Ontario indie-rock singer/songwriter Craig Dougan draws on the daily experience of those who call Nunavut’s remote capital home in his newly minted single Iqaluit — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“The music was done first, and the lyrics came after,” he recalls of the songwriting process. “The video essentially became a storyboard for the song.”
Inspiration and the songwriting process were almost meditative for Dougan this time, with the subject matter coming to him in a time of ease — eyes closed, quiet on his couch. “I went into a deep concentration and kept asking myself, ‘What should I write about?’ ” he shares. “A few minutes later, the word Nunavut popped into my head.”
From there, the song started to spring to life, taking on the feeling of a research project as he dove headfirst into learning the lighter side of day-to-day life for the residents of Canada’s northernmost capital city. For his part, Dougan hails from a point considerably south of his song’s geographical muse; primarily based in Kitchener, Ont., the seasoned performer has made a familiar name for himself within the surrounding music scene through his long-running Tragically Hip tribute band, The Almost Hip.
Iqaluit is Dougan’s premiere single for 2020, and lands on the heels of 2017’s sophomore LP Still Rising, and 2015’s debut Hard Rock Rising. Watch the video above, listen to Still Rising below, and keep up with Craig Dougan on Facebook and Twitter.
