlight, I chat with Art Napoleon about the latest release (Avalene), adapting during a pandemic and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
I am originally from a fairly remote Indigenous community in the Peace Region in Northern BC but operate out of Victoria BC. I remain plugged into my northern community, where I am building an off-grid homestead. My music is hard to describe as I am a songwriting genre hopper. The current single can be described as alt country. I like to tell stories through song.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
I grew up on the old country and rock standards. It was real country music, full of grit, truth and character (Cash, Haggard, Williams etc). As a kid I’d write songs in my head so I picked up the guitar as a teen and made it real. I was also raised in a musical family and it was all fiddle and old time country music. Performing was something in my blood. I feel alive on stage, connecting with an audience. I started out as an opening act in theatre concerts then latched onto the outdoor festival scene in Canada, then eventually started recording. I also branched out into TV and film work but the music never leaves your spirit!
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
My latest release differs from some of my previous recordings because I “done went full on country”. My usual stuff is all over the place, a mix of rock, blues, folk and tribal sounds from my culture. I’ve written a lot about Indigenous issues and our connection to the land. I have also written and recorded a few songs in Cree, my tribal language. As a result my tunes have fallen between the cracks, not really fitting anywhere because they are sparse, not commercially over produced. They’ve been maybe too political for commercial radio so I’ve always ended up on national and college radio. This new song started out as a folk song but the more I sang it, the more it became a country song. I have decided that roots country is the genre for me at this stage of my career. I love the idea of country music for thinking people, or decolonial barroom songs!
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
The only challenge during the first lockdown was disconnection from a live in-person audience. I lost a couple of gigs to cancelled events. In some ways Covid was good for my creativity. Yes there was less on stage stuff but I got paid for some virtual concerts and I had lots of time to write and test out new songs. I posted at least three songs a week on social media so I had time to experiment with different ideas. I was lucky because I was still on a base salary working from home as a TV producer. As performers, some of us have to be diverse or willing to expand on our usual styles and approaches. I couldn’t stop writing during that first lockdown so my creativity overflowed.
What was the last song you listened to?
I listen to music pretty much all the time but the song that’s been in my head lately is “You wear it well” by Rod Stewart. I like the nice blend of mandolin and fiddles with his rock n’ roll raspy voice and the sentiment of the lyrics. I like watching the npr small desk concerts and country af channels on YouTube.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
When it comes to technology I’m a Luddite caveman. All I have are my iphone (which is a texting machine), smart TV (I don’t have cable even though i work in TV) and a laptop (an email machine). I should probably subscribe to Spotify and get me some good speakers but then I’d need help setting it all up and navigating!
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
I have a linktree and press kit. I refuse to have a website but I’m easy to find just by punching my name on any search. Likely you’ll be led to either my music or to my TV show Moosemeat and Marmalade. Did I already tell you I’m a techo caveman? I really am a bushman from the Rez. Sometimes people forget how true this is.
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
My music is available on all standard platforms but I’ve never actually promoted or released an album properly, with publicity, promotion and all that jazz. With the new single I’m putting in more effort and see that it’s absolutely time consuming. The game keeps changing. I feel like I am forced to adapt or be left behind. Even now that I have some help, it’s all one big virtual jungle to me. We’ll see. Maybe I’m ok with being left behind. Sometimes I feel a little bit dirty when I promote or put out ads to promote my music but I guess someone has to do it. Secretly, I’m probably hoping that I finally get some commercial radio play, end up on a soundtrack or some cool playlists! My standards are not that high lol. Thank you!Answer]
