YORKTON - Country music fans in Yorkton and area will be familiar with the name Blake Berglund.
Hailing from Kennedy, Sask., and 150 kms south of the city, Berglund who has played in the city in the past has a new recording dropping to mark the start of a new year.
The new effort is Berglund’s first in more than a half decade.
“I released my last full length album in September of 2017,” he told Yorkton This Week. “It was a concept record called Realms.
“With the doors that it opened for me, and the multiple hats I wear with the management of my career, I found myself focusing heavily on it for a couple years.”
And now he is back with What's Left of the Right, which he noted came to him conceptually, at the end of 2019.
So why after some seven years a new recording.
“As my sister says, ‘all in Divine time’,” said Berglund. “The day I announced the vinyl release, it just felt right in my heart.”
And the project had to play itself out naturally in terms of the artist’s approach.
“I have a tempered and patient working process,” said Berglund.
“The pandemic actually allowed for me to work more intentionally on the songs and the music than I ever had.”
In that regard the new work comes with some greater impact, offered Berglund.
“This album has real world intent,” he said. “It presents a deeper understanding of my journey to the listener as context to some of the more aggressive themes and ideas presented throughout the course of the record.
“It is an effort towards the change I want to see in the world and it will be received with a sense of relevancy.”
It appears to be a huge project, so what took Berglund down the road to a 20-songs recording?
“That's how long it took to tell the story,” he said simply. “The album begins by setting the stage of my upbringing in rural Saskatchewan, insight into family dynamics, and the tools I was given as I set out into the world.
“From there it moves into a more satirical commentary, and finally insight into my aspirations and the authority I carry towards change. Specifically in our province and specifically with leadership.”
The material tells a story, said Berglund.
“I find authors more influential to my art than songwriters,” he explained. “It allows me to craft greater storylines and themes over the course of a collective piece.
“On ‘What's Left of the Right’ there are greater themes of unity, truth, and courage.
“More specific themes include family dynamics, my rural upbringing, faith, societal change, politics, and leadership.”
Does that mean there was a greater challenge penning so much music that has something of a thread binding it together?
“Difficulty is a matter of perspective,” said Berglund. “I don't see things that are labour intensive or creatively demanding as difficult anymore.
“That is the process and by allowing yourself to do the work and remaining fluid in the outcome, it is enjoyable.
“However, I am continuously moving into places of discomfort in my life for the sake of growth - and that is not easy, but necessary.
“Artistically speaking, this album had an intense writing process, the sharpening of lyrical wit, expanding on my production capabilities and learning new audio engineering skills. Creating a complete piece that is as conceptually weighty as it is was the outcome of leaning into those ‘difficulties’.”
The idea of a concept album has certain connotations – in part that Berglund might be headed off course in terms of what regular listeners might expect, but is the material very different musically?
“This record is an entirely new sonic direction while honouring what my supporters have come to expect from me,” offered Berglund. “I guide the listener through many sonic influences but if I were to name two main ‘sounds’ they would hear it would be a country twang with a ton of 90's Canadian rock.
“As far as it being a concept record goes -- that's the baseline to all my writing right now - I will probably only ever make concept records from this point forward.”
It was suggested often concept albums are more about artist desire than expected sales, but Berglund replied that is not always the case.
“I'd argue otherwise,” he said.
“Storytelling is hardwired into the human experience - if it's about commercial success, how can telling a cohesive story that is thematically relevant not encourage sales?
“By self-producing I also was able to balance accessible songwriting structure, thoughtful compositions and artistic liberties.
“At the end of the day, they are all just pop songs if they were written to get stuck in the listener's head, and all 20 tracks on this record were written with that intent.”
Now it’s up to music listeners to grab the new effort.
The album release is playing out in many stages, said Berglund.
“To start, it is exclusively available as a double-vinyl and as a free gift to all those that carry a paid subscription to my Substack, ‘The Straight & The Narrow (Substack is a blogging platform that is reader supported),” he said.
From now until Feb. 2, all those who purchase a paid subscription at blakeberglund.substack.com will get this new album, free of charge in the mail.
Then on Feb. 2, Berglund will be performing one show at Darke Hall in Regina for his vinyl release party alongside Belle Plaine and Lachlan Neville.
A digital release has yet to be announced.
