Folksinger
Michael Feuerstack removes his voice from equation in new album.
One of Montreal folk music’s most distinctive voices, Michael Feuerstack, did a curious thing on his new album, Singer Songer — he completely removed said voice from the equation.
In lieu of Feuerstack’s soothing rasp is a lineup of guests he calls his Associates. Among them are The Constantines’ Bry Webb, The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson, as well as locals Leif Vollebekk, Angela Desveaux, Little Scream and Jessie Stein of The Luyas. Each of the album’s nine tracks features a different singer at the helm, injecting their own sensibilities into Feuerstack’s mellow, enveloping compositions.
Singer Songer is being released in conjunction with Record Store Day on Saturday — an annual celebration of independent music shops around the world now in its seventh year — although Feuerstack feels it can stand alongside his solo works under his name and his Snailhouse alias.
“Singer Songer was never meant to be my new album,” the 41-yearold says. “It was supposed to be this weird, anomalous project. But it turned out so well, and I’m so fond of it. It became every bit the release as everything else I’ve done.”
The ever-multitasking former Wooden Stars guitarist — and current guitarist for the Luyas — hasn’t grown tired of his own voice, although he’s always wanted to try writing songs for others. Who better, he figured, than friends and colleagues he’s worked with previously?
“I enjoy the old-fashioned idea of being a songwriter-in-residence at a publishing company,” he says. “A lot of great songs have been written that way. The challenge of writing for another person’s voice felt both restricting and freeing at the same time.”
Over three weeks last August and September, Feuerstack lived out his dream role — the residence in question being his Outremont apartment. At his home studio, he quickly wrote the songs and recorded basic arrangements. His collaborators then received two versions of the songs he specifically wrote for them in their inboxes: one instrumental track, and one with Feuerstack’s rough vocals to serve as a guide. Some of the guests recorded their parts in their respective homes and emailed them back, while the aforementioned locals recorded in Feuerstack’s studio.
“Working remotely takes a bit of the romance out of it,” Feuerstack admits. “Then again, it makes things possible that wouldn’t have been.”
Besides a tight deadline, Feuerstack didn’t give his singers any orders. He compared his hands-off approach with that of a film director trusting his actors, and the end result as a “collection of shorts.”
“There was never a case where I asked any of them to do something differently. I was steering the ship — the only real freedom they had was to interpret the vocal — but I was always happy with what they did,” he says.
Feuerstack also didn’t mind if a singer’s unique performance subsumed the track. Leif Vollebekk, for instance, put his inimitable streamof-consciousness vocal style stamp on When I Pay You Back Someday.
“I had no interest in coaching,” Feuerstack says. “When Leif sings it, it becomes his song. When I sing it, it sounds like mine. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
If Feuerstack has trouble discerning who his own songs belong to after they’ve been reinterpreted, imagine how listeners might feel. Vocals tend to be the easiest way to identify an artist, and Feuerstack’s are nowhere to be found.
“People always identify with the singer of the song,” Feuerstack says.
“I’m aware that people are going to listen to it and not hear me, but there are also some who will search for me in the songs, and in some cases they’ll find it. It’s hard for me not to sing, but Singer Songer allowed me to step away from the microphone and share what I do with other people.”
Singer Songer will be available for sale on vinyl Saturday, April 19, and on CD and digital Tuesday, April 29.