THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: Member of the Order of Canada, Juno Award winner and two-time Polaris Music Prize long listed artist Art Bergmann has been honoured by his home country in a multitude of ways. But behind the accolades is a man entering his 70s, coping with the unforgiving realities of life and mortality — and channeling them with his usual unfliching honesty into the songs of his upcoming album ShadowWalk.
His upcoming new album — due Sept. 29 via (weewerk) — is Bergmann’s ode to Sherri Decembrini, his beloved wife of 30 years who passed away unexpectedly in March 2022. The album’s 12 songs capture the darkness, grief and desolation that comes from such a soul crushing loss, while also offering genuine hope that life will go on.
For Art, music remains the strongest healing force, and today he offers a preview of ShadowWalk with two songs — Raw Naked Monday and A Hymn For Us — that clearly demonstrate he hasn’t lost any of his ability to match memorable melodies with deeply personal lyrics.
Recorded at Turtle Sound South Surrey and IDIO Studio in Surrey B.C., ShadowWalk is an album for everyone who has loved, lost, and continues to live. Many of the songs were co-written with B.C. poet Patricia Kay, while Art’s longtime friend and fellow songwriter Donna Kerbel penned one track. The album was co-produced by Wes Smith and Russell Broom, with Broom also contributing much of the music and soundscapes.
Additional contributors to ShadowWalk include Paul Rigby (pedal steel), Aidan Farrell (vocals), Owen Owen Owen (bass), Adam Drake (drums), Sunny Matharu (tabla) and Katie Mosehauer & The Glass Heart String Orchestra (strings). The album has been mastered by Greg Reely (Skinny Puppy, 3 Inches Of Blood, Sarah MacLachlan, Fear Factory, Spirit Of The West), and will be released on vinyl, as well as on all digital platforms.
Bergmann will perform at the Calgary Folk Festival on Sunday, July 30. The Vancouver launch show for ShadowWalk will take place at The Rickshaw Theatre on Friday Sept. 29. The night will also include a group discussion about his 2022 authorized biography, The Longest Suicide, with its author Jason Schneider. The Toronto launch show for ShadowWalk will take place at The Horseshoe Tavern, on Thursday Nov. 2. Ticket info is TBA.”
Art Bergmann: ShadowWalk Track List
1 Jagged/One
2 Death Of A Siren
3 Killing Sunday
4 Westerley Caress
5 Love3
6 Cut N Paste
7 Impotence
8 WinterFire
9 Raw Naked Monday
10 Children Of Kali
11 A Hymn For Us
12 CandleLight
Watch my 2022 interview with Art Bergmann & Jason Schneider HERE.
