Samways celebrate the work of some great Canadians in their new single and video Untrodden Ways — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
A preview of the Toronto folk quartet’s forthcoming debut album, Untrodden Ways features lyrics based on the poem of the same name, written in 1913 by Kingston author Agnes Maule Machar. The musical side of the track was inspired by another famous Canadian artist, songwriter and guitarist Nathan Hiltz admits: “I tried to channel Joni (Mitchell)’s rambunctious and expressive strumming, I wrote is in a 3/2 meter which has polyrhythmic feeling that might fit in with Paul Brady — somewhere between a jig and a ’60s songwriter.”
The approach is not unique in their repertoire: Samways’ music regularly highlights the works of famed Canadian poets like Bliss Carmen, Susannah Moodie and E.J. Pratt. The band — which features the beautiful and smile-inducing vocal harmonies of co-lead singers Shannon Butcher, Melissa Lauren and Jessica Lalonde — describe their sonic approach as a marriage of old prose with new musical idioms, and a way to pay homage to the suffering and triumphs of pre-Confederation Canada.
Watch Untrodden Ways above, and find out more about Samways on their website.
