Artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris carved out hugely successful careers interpreting songs written by others - today, Shaye Zadravec is following a similar path with her recently released album, NOW AND THEN. With an angelic voice and the capacity to recognise songs that deserve to be reborn, the album’s ten tracks include songs written by Jay Farrar, Jesse Winchester, Mandy Barnett, Paul Westerberg and Lynn Miles. Also included are two songs written by Ian Tyson, one of which is a duet with the legendary singer songwriter. The album has rightly been receiving glowing reviews, not only in her homeland Canada, but particularly in Europe, where she continues to expand her fan base. We chatted with Shaye recently to get the history behind the album and her chosen career.
When did you start singing and did you receive formal voice training?
Singing is something I had done since I was a child, simply because I loved doing it. When I turned eighteen, I decided to go to an open mic event. I knew I wanted to be on stage because I had performed dance and theatre previously. Singing live created quite a fear for me and I wanted to conquer that. From that first open mic event I was introduced to a world of music that I hadn’t known existed. I had been always in the dance world or theatre in Calgary and had no reference point to the local music scene. I was hooked from that first open mic and started going to more events, and meeting more people. I actually only started taking voice lessons this year after recording my album, to make sure I was doing it right (laughs). When I listen back to my own music, it is hard not to analyse the notes that I was singing. It made me think that maybe I could’ve done things a little bit differently. I actually took the singing lessons throughout Covid just to keep me sane.
Based on the selection of songs for the album, I get the impression of an artist with exquisite music tastes or good parenting, our possibly both.
I have two siblings and we have been very fortunate to have been exposed to all kinds of music from a young age. The arts were always very much encouraged at home, whether that be singing or dancing. My Dad’s father was a musician, so music was a large part of his life. I did find that when I was in junior high school that I was humming a lot of songs that were different to what my friends were listening to.
Can you explain where the title of your debut EP NORWAY came from?
That was a very interesting story. I started working with my manager Neil McGonigill a few years ago now and he encouraged me to go into a studio and record some demos. To find out what my actual musical groove was, he asked me to interpret certain songs. One song that he suggested I try was a Chip Taylor song called I’ll Carry For You. I took the song home and learnt it, and went into a studio in Calgary called Airwaves Studio and recorded it. I was actually quite nervous, because I had not done anything like this before and we basically sat on the song for a few months. Neil is good friends with Chip and eventually sent my version of the song to him. Chip was excited enough to talk to his producer Goran Grini, who totally unprompted added some instrumentation to the song and sent it back to us. When we got it back, we thought it was quite a beautiful sound, having been unaware of what to expect. After that we decided to do a couple more songs with the same format, where I would record and send the songs to Goran who is based in Norway and he would send them back with added instrumentation. When we had the songs together for the EP, we were trying to figure out what to call the album and the guitar player that I work with, Tim Leacock, suggested I should call it NORWAY, as a thank you to this gentleman I had actually never met, but did all this work for me.
The two opening tracks on your current release NOW AND THEN are the Jay Farrar written Windfall and Jesse Winchester’s Biloxi. They set the tone of the album perfectly. How did the selection process for the songs work out? Were they chosen by you or did you have an input from others?
The opening song Windfall was the newest song in my repertoire and that was brought to me by Goran. He is a big Jay Farrar fan and asked me to sing that song. He also thought it was a song that may have been overlooked and had a fantastic hook to it. He felt it deserved another chance. He was right, I really believe that song could be so universal and that anyone could sing along to it if they wanted to. It also had the right vibe to be the first song on the album. Biloxi is my dad’s favourite song. He’s a huge Jesse Winchester fan and has always considered him something of an underdog. It’s one I’d been intending to use in the project for a long time, having known the song so long. The Slider by Roy Forbes was pitched to me years ago by Neil while Mandy Barnett’s The Whispering Wind has been one of my favourite songs for many years. The album is mostly a collection of songs that I had always had with me at some point. It’s kind of a timeline of my music career so far. That’s where the album’s title NOW AND THEN comes from – and it’s also the first two words in the opening song.
Skyway, written by Paul Westerberg of The Replacements, is also very impressive.
That was actually one of my favourites of the songs to record. Part of my inhibition as a singer is that I feel that lots of the songs I perform on stage tend to be quite understated and mellow. The common feedback I often get is that I need to pick it up a notch. I actively went out looking for a rockier song that I could make something of in my own way. I wanted a song from The Replacement’ collection and I found Skyway. I wanted to rock it up a bit, but I thought this is not the time, so I selected the most melodic song from them that I could find.
You also got the opportunity to record a song with the legendary Ian Tyson. How did that unfold?
That was again through my manager Neil, who had known Ian for quite a long time. He used to be his manager and tour manager. Ian is advancing in years and lives in a ranch at Long View and doesn’t play that often anymore. We wanted to try one of his songs which may have been previously overlooked. We chose a Christmas song, Silver Bell and wanted to record it and release it as a single, which we did. We needed Ian’s blessing first before recording it and he invited us over to his ranch and we got to sit in his famous stone house, which is on his property and is where he does all his writing. We sat there and worked up the song. I was singing it with him to see if he was comfortable with my vibe and what I was doing with it. We then thought, why not sing it as a duet, as the song is from two perspectives and he was all for it. I was a bit nervous in his company, I just hung in the background while he talked to Neil and Tim Leacock. My plan was just to sing and if Ian Tyson approved my singing, that’s all I needed. But he was very welcoming, not afraid to give feedback and eager to make the song sound as good as it could be.
You also include another Ian Tyson song Summers Gone on the album.
Yes, that song is completely different to what people think of when they consider Ian Tyson’s music. Traditionally people will think of Four Strong Winds or Someday Soon, when they think of him. This song is totally left field, but also one of Ian’s favourite songs that he had written but slipped somewhat under the radar. When I covered it, I felt it was more of a crooner type song and not just a country song, even though there is country music content in the lyrics.
Are you continuing to seek out somewhat undiscovered songs to make your own?
Yes, I do look for songs that would resonate if they were given a second chance. However, I don’t want to just limit it to that, as there are some songs that I just love singing at my shows, even if some of them have been done to death already. In terms of my recording career, I would prefer it to be songs that resonate with me and deserve another shot. Watching the Linda Ronstadt documentary, The Sound of My Voice, it seems like she was motivated by songs that sat in her heart, many of which got an extended life by her recording them.
Do you have a couple of gems that you’ve written yourself but are somewhat nervous to put out there on a recording?
(Laughs). I have written a couple of songs including a few co-writes and I do perform one of them live. It’s a love song to send people off at the end of the night with a good feeling in their hearts. As far as my owns songs go, I feel that I write goofy songs. When I look at what I’ve written down and try to work a melody, I find a lot of humour in the writing. I’m not sure I want to introduce myself to the world as a goofy songwriter. That might be down the road a bit.
Have things opened up for live shows in Calgary yet and are you performing solo or with other musicians?
Yes, to extent things are opening up, but people are being careful. I’m actually happiest doing outdoor shows at the moment and with Covid still around that seems like the safest way to proceed. I generally have Tim Leacock on guitar on stage with me most of the time. I haven’t expanded beyond that yet, but now that things are starting to roll, I may change that. I have learnt how to perform on stage with multiple musicians and how to take the lead as an artist.
The song selection on both the EP and the album in the main are songs that could work stripped back or indeed with an orchestra. Was that a consideration in the song selection process?
The NORWAY EP could have been very difficult to reproduce live without an orchestra behind the songs. But, having said that, I’ve performed them on stage with Tim and they work surprisingly well. With only two guitars on stage there are certain melodies that may feature piano on the recording that has to be replaced by guitar. But it is possible to strip the songs down without losing the effect. When I do get the opportunity to perform on stage with multiple musicians all their parts are there on the studio recording for reference. It can work both ways.
You must be relieved to be finally getting the chance to leave the house and get out and perform once more?
I really am. I did find during Covid that I’m alright with my own company. For an artist it is all too easy to develop inhibitions by comparing yourself with other artists that you see on stage. You’re thinking ‘should I be writing more original songs’ or ‘should I change my hair colour and create more waves’. You can start to get inside your own head in normal times. During Covid, when I took a step away from the visual stimulation that the industry encourages, it allowed me to concentrate on the music and not the other smoking mirrors. The negative was and is, not knowing how long all of this is going to last. You start to question why you got into the industry in the first place. But it is coming back and so many people need music and art in their lives.
https://continentalrecordservices.bandcamp.com/album/now-and-then
Interview by Declan Culliton