James Murdoch Hooks Up With Hawksley Workman For New Album

EDMONTON — Every musician likes to talk about his or her lucky break, but those words actually hold true for Edmonton's James Murdoch.

The folk-rock artist has been trying to put out an album for the past four years, going into the studio twice and sadly coming out empty-handed. However, after bumping into Canadian singer/songwriter/producer Hawksley Workman, he agreed to produce Murdoch's new album. And so far, things are looking like they'll happen. "The songs we're going to be doing are from those previous unreleased records, and then some new stuff," Murdoch says. "Basically, the idea is to go out and get out the best performance out of the songs.

"It's not going to be minimalist, but I'm not going to fill up the album with crap and overdubs and that kind of thing. It's going to be raw and real, and that's what both Hawksley and I really want to do."

Murdoch's last commercial release was 2004's Between The Lines. Since then, only a show-exclusive EP titled Postcards has made its way into fans' hands. But now with the help of Workman, Murdoch hopes to craft an album that's both real and mature, all while integrating Workman's introspective side of making music. "I think [Workman] is a really talented musician, and I was really looking for someone who had strong songwriting skills," Murdoch says. "I've produced and all that kind of stuff, plus I have my own studio [Norwood Studio], so I can run a system fairly well.

"I wasn't looking for someone who was an engineering producer as much as they were a songwriter. I really want to be pushed to extend my boundaries as a songwriter, and Hawksley does that. All my songs are written, so he won't be doing any actual writing of the songs, but just his influence and approach to my songs will be beneficial.

"As it stands, Murdoch has 20 prospective tracks for the record, 12 to 14 of which will make it onto the new album. The previously unreleased disc was supposed to be titled Rise And Fall, and Murdoch is still toying with the idea of using the same name for his current project. That's going to take some thought on Murdoch's part, though, considering that the title is a tad ironic. But if there's anything on his mind now, it's how listeners will respond when he finally releases the little sucker into the wild.

"If I'm able to tour and reach people on a grassroots level, I'm going to be really happy with [the record]," Murdoch says. "Of course, every musician wants success, but I'm not really concerned about that now as I was in previous years.

"I want it to be accessible, but not stuck into a genre. If I can walk out of this and get into the festival circuit, that'd be where I'd want to go."