Canadian songstress Lesley Pike is just about to release her new album, Tug of War. In her self-penned bio she recalls that the album "took three tries, three rounds of producers, and three years to get ... from my heart to your ears."
You can get the album next week, and preview several tracks from it now on her CBC Music artist page.
Below, Pike tells us a bit about herself by completing our "Meet" Q&A:
Q: Describe the music you make in five words or less.
A: Haunting, raw, emotive, intimate, quirky.
Q: What is the last movie you saw – and if you wrote a song about it, what would it be called?
A: The last movie I saw is called Safari Americano, a really great independent documentary that follows two Toronto friends on a nine-month ultimate road trip adventure from Ontario to Argentina in a GMC Safari. It had some pretty entertaining and spectacular moments. I was going to say I'd call the song "The Great Unknown," but I already used that title on my new album! So I'd probably call it something like "274" (the number of days in nine months).
LISTEN [Listen: Lesley Pike, "The Great Unknown."]
Q: Where are you most likely to be found on a Saturday night?
A: Anywhere that includes good people and good conversation (this often ends up being someone's couch). I'm not the greatest at committing to plans far ahead of time, I'm more into spontaneous adventures – dinner parties, road trips, concerts, ping pong tournaments, campfires, an Arrested Development marathon –whatever feels right at the time. The one place you're not likely to find me is the club scene (unless they're spinning '80s tunes, in which case I will challenge everyone to a dance-off).
Q: How about on a Sunday morning?
A: Depends on what happened Saturday night – I may still be on someone's couch! Crazy as it sounds, I'm not very good at sleeping in, even on Sundays. My perfect Sunday mornings involve a Bikram yoga class followed by brunch and mimosas with friends, and probably some wandering, preferably in the sun.
LISTEN [Listen: Lesley Pike, "Tug of War."]
Q: If you could record a duet with any Canadian artist, who would you pick? And who would produce it?
A: I'd love to record a super haunting and moody duet with Leonard Cohen. Daniel Lanois would produce.
Q: The strangest thing that ever happened to me during a live show is…
A: Ah, there are so many things! One of the funnier ones happened while I was performing at a celebrity golf tournament on a boat in Lake Okanagan. A man walked up to my keyboard just after I'd started singing my first song and leaned right into my face and said – loudly and while I was literally mid-phrase – "Well I just looooove you!" He leaned in so close he inadvertently got caught on the cables and unplugged my keyboard. I assured him (on the mic) that I loved him too, but would probably love him a little more if he hadn't just cut the piano in the middle of my song. He then chatted with me intently while the crew tried to get it all sorted out, and I started over – this time jokingly asking everyone to please refrain from coming within a 10-foot radius. We all got a good laugh out of it.
Related:
Meet Q&A: Oh My Darling
Meet Q&A: Wanting
Meet Q&A: Bhi Bhiman
Meet Q&A: Del Barber
posted by
Brad Frenette
on May 26, 2012