Canadian folk-pop and roots artist Adrienne Nye has unveiled her new single, “Lonely Days”.
A song steeped in utter truths, hinging on pleading, and questioning, and ultimately surrendering to reality, the Montreal-born, Vancouver-based singer/songwriter strikes a chord both on her stunning acoustic, and straight through the heart of any lover lost to love.
“This song was written as an anthem to all binational couples separated by border closures,” Nye explains of “Lonely Days.” “Being separated for a long time from someone you love can be gut wrenching and heartbreaking. It impacts everything from our mental health to our support network to our general sense of wellbeing. It leaves us longing for connection and feeling the deep sting of isolation and separation. My heart goes out to everyone trying to get to someone they love and just can’t. It is my hope that this song brings us together to relate to each other’s struggles and find strength in our collective pandemic stories of love, loss and uncertainty.
“Together or apart, love is essential.”
Check out “Lonely Days” below, and find out more about Adrienne via our mini-interview.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Well hello CB readers! I am a Montreal-born, now BC-based, indie folk-pop and roots artist. I started singing at the tender age of 4 and booked my first professional musical theatre role at age 9. I cultivated a passion for music and composing in my early teens and grew up honing my craft in high school productions, specialized arts and training programs, and eating up pretty much every opportunity placed on my path. Music has been one of the few constants in my life and I continue to appreciate all the ways it contributes to my growth and journey as an artist.
Tell us about the recording process behind “Lonely Days”?
Shortly after writing Lonely Days in mid-August 2020, I reached out to my long time friend, fellow musician and producer JP Maurice for his feedback and thoughts on the demo. He invited me to come down to Blue Light Studios to play it for him live so we could work on it together. When I got there, he didn’t have much to say about the song other than, let’s record it!
That same day we laid down some acoustic guitar, piano and a crafty “porch stomp” which entailed JP stomping on the ramp outside the studio which we ran a mic under. About a week later, I brought in the insanely talented Matt Cook-Contois (Eagle Ex Machina), who is a fiddle player from the Misipawistik Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba and, lucky for me, currently resides in Vancouver. We then brought in my lead guitarist, Will Lloyd, and bandmate from my 5-piece west coast folk band, Fallow State, to lay down some electric guitar. Subsequent sessions, which stretched into late September, included adding my lead vocals and harmonies and some backing vocals by JP. He also played pretty much everything else from bass, organ and synth to drums where he literally gave us the t-shirt off his back to create that nice, muted soft snare tone that takes us through to the end of the song.
What was the highlight of 2020?
Writing and recording my single of course! It’s my first solo release in about a decade so it felt so good to write a song that was deeply personal, meaningful and topical to the pandemic. Something that we could all relate to on some level and something to give people hope who were struggling to find balance amidst isolation and the desire for connection to others.
What do you hope to accomplish in your career in 2021?
I have some big goals for 2021 and beyond. After 2 decades of balancing work and creativity, I made the choice to return to school and commit to a full-time career in music. In the fall, I will be attending Nimbus School of Recording and Media where I’ll be studying music production, recording and business. I am excited to dive into the world of sound and production where I can lend my skills and life experience to other artists, filmmakers and creatives and support them in achieving their goals and dreams.
Some other noteworthy mentions, I started learning to play mandolin in 2020 during lockdown which grew out of my love of modern bluegrass music and look forward to taking lessons with Vancouver mandolinist and composer John Reischman this fall.
I recently collaborated on a track with the UK band Dancing Lotus for their upcoming album to be released in late 2021. We have some big plans for that track but that’s all I can say for now. I have another single in preproduction which should be finished later this year. This time I will be working with UK alt-pop songwriter, artist and producer Jack Shaw.
Beyond that I have my heart set on creating an EP or full length album at some point so writing will also be a big part of the next few years as I work towards that.
Is there anyone out there you’d like to collaborate or open/close a concert with in the future?
Oh my goodness what a great question! Too many to list here but the number one artist that immediately came to mind to open a tour for would be Brandi Carlile who absolutely needs no introduction. I’d love to write and record a song with Joy Williams someday who has always been a major influence and inspiration to me ever since The Civil Wars days. And speaking of mandolin, I’d love to collaborate on a song with Chris Thile. He is arguably one of the best mandolinists in the world and I have been obsessed with him ever since I heard him and his band Punch Brothers play live at RockyGrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado in summer 2019.