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Indie folk music from Wildeman

Brett Wildeman celebrated the first day of spring with the release of a five-tune EP, Portraits. The folk musician calls Roberts Creek home but, in true wandering troubadour tradition, he roves southern B.C. working and performing.

Brett Wildeman celebrated the first day of spring with the release of a five-tune EP, Portraits.

The folk musician calls Roberts Creek home but, in true wandering troubadour tradition, he roves southern B.C. working and performing.

His original compositions are part of a trend towards new indie folk artists. The music and his vocal abilities are clearly evolving, and it remains to be seen how appealing this style will be to old-time folk fans.

The music and melodies are harmonious - but Wildeman drawls his lyrics like a young Bob Dylan, or like a Dylan who has just tumbled out of bed, still groggy. It's a unique blend of styles.

The first tune, Midnight Snack, is based on a visit to a sub sandwich shop at 2 a.m. while Wildeman was working night shift. The sub shop clerk was so comfortable with himself in his job, and he wished Wildeman a safe journey home. It touched something in the musician, and the resulting song is about feeling good about oneself.

Another song, Old Woman's Mind, is the story of Wildeman's grandmother who came from Alberta 60-odd years ago and stepped "fresh off the westbound Greyhound bus." She asks where the time has gone.

"That song is close to my heart," said Wildeman.

Portraits was recorded on the Sunshine Coast this winter. The lyrical and musical elements of each song capture a defined moment in time: a portrait. In addition to Wildeman's vocals and guitar, Tegan Ceshi-Smith harmonizes on vocals and plays violin and cello, James Law is on percussion and bass, with Graeme McGillivray on electric guitar, lapsteel and vocals and Chelsea Sleep on cello. If the names are familiar, that's because they have Coast roots. Wildeman has also shared the stage with another band founded on the Coast, Mindil Beach Markets, though they now live in Victoria.

Wildeman hopes to book a tour accompanied by Ceschi-Smith and Law (who was also the producer and engineer on the CD), promoting the music, performing some new songs and covering the festival circuit.

Find the recording for sale on-line at www.MyNameisBrettWildeman.bandcamp.com or pick up the CD at MELOmania in Roberts Creek.