Nova Scotia’s Callum Gaudet explores collective trauma with debut album Ghosts
Nova Scotia’s Callum Gaudet has unveiled his debut album Ghosts.
“Like many people during the early days of the pandemic I found myself with time to start flushing out passion projects that had been waylaid by day to day life. Some of these songs are chock full of nostalgia, but on the darker side of this album are themes of death, senseless violence, and confusion. The pandemic brought all of these feelings to the surface. At moments when it felt like we needed to pull together, the news reports of people dying by the hand of others felt all the more impossible to understand.”
Matching the reminiscent themes of his songs, the album is full of tones recalling an obsessive collector’s vinyl bins. “Brawl Blues” opens with what could be mistaken for a 1930s blues recording before the drums slam in with aggressive 70s electric guitars. “The Disappearance of Sally Day” blends classic country sounds with blitzing guitar solos and finishes ominously with hair-raising violins.
“I love the storytelling element of Folk and Country music. Their songs might as well be novellas. I grew up listening to Rock, Eastern European Folk, and later, Indie music. The anger, the dismay, and the raw emotion resound with me. There’s something about a guitar so loud it makes an amp crack up. It aches. I hear the same emotion from violins, and I wanted to combine all of that onto one album. I want to use sonics as a storytelling tool.”
First off care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Callum Gaudet, I am an artist based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I play a mix of Americana, Indie, Blues, Rock, Folk, and a touch of Psychedelic music.
Tell us a bit about your recent release.
This is my debut album, it was largely recorded at Fang Recording Studio, owned by Canadian icon Joel Plaskett, although some of the album was recorded by me at home. I wrote a lot of these songs during the early days of the pandemic and I think the violence that was in the media was on my mind because there are a few songs that have narratives driven by violent actions. Ultimately those songs are telling stories but I think what I get from them is the overall sense that violence is senseless, and seems to perpetuate violence without accomplishing much. The other songs on this album are often nostalgic, which I think was a big part of those early pandemic days, the feeling that we didn’t know how good we had it before, and how badly I wanted to go back to that.
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
Usually, I come up with a chord progression that I find moving. The first line I come up with usually defines the song, though I’m never sure if I’m working on the chorus or the verse. There’s a setting, there’s a character, and from there I’m searching to see where the plot is taking this person. Like many songwriters, I also write from first-hand experience, but I try to reframe it through a more familiar structure. I love drawing inspiration from books and movies and the arc of storytelling often features in my songs.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
There is a really wonderful music video for the song “Ghosts” that people can find on YouTube. My friends Ian McFarlane and Laura Stinson from North Barn Theatre created some beautiful puppets of a mammoth, giant beavers, and other invented creatures. Their interpretation of the song allowed them to visualize ghosts of the landscape, so they drew on creatures that existed here in Nova Scotia in the past and then took some creative liberties. We’ll be working on another video for a tune that will come out later in 2024.
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
The music videos I just mentioned were ideas that won funding from the Canada Council for the Arts. That was a really monumental moment where I didn’t have a lot of work out, but suddenly I was given this trust by real artists and a jury. Being able to go grandiose so quickly really lit a fire under me.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
I worked recently with musician and producer Mike Trask for an up-and-coming single that I will be releasing. Mike is pretty active and has worked on a ton of records. He’s authentic, he’s got blues in his bones, and he’s a great person. Folks should go look him up because he’s always putting stuff out.