Kingston-based musician Sadie McFadden is set to release her eponymous debut solo EP.
Ahead of its release, McFadden, BA ’22, sat down with The Journal to discuss the EP and her musical journey. Music has been a cornerstone in her life for as long as she can remember, a constant presence ever since elementary school.
“I honestly don’t remember a time when I wasn’t playing music,” McFadden said.“I’ve been a little bit obsessed with it.”
Although McFadden has worked and performed extensively with a band, the EP is her first time recording and releasing solo music. She’s excited about the freedom working independently provides, being able to make decisions about her work without consulting bandmates.
“This is the first time I’m releasing music under my own name, which is really exciting,” McFadden said.
“I have quite a bit of creative autonomy over everything that I’m putting out rather than having to go through the compromises.”
In terms of the content of the EP, McFadden said the running theme throughout will be growth. It’s an intensely personal selection of songs reflecting McFadden’s personal life and development over the past year.
“Since COVID I feel like I’ve really done a lot of growing and maturing, and I think I’m a lot wiser than I was two years ago,” McFadden said.
“I think these are songs that kind of show that growth, but in a very danceable, fun way.”
McFadden is experimenting a bit with the sound of the album as well.
Although her music generally has a jazzy rock vibe, she’s feeling the soul and R&B influences in her music this time. The autonomy afforded to her by working solo has allowed McFadden to craft a sound she really loves.
“I’m really excited for it because this is the music I’ve loved for a lot of my life, and I’ve just been a part of other projects that had different focuses and I had to cater to those genres,” McFadden said.
The songs on the EP have been percolating in McFadden’s head for the past year. Bringing to life her vision for each song, though, has been a collaborative effort involving a variety of talented Kingston-based musicians.
“I’ve been really lucky that I know some really amazing musicians at Queen’s and Kingston that have just come together, and been like ‘yeah, you know what, I’ll play on that,’” McFadden said.
McFadden wants the listening experience to be as personal as possible. This reflected in the EP’s cover image: McFadden sitting in her living room where she wrote each song.
“I feel like these songs are just people getting to know me as a person and as an artist,” McFadden said.
“That’s why we did the shoot in my living room, because this is where [the songs] were all created. It’s just that intimate of an EP, and I thought that should be reflected in the art that’s used.”
McFadden performs regularly at Musikki and the first single off her debut EP is set to release in mid-April. Follow her on Instagram for more information.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.