Kaya Fraser

OPEN HORIZON (forthcoming, 2010), the first full-length album by up-and-coming singer-songwriter KAYA FRASER, is a well crafted, intimate collection of songs with atmosphere and hookiness in equal measure. The smart lyrics and catchy melodies will stick with you, and the sultry voice that sings them will keep you coming back for another listen. "These are the stupid things we do / These are the selfish things we do / These are the cruel things we do in the name of love"--this is how the openi...

OPEN HORIZON (forthcoming, 2010), the first full-length album by up-and-coming singer-songwriter KAYA FRASER, is a well crafted, intimate collection of songs with atmosphere and hookiness in equal measure. The smart lyrics and catchy melodies will stick with you, and the sultry voice that sings them will keep you coming back for another listen. "These are the stupid things we do / These are the selfish things we do / These are the cruel things we do in the name of love"--this is how the opening track ends, introducing an album that unflinchingly examines the many moods of romantic love. One song is about bitterly clear-eyed retrospect, post break-up, while another is about the simple joy of arriving home to a lover. In the background is the Canadian landscape; as it is to Joni Mitchell, Kaya's home country is a source of inspiration. But it's the geography of human relationships--sometimes tender, sometimes tough--that is the focus of this mature, compelling album. Kaya comes by her talent honestly: her father is Allan Fraser, of the 70s folk duo Fraser & DeBolt, whose two albums released on Columbia Records have a cult following for their enigmatic songwriting and powerful performance. Her mother, Donna Louthood, is also an accomplished vocalist and visual artist. Through her parents, Kaya was introduced to KIM DESCHAMPS, who heard Kaya's 2007 EP, TREMOR AND SLIP, and expressed interest in producing her next effort. Knowing Deschamps's impressive track record (he was a member of both The Cowboy Junkies and Blue Rodeo, and played pedal steel on both bands' most critically acclaimed albums) Kaya enthusiastically accepted, and the wheels started moving towards Open Horizon. The songs were mostly written in 2008, while Kaya was touring her first record. As a result, many of them deal with travel: the coming-and-going rhythm of being on the road is an extended metaphor for the changes that happen to love affairs. But not all the songs are about love. One tune, called "Shameless," has to do with working as an independent musician. It's a kind of mission statement for the type of career Kaya is pursuing: she is ready for the challenges of staying true to her own artistic vision. That vision demanded that this album be done right: it took two years to achieve that, with the help of a major recording grant from FACTOR, and a producer who understood the goal and knew how to get there. The results speak for themselves. Drummer Al Cross and upright-bass player Paul Intson, along with Deschamps on various guitars, form the small, tight backing band: the feel is rootsy and live, the playing polished and sensitive. Tracked at Jukasa Studios, a new, world-class recording facility south of Hamilton, Ontario, no corners were cut in the making of this record. In an age of hasty, basement-recorded albums, which sometimes pass off sloppiness for indie authenticity, this carefully made music will stand out. Tremor and Slip startled critics with its "killer" songs that were so good that they "only need[ed] to be discovered." In May of 2008, it peaked at #3 on the iTunes charts in its genre in France, and received healthy airplay on CBC and on the college radio playlists. Even Ron Sexsmith, one of Canada's best songwriters, recognized the promise in Kaya's "lovely voice and natural songwriting." Open Horizon is the poised answer to that promise. Listen to it carefully and let the songs inhabit you. It will reward your attention.