After four EP releases and eight independent tours of the US and Canada, Ty Hall is set to release his first full-length album titled ‘Nothing but Time’. Ty first hit the scene in 2009, winning $50,000 as a finalist in Live 88.5 FM’s Big Money Shot. His EP ‘Dollars and Nonsense’ was the 19th most added album on the CMJ charts and he made his home on the road frequenting some of the hottest festivals and conferences including South by Southwest, North by Northeast, Canadian Music Week and RBC Bluesfest.
The core of Ty’s band includes the funky beats of percussionist Brian Dupuis and the groovy basslines of Andrew Burns. The songs on ‘Nothing but Time’ span across a number of genres including the singer-songwriter acoustic feel of ‘Perfect Harmony’ and ‘Keep the Fire Hot’, to alt roots/rock bangers such as ‘Remedy’ and ‘Testify’. The lyrical content reflects a maturity in Ty’s writing style with commentary on life, love, struggle as well as general observations of the human character and spirit.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Ty about motivations, challenges, his latest projects and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and I would describe my sound as alt-folk-roots.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I won $50,000 in a radio competition (Live 88.5FM Big Money Shot) in 2009 and it put us in the studio and on the road and got the band up and running. Since then we’ve done eight independent tours in North America and have released four EPs and the full length record that was just released in September 2017.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Well first of all it is the first full-length album and the first that is available on vinyl which is pretty exciting for me. I set out to try to capture the variety of my stylistic influences while maintaining some coherence. I took my time and just had fun making the record. I’m trying not to take things too seriously these days and didn’t necessarily set out with a specific mission but sometimes keeping things in perspective is a challenge in itself…
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
I would say there are advantages and disadvantages to the technological advances over the past decade or two. Disadvantages would be the adjustment periods of learning how to navigate and utilize these new technologies. I started my career at an odd time right around 2008/2009 when at least I was approaching things in a more traditional sense – record, tour, repeat. I wasn’t really hitting social media hard, didn’t produce many videos…I just wanted to play music. I still struggle with this aspect of being an artist…creating seems to becoming a smaller part of it while promoting is equally as important. So there is a balance there. I still just like to write, record, and perform but I do keep up on social media…I have a preference for Instagram these days.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
I’m at @tyhall.5446 on Instagram and Facebook. My YouTube channel and my website.
Anything else before we sign off?
I’m going to be slowing down on my touring schedule over the winter and picking back up come summer. I am currently working on a master’s degree in Music and Culture at Carleton University which is taking up a lot of my time and energy. I’ve been keeping a pretty busy schedule since the album release. I have a few projects in the works that I am hoping to get moving while hibernating a bit this winter. Thanks for having me!
