“It's compelling to see someone move an audience with one instrument.”

I first saw and heard Ken Reaume play his music eleven years ago. Inglenook, our alternative high school, hosted Coffee Houses where students and teachers performed. Even then Ken, a Scarborough boy growing through indie, punk, folk and Britpop, stood out with his nimble, hypnotic guitar playing and low key vocals. In the intervening years Ken has travelled, wandered, lived life, learned to play live, defined and refined his tastes, and honed a very keen technique. His third album, Four Horses, expands slightly on his sound, adding timbres to his voice and instrumentation. He will celebrate its release at Wavelength with old friends, new friends, and hopefully a few strangers. I did my best to catch up with Ken over a pint (of e-mail).

Hi Ken, how have you been? Where have you been?

I'm good, thanks. I was in the U.S. for quite some time and I had to move back to Toronto. I needed to stop running away.

How do you feel about living in Toronto again? “In The Day” what does your life look like? Do you write every morning? Do the day’s distractions make your passions weak?

Toronto's great. It's what you make of it, like any city. I write every day, I play guitar every day. I wrote “your day’s distractions make your passions weak” because they do for me. I needed to say that.

Did your biographical and geographical wandering affect your music-making? Did you ever feel pulled along without knowing what you were running from or towards? Were there moments when you felt lost? Lights along the way? Musical epiphanies?

I don't know how it affected my music-making. Maybe it made me take a more serious approach to it. I saw other artists make amazing music because of their focus. The only way to get somewhere is by having goals, sacrificing, having a non-defeatist attitude, dedication and hard work. Every day I feel a sense of “confusion or adrift.” I think it's universal to feel that, but there are moments of satisfaction and truth. I write songs that mean something and help me figure out the negative stuff. My only goal is to make songs that I like and that maybe others will like also.

In those years you’ve written and recorded a lot of songs; in 2007 you released a seven-inch and recorded your third album. Do you think you’ve evolved through your relationships with the mediums of music re/production – guitars and four tracks and tapes and records?

I don't own any other musical instrument besides two guitars, nylon and acoustic. I don't need anything else right now. When I get an idea or a picking chord pattern or a sentence I write it down immediately. I like to record it on my Cubase, just on acoustic guitar. I'll take six months, maybe longer, to be sure of an idea when it comes to a song. I'm slow. I recorded my first record with a four track that I didn't know anything about. It sounds so bad, but I didn't know how to use it. I never expected to release more than fifty hand-drawn CD-Rs.

It's compelling to see someone move an audience with one instrument. I saw Antony (of the Johnsons) at the Music Gallery with just a piano and it was musically transcendent. Moved everyone to tears.

Are there others you’ve met or toured with who’ve given you guidance or inspiration? How was your recent tour of churches in Eastern Canada with Final Fantasy?

I wish it was longer! The tour was great. I'm very grateful [Owen Pallett] asked me to open. Final Fantasy is incredible. He's a huge influence on me. He's very into his craft and his sound which inspired me immensely.

I toured with Jana Hunter. She's an example of utter devotion to her music. I respect her so much. She toured for four years straight without a place to live, all for the music. I respect that more than anything. Sam Beam [Iron and Wine] told me once to lift my head up and sing and not look down, which I never heard before. Listening is an art just as much as playing.

Do you like performing live? How do you create an atmosphere for yourself and the audience? What are you hoping for from your album release and Wavelength debut?

I'll say I dislike it very much until the second song. It's hard to get into your skin. I just turn off the audience or try to forget they're there and be in a bubble. Between songs is the hardest because you're supposed to talk. Anissa Hart and Mika Posen will play with me so I won't be alone; I hope it's a good show and I hope to play there more.

Is there an outsider mindset in your life and music? Why do you publish under the name Pariah Songs?

I just do things by myself but we need others to feel okay or secure. We can't do things by ourselves all the time; we need help. I don’t know, maybe there is an “outsider” mindset. The Pariah name was a take on feeling like an outsider; I liked the way it sounded and it stuck. I skateboarded for fifteen years and that was also a very independent / individual thing to do.
I draw my own artwork because I want the product to be a complete extension of myself to the person who buys it. It's just so beautiful to receive something that's completely and uniquely your creation down to the artwork.

By Demian Carynnyk