Uncle G promises to visit you in your dreams in his new single See You Soon — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Like many people cooped up during the pandemic, Uncle G — real name: Graeme Shaw — returned to some of his earlier loves, including music. Living at the time in Tobermory, Ont., Shaw began playing guitar again, started covering songs, and crafting amusing birthday ditties for family and friends. But nobody’s laughing at this comforting single from his thoughtful, honest, genre-bending debut album Where I’m From.
See You Soon, with its soulful, old-school arrangement, was penned for his nephew Malcolm, born during the pandemic. As much as the singer kept tabs on Malcolm through phone and video calls, it didn’t resolve the physical distance. “I lived 300 kilometres away from him, so I was pretty isolated from him,” Uncle G says. “I would talk to my brother on the phone pretty much every day, and I would always say hi and bye to him. Then I’d say, ‘See you soon.’ One of the first times I hung out with him, I played him the chord progression from the song while he laid in his crib.”
On hearing the song in person at a family gathering, Malcolm was elated: “Uncle G! This is you singing!'” Even better was hearing the lyric “Lay down, sweet Malcolm,” which caused him to start “howling and jumping up and down with a smile.”
It’s not just Malcolm who will have a smile — listeners will discover a rich, soulful approach on See You Soon that could be mistaken for a ’50s doo-wop song. Uncle G is accompanied by piano and horns as he tenderly delivers a heartfelt narrative that recalls the likes of Danny Michel and Royal Wood.
To record See You Soon and the rest of Where I’m From, Uncle G teamd up with Joe McLeod, a musician and collaborator from Keswick, Ont. “He suggested the idea of recording an album, which had never crossed my mind before,” Uncle G says. “Intrigued by his offer and always open to new opportunities, I decided to take him up on it. Recording this album never felt like work, despite the sheer effort it demanded. I poured everything I had into it, aiming to create something I could be truly proud of. My primary hope is that, if nothing else, this album would convey to my friends and family how much they mean to me.”
That sentiment oozes throughout Where I’m From, produced by McLeod with additional engineering from David Matta. The eight-song effort takes you on an adventurous journey while remaining rooted in friends, family and small-town life. Whether it’s the dreamy, piano-colored Don’t You Love (which harkens to The Jayhawks), the Irish-soaked Wrong Time, or the up-tempo Americana Left On Read (which resembles the infectious folk of Mumford & Sons) Uncle G has created a record that satisfies. Where I’m At, recorded at Simcoe Sound Studio, NikNak Studio and Giant Studio, also features pianist Andrew Rasmussen, drummer Graham Shaw, bassist Riley Griffith and electric guitarist Joseph Piilonin.
Listen to See You Soon above, check out Where I’m From below, and connect with Uncle G on his website, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
