Roots Music Report

Now was his time.
 

Then came COVID-19.
 

It knocked him down.
 

But, he wasn’t knocked out.
 

Instead he experienced a rush of artistic energy. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist took the learnings from previous setbacks and channeled them into song, after song, after song.

Those songs coalesced to become his latest heavyweight album, Scrapper (provisionally scheduled for Oct 15, 2021).

“I wanted to make something a little bit more edgy this time,” says Joe Nolan. “Something with some meat on the bone, something a little more punchy and gritty but also matched with softness and sensitivity.”

The result is eleven songs, some finished hours before the last minute recording session he was able to book at Scott Franchuk’s famed Riverdale Recorders studio. He called up bass player Nigel Gale and drummer Andrew Scott  – they were available.

“Neither of them had heard or knew any of the songs,” Nolan admits. “We rehearsed them from scratch the night before and the morning after we went into the studio and cut the 10 band songs live off the floor in one day. It was magical!”

Going back to the roots of the recording process was one of Nolan’s goals, to honour the simplicity that music has over us. He says, “I wanted the players to come up with parts that went against what their instincts were saying, and then I wanted to immediately capture that sound before anyone could overthink it. And that is the essence of the bones and beds of this album. That is how it was created; in that environment. It put a lot of pressure on really honing into the songs and music, and delivering in the moment. That’s how I like to record.”

The honest, intimate, original music that Joe Nolan produces can be hard to define. It’s influenced by folk and blues, compared to Leif Vollebekk and Chuck Prophet, John Prine and Jeff Tweedy, Buddy Miller and Guy Clark. Yet with his tender approach and instrumentation, he prefers to just say it’s Roots music, “because that’s where everything I do stems from.”

The songs cover themes of loneliness on the road, the struggles of not having a rooted home and the misunderstandings that divide friends and lovers. It’s a look outside the ring of a touring musician, with a sadness hidden beneath the melodic beauty, revealing itself as the album unfolds. Perhaps it is the spirit that comes from survival, perseverance and fortified resolve to get out there again.

“It's almost like I don't have a choice,” accepts Nolan. “I don't think I will ever stop, or retire. This is my life, it's hard to explain, but it's something I just have to do.”

By getting back to his roots Nolan took a personal journey through his own family history. Stories from the past came out, accompanied by family photos, some of which have made it onto the album and single covers. They feature his grandfather, a resilient mentor, prominently. And so, Nolan realized the value in those physical connections with family. The links that form when performing on a stage. And he relished the joy of putting a record on the player and reading the liner notes and lyrics.

It became essential to him that Scrapper was physical first. A limited edition of 100 hot-pink vinyl is being sold direct to fans ahead of the commercial release – it’s available for pre-order now from joenolanmusic.com.

As for where Scrapper will take Nolan, he’s already booking regional outdoor shows as the restrictions lift, and is looking forward to getting back in the live ring, touring songs not just from Scrapper, but also his album Drifters, released in the early days of the 2020 lockdowns. It was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award, and lauded by music magazine Exclaim! for “His blend of roots and folk [that] is refreshingly un-jaded and full-bodied” in their 9/10 review, and other publications including Folk Radio UK and Americana Highways.

As the album Scrapper closes, the final song fades away, and you’ll hear the faint voice of a woman whispering, “I miss you, when are you coming home?”

For Joe Nolan, whose home is on a stage performing for you, the answer lies in the name of the song. It’s called “See You Soon.”