JUNO NOMINATION
Local artist gets nod for album design
Terri Fidelak’s Tuesday plans were derailed by some news she did not expect. Granted, it was good news: The Regina-based visual artist is nominated for a Juno Award.
“I have a day job and I also help run Silt Studio, so I had emails and just a to-do list like most people do … I feel so flabbergasted; I don’t think I can focus on emails right now,” Fidelak said with a laugh.
She is up for the album artwork of the year award at the 2020 Juno Awards, which will be presented in Saskatoon on March 15.
Fidelak had designed album artwork before, for Regina band Black Drink Crier’s 2014 record — but that was just a cover.
Working on Belle Plaine’s Malice,
Mercy, Grief & Wrath was a whole new process, creating every aspect of the artwork in collaboration with photographer Carey Shaw, artist Regan Fraser and Belle Plaine herself (a.k.a. Melanie Berglund, nee Hankewich).
“There’s the gatefold of the record, and then the record sleeve and even the label that’s on the record. All of those parts were considered and designed,” said Fidelak.
“Once I had the illustrations and the design mapped out, (Fraser) and I started working together and tweaking all the things like colour and layers and text.”
On the cover, Shaw’s photographic portrait of Berglund is at the centre of Fidelak’s illustrations, which were first done by hand with pencils on transparent Mylar film.
Berglund’s lyrics were the catalyst.
Beginning in spring 2016, Fidelak listened to the songs’ rough recordings for inspiration.
“I think the whole point was to try to articulate the album’s message in another way, in a visual way,” Fidelak said.
“The songs had so much meaning to me. A lot of them represent family relationships; a lot of them represent these big themes that honestly, before Terri got involved, I didn’t recognize everything that was happening,” said Berglund.
“There’s just so much that she put into it to make our concept connect to the lyric and also just make it a stunningly beautiful package.”
Fidelak drew from nature and the cosmos to symbolize Berglund’s themes and lyrics.
“She really trusted me to just run with the vision … It was really a great gift for her to trust me like that,” said Fidelak.
When the record was released in October 2018, “It was just so exciting to see it out there and to see people with that record in their homes and posting about it on social media,” said Fidelak.
And now, there’s a Juno Awards ceremony to attend.
“Yes, we’re gonna go,” said Fidelak. “Why not? How often do you get to go to the Junos as a nominee. I guess for some people, a lot, but probably not for me.”
Darryl Kissick is just waiting for his mom to hear the news of his Juno nomination.
“I’m sure she’ll be stoked when she finds out . ... I think I’ll just let her stumble upon it,” Kissick said of Elaine Selby, who lives in Foxwarren, Man.
The town is his band’s namesake. Regina-based four-piece Foxwarren is a first-time Juno nominee for alternative album of the year.
“We never would have expected a nomination, but then last week were invited to the announcement party and so our manager said that’s usually a good sign. So still didn’t know for sure, obviously, but he said that looked hopeful. We still were pretty skeptical because you don’t want to get your hopes up,” said Kissick, who plays bass in the band.
His brother Avery Kissick plays drums, and friends Dallas Bryson and Andy Shauf complete the lineup, each on guitar and vocals.
Their self-titled debut album was a long process.
“We were just self-recording. A lot of it was recorded in my parents’ house; the rest of it was finished in our basement here in town and you never expect — especially when you’re working on that scale — you never expect accolades from something like this in the industry,” said Kissick.
An accolade like that, fellow Regina quartet The Dead South has experienced before.
We grew up in Saskatchewan, we still live there, we’re proud of the people, the culture — everything.
The bluegrass-inspired band was nominated in two categories in 2018, and won the award for traditional roots album of the year.
They’re nominated again in that category in 2020, for their 2019 album Sugar & Joy.
“We had put our name out there with our new album and stuff, so we were just kind of hoping,” said Nate Hilts.
Just back from touring in the United States, Hilts has checked in with his bandmates — Danny Kenyon, Colton Crawford and Scott Pringle — and “everyone seems to be pretty stoked and we’re excited to be nominated again.”
His bandmates weren’t the ones to break the nomination news to Hilts.
“A random number called me, I picked up and it was someone from CBC and said ‘how does it feel to have been nominated for a Juno?’ I was like, ‘I didn’t know that until you just told me, so thank you.’”
Shaunavon-based country band The Hunter Brothers is nominated in two categories in 2020 — country album of the year and breakthrough group of the year.
“We grew up in Saskatchewan, we still live there, we’re proud of the people, the culture — everything that happens ... We couldn’t be more thrilled,” said J.J. Hunter.
“It’s an honour for us. Our first Juno nomination held in our home province — it’s more than we could’ve asked for.”
The nominees won’t have far to travel to attend this year’s Juno Awards: They’re being presented in Saskatoon on March 15, 2020.