Canadian folk outfit Great Lake Swimmers have kept pretty quiet ever since the release of their fifth studio album, New Wild Everywhere, back in 2012. But according to chief-songwriter Tony Dekker, the band's next release may be out sooner rather than later.
Speaking with Exclaim! contributor Vish Khanna as part of his Kreative Kontrol podcast, Dekker said that although he's spent the better part of the year touring on behalf of his recently released solo LP, Prayer of the Woods, there's no uncertainty about Great Lake Swimmers future.
"People said to me while I was on tour, 'Y'know, when a solo record comes out, it signals something," he said. "And I was like, 'Not at all, the band's doing well,'" adding that the group has already began practising together on a number of new songs.
Dekker also shed light on the inspiration for the band's new material, citing his recent forays with the World Wildlife Fund, in which he witnessed the impact of the BP oil spill on the Louisiana coastline firsthand, as well as the Canadian federal government's insistence on the implementation of the Northern Gateway Pipeline.
"I've been incubating these songs and we'll see how it goes. I am trying to work with a kind of concept or through line that incorporates my recent experiences," Dekker explained. "I had a chance to visit this place [BC's Great Bear region] and actually sailed from Kitimat down through these passageways seeing incredible wildlife — species that are indigenous to that area. If one tanker spilled, say the size of the Exxon Valdez, the entire area would be obliterated and so would a culture that has existed since the beginning of time."
Although there's no word on a title or definitive release date, Dekker speculated the album would be out sometime in 2014.
"It's only January," he said. "There's still a whole year ahead of us, but we're back to work on a full band kind of deal."
To hear more with Dekker, listen to the podcast in full here.
Catch Dekker (sans Great Lake Swimmers) on a pair of dates beginning later this month. One of the dates is at Guelph, ON's upcoming Hillside Inside festival.
Solo tour dates:
01/24 Toronto, ON – Haliconian Hall
02/07 Guelph, ON – River Run Centre Fab 5 Cabaret (Hillside Inside)
Speaking with Exclaim! contributor Vish Khanna as part of his Kreative Kontrol podcast, Dekker said that although he's spent the better part of the year touring on behalf of his recently released solo LP, Prayer of the Woods, there's no uncertainty about Great Lake Swimmers future.
"People said to me while I was on tour, 'Y'know, when a solo record comes out, it signals something," he said. "And I was like, 'Not at all, the band's doing well,'" adding that the group has already began practising together on a number of new songs.
Dekker also shed light on the inspiration for the band's new material, citing his recent forays with the World Wildlife Fund, in which he witnessed the impact of the BP oil spill on the Louisiana coastline firsthand, as well as the Canadian federal government's insistence on the implementation of the Northern Gateway Pipeline.
"I've been incubating these songs and we'll see how it goes. I am trying to work with a kind of concept or through line that incorporates my recent experiences," Dekker explained. "I had a chance to visit this place [BC's Great Bear region] and actually sailed from Kitimat down through these passageways seeing incredible wildlife — species that are indigenous to that area. If one tanker spilled, say the size of the Exxon Valdez, the entire area would be obliterated and so would a culture that has existed since the beginning of time."
Although there's no word on a title or definitive release date, Dekker speculated the album would be out sometime in 2014.
"It's only January," he said. "There's still a whole year ahead of us, but we're back to work on a full band kind of deal."
To hear more with Dekker, listen to the podcast in full here.
Catch Dekker (sans Great Lake Swimmers) on a pair of dates beginning later this month. One of the dates is at Guelph, ON's upcoming Hillside Inside festival.
Solo tour dates:
01/24 Toronto, ON – Haliconian Hall
02/07 Guelph, ON – River Run Centre Fab 5 Cabaret (Hillside Inside)
