IN CONCERT
What: Daniel Romano with Dead Soft
Where: Lucky Bar, 517 Yates St.
When: Tuesday Feb. 26, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $17.70 at
Daniel Romano does not make things easy on himself.
The singer-songwriter-producer clearly has an abundance of talent, but myriad facets of his artistic output over the years 鈥� from his promotional photos and videos to his relentless string of recordings 鈥� make him difficult to pin down.
Finally Free, the most recent of his three albums released in 2018, is characteristically unpredictable. 鈥淎 lot of it is out of tune,鈥� Romano said during an interview Wednesday from just outside San Francisco.
鈥淭he words are pretty crazy and some of the song structures are not exactly normal. But I think maybe it鈥檚 not as far removed from what is commonplace as it felt when it was being made. That鈥檚 the beauty of making music. It wasn鈥檛 intentional, but it鈥檚 a pretty self-indulgent record. It鈥檚 not easy to listen to. It鈥檚 not easy to like. And I鈥檓 fine with that.鈥�
Many artists release music at an extraordinary pace, but with 11 albums in the past 10 years, Romano takes the prize. The two-time Juno Award nominee, who lives in Ridgeville, Ont., has purged his music of modern influence, and thus freed himself from the stylistic shackles that bind his contemporaries.
He runs his own label in Canada (You鈥檝e Changed Records) and records for another in the U.S. (New West Records), which has allowed him to write his own ticket in several genres, from country and western to psychedelic folk.
He鈥檚 careful to stay within the boundaries of country, rock and folk, but toys with the definitions of each whenever he gets the opportunity. 鈥淭he mind is a sponge and things get in there. Sometimes I鈥檓 aware of it, in the sense I avoid certain things because they can be toxic and turn up when you don鈥檛 want them to be there. My awareness of that is a great tool for me.鈥�
Surprisingly, Romano isn鈥檛 precious when it comes to the lyrical content of his songs. 鈥淚鈥檒l think of a title for a record and titles for 10 songs, and then I鈥檒l write them. Songs don鈥檛 really matter much to me once they are finished. They matter until they are done, and then they don鈥檛 really belong to me anymore.鈥�
Finally Free stands on its own as both a curiosity piece and creative highlight in a career that still has legs after 15 years of shape-shifting.
Romano 鈥� who handled art design, engineering, mixing and production duties on Finally Free 鈥� recorded the album through a single microphone onto a four-track Tascam cassette recorder.
It was unusual, given the capability and affordability of computer-based recording. But the approach, which saw Romano mix his parts down to two tracks in order to free up space for other instruments, fit the batch of songs he鈥檇 written.
Unique approaches to the studio have become his calling card. Mosey, his 2017 album, was mixed and mastered in monaural, which gave the songs a classic country sheen. Finally Free went for a more claustrophobic approach, creating a messy amalgam tape-hiss and muted dynamics as the bones behind his heartfelt and harrowing musings.
鈥淭his record is the most thematic of any record I鈥檝e made. All of the songs were written at the exact same time, all in a row, non-stop. It was one of the more profound moments, for sure. I remember feeling very transparent and very tranquil while it was happening.鈥�
Decisions weren鈥檛 made for purely esthetic reasons, Romano said. The limitations of four-track recording threatened to undermine his efforts on nearly every song, which ultimately propelled the project.
鈥淚 was choosing rules at random to work within. I didn鈥檛 want unlimited options, because unlimited options don鈥檛 really deliver a concise finished product. I鈥檓 not going to mull over a record for years and years, or take a long time to make one.鈥�
He鈥檚 nothing if not honest about his music. He doesn鈥檛 love every record he has made, but he loved them enough at the time to put in the effort.
He gives himself over to his whims, and while that can result in missteps, Romano鈥檚 bravery 鈥� for sounding an awful lot like vintage Bob Dylan and for leaving himself consistently open to criticism 鈥� is commendable.
His talent has never been in doubt, but the former Attack in Black frontman and City and Colour sideman could lead a much easier artistic life, if he chose to do so. Romano would rather push boundaries.
Finally Free is evidence of that. The fidelity of cassettes has been the subject of much scorn, but Romano calls it his 鈥減referred sonicscape,鈥� one he will return to again. 鈥淭he limited range 鈥� I like how it sounds.鈥�
The record benefited from digital mastering, which appears to be his one concession.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure there were things added afterwards to fill out the sound. That was out of my hands. If I had it my way, it pretty much would have been just mid-range [sounds].
鈥淚f you were to come to my studio while I鈥檓 working on a record, and hear what I鈥檓 listening to, you鈥檇 probably think: 鈥楾his is insane. What is he thinking? It sounds so bad.鈥�
鈥淏ut there are certain needs I have in terms of frequencies that excite me and keep me motivated. But in the end, you鈥檝e got to get rid of them, because they are pretty absurd.鈥�
