>>PREVIEW
CALGARY FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL
Luke Doucet
July 27 to 30
Prince’s Island Park
Luke Doucet has been described as a singer-songwriter and his music as a cross between country and roots-rock. Some have suggested he’s the long-lost bastard love child of kd Lang and Tom Waits. With the recent release of his third solo album Broken (and other rogue states), Doucet comes across as a fully-formed musician with a distinct style and voice.
But, this isn’t how it all started. In fact, Doucet’s solo status is comparatively recent and the voice that he’s found (that so many artists strive for), hasn’t come easy. "I have actually (found it difficult)," says Doucet, talking about finding that sound. "I feel like I’ve actually done so now, but it’s taken me a long time."
Time notwithstanding, Doucet has been careful not to force this development, choosing instead to be philosophical.
"As much as we like to think we’re in control of it and we attempt things," he observes, "it’s only when you stop trying to sound a certain way that you end up sounding in spite of yourself like whoever it is you’re going to sound like and you don’t have much choice in the matter."
Doucet began his career as the founding member of the Vancouver-based band Veal, but broke out on his own five years ago with the release of Aloha, Manitoba. Inside that five years, Doucet’s songwriting has flourished since then and his direction has changed. His departure from Veal, however, wasn’t rancorous – it was just a need to find his own way.
"I like being in a band where the people are involved because they love each other and because they all have the same vision, as opposed to people who are in a band because somebody’s hired them to be in the band," he says. At the same time the decision to go solo gave Doucet artistic latitude, as he observes, "I can be a lot more dynamic in my choices musically (now)."
That dynamism translates into Doucet’s busy career – one that balances between singer and songwriter. In recent years it has also included stints as a talented producer, but Doucet focuses his energies on what he does best. Songwriting occupies a solid part of his time, and while his solo albums feature many original songs, Doucet is the first to acknowledge that his songwriting isn’t part of a dedicated regimen. In fact, like the rest of his career it’s been about finding the right chemistry or, more appropriately, about having it find you.
"I’ll let myself go for six months and not write a thing," says Doucet. "I try not to worry about it. I try not to beat myself up because it’s hard and you start to think ‘Oh my God I’m never going to write anything again.’ I suppose I have a slightly cavalier attitude towards it where I think eventually your muse is going to get demanding enough and insist that you pay attention to it and it seems to work." |
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