P.E.I.'s Lennie Gallant returns with new album, his 1st English recording in 7 years
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Acclaimed P.E.I. singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant is back with a new album, and it's one that's been a long time coming.
Shelter from the Storms is the 16th album release of Gallant's illustrious career, but it's also his first English-language recording in seven years.
Not that he hasn't been productive over that time.
Gallant and his partner, Patricia Richard, recorded two albums in French as the duo Sirène et Matelot. Gallant also recorded a Christmas song with the Zimbabwean band Black Umfolosi.
"So I was busy, but I didn't realize that seven years had passed since there was a bona fide, regular Lennie Gallant album," he told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Steve Bruce. "It was a bit of a shock when I found that out."
No stranger to Canadian audiences in either language, Gallant has won 19 East Coast Music Awards and four Music P.E.I. Awards, and has earned three Juno nominations.
He was also made a member of the Order of Canada in 2003.
The 14-track Shelter from the Storms was released Friday, and is described on his website as "a powerful reflection on the turbulent times we live in, but also celebrating the enduring human capacity for dealing with these times through connection, love and laughter."
Despite his years-long foray into francophone recordings, the Rustico native said he actually feels more at home writing songs in English.
"I didn't speak French at all really until I was around 20," he said. "I was hanging around a lot of Acadians and I realized it was a strong part of my heritage. I come from a village that was once a francophone Acadian village, and unfortunately the language got kind of lost — and I decided to use music to regain it."
'We need connection'
While Gallant said he has an extensive back-catalog of songs he hasn't recorded yet, most of the new album's music is based on new ideas.
The first two singles, the title track and Counting on Angels, are meant to reflect the state of the world as it is now — the existential threat of climate change and the ever-changing political landscape in the United States that has, on occasion, represented a threat to Canada's sovereignty.
"I think a lot of people are feeling that the world is… a little shaky right now in a lot of different ways," Gallant said.
"A lot of the songs on the album are kind of talking about how to deal with difficult times and how much we need connection, how much we need to care for the planet itself and just care for each other."
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Gallant describes the album as "eclectic," with a healthy dose of fun and laughter along the way.
Take, for example, the song It Takes a lot of Liquor to Bury a Horse, inspired by a line delivered by friend and fellow musician Dave Gunn.
Gunn and a friend had to, well, bury a horse that had died at his farm. He told Gallant about the experience later over the phone.
"I guess they needed a lot of libation along the way," Gallant said with a laugh. "I said, 'Dave, that is a line that is just crying for a song.' And so I had to write a song about it."
Gallant will launch Shelter from the Storms with a concert Sunday night at Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside. He'll eventually embark on a cross-country tour in support of the album.
He said one of the best parts of bringing his show to audiences Canada-wide is having fun on stage with his band and channeling that energy to crowds.
"People say after the show, 'You guys look like you're having so much fun up there,' as though we're putting [it] on," he said.
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