Toronto indie-folk mainstay Hayden (Desser) is back with a brand new single called "East Coast."
Aside from releasing "Make Believe" in 2020, the brooding piano ballad — written, produced and mixed by Hayden — marks the artist's first new music since his 2015 album Hey Love. According to a press release, Hayden's long-awaited follow-up is anticipated in early 2023, so stay tuned!
"I was inspired to write this song after covering a Leonard Cohen song called 'Avalanche' for the promotion of the film Death of a Ladies' Man," the mononymous singer-songwriter said of the new track in a statement. "I switched the finger-picking guitar to a rolling piano part and liked the feel so much, I just kept playing until this chord progression appeared.
He continued:
The words came later after an autumn visit to Newfoundland. To me, the East Coast imagery matched the circular playing perfectly. I remember feeling like I hit on something when I dialled in a synth that sounded like a ship's fog horn. The final touch was getting Toronto legend Kurt Swinghammer to do his guitar magic over the end section. He did something in a similar vein on a song of mine called "Street Car" over twenty years ago, and it was one of my favourite moments on [2001's] Skyscraper National Park.
Listen to "East Coast" below.
Aside from releasing "Make Believe" in 2020, the brooding piano ballad — written, produced and mixed by Hayden — marks the artist's first new music since his 2015 album Hey Love. According to a press release, Hayden's long-awaited follow-up is anticipated in early 2023, so stay tuned!
"I was inspired to write this song after covering a Leonard Cohen song called 'Avalanche' for the promotion of the film Death of a Ladies' Man," the mononymous singer-songwriter said of the new track in a statement. "I switched the finger-picking guitar to a rolling piano part and liked the feel so much, I just kept playing until this chord progression appeared.
He continued:
The words came later after an autumn visit to Newfoundland. To me, the East Coast imagery matched the circular playing perfectly. I remember feeling like I hit on something when I dialled in a synth that sounded like a ship's fog horn. The final touch was getting Toronto legend Kurt Swinghammer to do his guitar magic over the end section. He did something in a similar vein on a song of mine called "Street Car" over twenty years ago, and it was one of my favourite moments on [2001's] Skyscraper National Park.
Listen to "East Coast" below.