Vancouver-born, Toronto-based, guitar- and koto-playing singer-composer Jessica Stewart is a musician of many talents. Her band, the Jessica Stuart Few will release their latest album The Passage next week, but before its official release, Exclaim! is giving you an advanced listen to the entire record.
Across the new songs, Stuart shows her range, delivering everything from groove-infused soul songs like "Easier Said Than Done" to instructional ditties like "How to Ride a Bike" to a reinterpretation of Little Dragon's indie pop cut "Twice."
"Almost every song on The Passage is inspired by a person that profoundly affected me — from the realistic take on romantic love, to the love story that was never able to be, or the song inspired by my mom, or the other one that makes me cry when I play it live, about the only true friend I had living in Japan as child, who I can't seem to find," Stuart tells Exclaim! "This album also has some songs on it that surprised me like 'Same Girl,' which came about in the midst of late night drinking, when I was asked to demo the koto to a friend who'd never seen it up close before."
For the uninitiated, the koto is a traditional Japanese instrument boasting 13 strings. You too can get an introduction to its magical musical noises by engaging with The Passage in the player below.
The LP is officially out on October 27, and the Jessica Stuart Few will mark the occasion with an album release show at the Supermarket in Toronto that same evening.
Across the new songs, Stuart shows her range, delivering everything from groove-infused soul songs like "Easier Said Than Done" to instructional ditties like "How to Ride a Bike" to a reinterpretation of Little Dragon's indie pop cut "Twice."
"Almost every song on The Passage is inspired by a person that profoundly affected me — from the realistic take on romantic love, to the love story that was never able to be, or the song inspired by my mom, or the other one that makes me cry when I play it live, about the only true friend I had living in Japan as child, who I can't seem to find," Stuart tells Exclaim! "This album also has some songs on it that surprised me like 'Same Girl,' which came about in the midst of late night drinking, when I was asked to demo the koto to a friend who'd never seen it up close before."
For the uninitiated, the koto is a traditional Japanese instrument boasting 13 strings. You too can get an introduction to its magical musical noises by engaging with The Passage in the player below.
The LP is officially out on October 27, and the Jessica Stuart Few will mark the occasion with an album release show at the Supermarket in Toronto that same evening.
