Cam Ostram – Five Questions With

Cam Ostrom shares his single, “Tired of Trying to Be Found”

Winnipeg’s Cam Ostrom has unveiled his single, “Tired of Trying to Be Found.” The melancholy tones and heartfelt lyrics come together wonderfully. It’s well worth a listen.

“Tired of Trying to Be Found” is a song about losing someone dear and the pain and isolation of starting all over. The song asks questions that anyone heartbroken would hate to know the answers to, as it means returning to an ocean of strangers in search of connection.

“The song also touches on the frustration of being a creative person,” says Ostrom. “Sharing your work does not guarantee it will be seen, and that can be difficult when you’ve put your heart into it. You have to count on yourself a lot to see things through, and that can shift wildly from empowering to incredibly lonely.”

This song is the culmination of years of learning and growing as a musician and a producer and is the final addition to his EP, The First Three, which you can listen to here.

Listen to “Tired of Trying to Be Found” below and learn more about Cam Ostrom via our Five Questions With segment.

Care to introduce yourself to our readers?

Hello! I’m Cam Ostrom. I am a songwriter person from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Turtle Island, Earth, Space.

I write quiet and sometimes sad songs made for dipping into some woozy rock’n’roll on the side. I don’t think I fall too easily into a singular sound, so if you’re an easy-going music listener, you might like my music… and maybe me as well.

Tell us a bit about your most recent release.

Sure! I have an EP coming out called The First Three, which is indeed a collection of the first three singles I’ve properly released. The third single, “Tired of Trying to Be Found,” is brand brand new, and it’s a song I’ve been kicking around for about a year and a half, I think. It originally started as a song about my late grandparents, but it was a little too melodramatic, and then I found a simple melody line on the D string that reminded me of Nick Drake a little bit, and then I found a new love for it. The song is still pretty melodramatic, actually.

I can’t remember where it came from, but the title itself felt like it held the melody in it already. It’s like Grizzly Bear’s While you Wait for the Others or Donna Lewis’ I Love You Always Forever or something, where it’s already got a bounce in it. You know what I mean? Anyway. Both the song and EP come out February 3rd.

Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?

All over. The way I write has changed a lot over the last three years. Before, writing music felt a little like magic, but now I’ve given it more structure for myself. I’m learning the spells.

My favourite artists are probably most evident in the way I play guitar, strumming patterns, and the voicings of chords I like to use. You could probably pick them out. When it comes to lyrics, I’ll dwell on things I hear in normal conversation a lot. The other day I heard someone say, “no flaws at all,” and I’m like, that’s a song. So I’ll fill a notes file in my phone with those lines that all share a similar emotional colour, and then later try to fit them to the feeling of the nonsense I’ve sung on a demo. It just has to flow naturally.

Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?

Nothing in person at the moment, but I livestream my music on Twitch every week. It’s been every Friday for two years now, but I’m switching it up to Thursday nights for a couple of months. If Twitch is your thing, www.twitch.tv/camostrom is where you’ll find me, and you can request songs for me to play from a pretty substantial songlist. Originals, covers, whatever. We build full composition loops. It’s a good time.

I would also love to be your introduction to the massive amount of musical talent on that platform. There exists a corner of awesome musicians that play songs for you. It’s my favourite online space.

What’s your goal for 2023?

I’m getting the material for an album together. For it only being January, I feel like I’m already pretty close, but I’m going to keep writing and working on these songs, new songs. I want them to be great.

Up to now, including this EP, I’ve self-produced everything, and I’m growing a little weary of it. I’d love to work with more people in my hometown, work on some professional recordings and get more outside opinions, especially as it pertains to production. I just want to make the best-sounding work possible. Then, play some shows.

Connect with Cam Ostrom:
Twitter
Instagram
Twitch

Jenna Melanson

I’m Jenna, the founder and editor of Canadian Beats. I have had a strong love for Canadian music, which started many years ago. I have a passion for promoting these talented Canadian bands and artists, and that’s how Canadian Beats came to be.

Canadian Beats has grown to become more than media, and what a journey it’s been.