Chris Antonik has been healed by Learning To Love You on his latest single — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The Canadian blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and Maple Blues Award-nominee wrote his latest single as a love letter to his partner, Juno-nominated jazz musician Alison Young. Featuring a massive nod to Derek And The Dominos’ classic Layla, Learning to Love You is about healing your heart and learning to accept love again. The track fits well among the other songs of hope, rebuilding, community, and new beginnings on his fourth studio album Morningstar.
Released in the summer, Morningstar was an expansive collection of musical experiences reminiscent of the legendary albums of the 1970s. His most personal album to date, Morningstar tells a cohesive story of his experiences as he enters mid-life. Antonik’s last few years of life, love, loss, and growth are synthesized into an epic collection of songs about new beginnings, building community, mindfulness, self-compassion, and the power of home.
Co-produced by Juno winner Derek Downham, the album’s 14 songs take you on a sonic journey rooted in blues rock, soul, future-funk, and psychedelia and take experimental turns into modern rock and hip-hop territories. After the blistering lead single, Waves of Stone, the Eric Clapton-influenced blues-rock of Pilgrim and Back to Good featuring Tedeschi-Trucks Band vocalist Mike Mattison, Learning to Love is a worthy addition to the heavy-hitting singles from the album. Morningstar is an album built on nuanced songwriting, an amazing assemblage of guest musicians — including award-winning guitarists Jarekus Singleton and Paul Deslauriers — and Chris’s mesmerizing guitar work and stellar vocals.
Since his nomination for Best New Artist at Canada’s Maple Blues Awards in 2011 in the wake of his debut album, Antonik has been delivering innovative and thoughtfully crafted songs that transcend expectations of the genre. His sophomore album Better For You was hailed by critics as “the best Canadian blues-rock album of 2013” and “a masterpiece.” His self-produced third studio album, 2017’s Monarch, further expanded the boundaries of his sound, and was nominated for Songwriter Of The Year and Recording Of The Year at the 2018 Maple Blues Awards. Reviews for Morningstar have been stellar.
Check out Learning To Love You above, sample more sounds from Chris Antonik below, and find him at his website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
