Local music couldn’t be closer to your fingertips.
With the release of CFRC’s new compilation album Civic Guilt, 13 local Kingston musicians are brought together on one recording.
The best part, according to organizer Neven Lochhead, is that it’s free.
“We wanted to produce a CD we could distribute on campus and also send to campus community stations across the country to show people what’s going on in Kingston,” Lochhead, ArtSci ’13, said.
Funded through a grant given to CFRC from the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the new live CD was mixed by Queen’s professor and musician Matt Rogalsky, who’s been working on the project since the summer.
“Matt would bring his portable recording gear to shows and record the live performances,” Lochhead said.
Rather than recording each artist in a controlled studio environment, Lochhead said they decided to capture each song at live venues to reflect the environment.
“So when you hear the songs, you hear a live performance with a crowd coming in at the end,” he said. “It feels raw because you can hear the mess ups — there’s a nice human element to that.”
While none of the musicians were paid for their contributions to the album, the other costs of the album came from the grant given to CFRC.
“We paid for a local artist to do the album artwork and paid a local print shop to produce the CD. The musicians generously donated their performances,” Lochhead said.
Lochhead said the release of Civic Guilt is important to prove to students how important the local music scene is in Kingston.
“I think it’s important to realize you don’t have to go to the Internet or other cities to find things that will challenge, engage and touch you.”
Featured musician on the album Dorothea Paas definitely agrees.
She said she loves attending local Kingston concerts because she enjoys the give and take attitude of the scene.
“If you want people to listen to your stuff, you have to listen to other people’s stuff, and it’s not even out of obligation,” Paas, ArtSci ’13, said.
She added that the wonderful part of music is the surprises it can bring straight from around the corner.
“You start to realize the person that lives down the street from me has these awesome concepts and is making this awesome stuff I want to hear and share with other people.”
With the Kingston music scene specifically, Paas said, it’s a friendly, tight-knit community where new musicians are always being inspired.
“Once you’re in the loop, you can’t get out. We’re stuck.”
The Civic Guilt release party is tonight at the Grad Club at 9 p.m.
This article has been updated to reflect the following clarification: Lochhead and Rogalsky didn’t afford any of the costs of the album themselves, everything was provided by the grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
Tags
CFRC, Civic Guilt, Dorothea Paas, Neven Lochhead
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